After having read several series romances, none of which were very good, I swiched genres and picked up some traditional Regencies. I got lucky and hit a trifecta: Barbara Metzger’s The Diamond Key, Donna Simpson’s Rachel’s Change of Heart, and this one, Prospero’s Daughter. Wonderful books, all three of them (look for our review of the Simpson release shortly).

Morgan Pearce is deeply estranged from his father. The son of a member of the landed gentry, Morgan has angered Mr. Pearce by engaging in trade. He runs Grambling House publishers with his uncle. Morgan is in London to check up on the firm – and incidently renew his friendship with a delectable married lover – when his friend Ronald Palfry prevails on him to make a trip to Palfry House. Ronald’s father, the famous General Sir Janus Palfry, has written his memoirs and needs some help in the editing. Morgan has a lot on his mind with work and his sister’s upcoming wedding, but he knows the book would be a good seller for Grambling House, so off he goes.

Palfry House is exquisite. The house and the grounds are totally in order, not a blade of grass is anything other than perfect, and the general’s wife and daughters are as perfect and beautiful as the house. The general’s memoir shows promise, but needs a lot of work. It is clear that Morgan will be there for a while.

One morning while walking, Morgan sees a woman sitting in a Bath chair by the lake. Despite the hot day, she is swathed in heavy clothing, with a bonnet, veil, and mitts on her hands. The woman is Miranda Runyon, a cousin of the Palfrys. Several years ago, her parents were killed in the same carriage accident that left her paralyzed. Left to the indifferent attention of a couple of servants, Miranda is a fretful, peevish shrew until Morgan turns her world upside down.

I wish Prospero’s Daughter could have been a full-length novel as so much happens in the course of the story. We have Morgan and Miranda’s relationship; a sub-plot involving Morgan’s sister Kitty and her relationship with Phillip DeBurgh, the man she loves who has come back from the war missing a leg; and Morgan’s estrangement from his father, which is miraculously cleared up at the end of the book. Although Nancy Butler does a fine job juggling all the elements of the story, there are times it felt either rushed or compressed. If only she had an extra hundred pages or so!

However, I enjoyed this book tremendously mostly because of the main characters. I love good, strong, intelligent characters, and Morgan and Miranda were all three. At first, I thought Miranda’s plight was a bit unbelievable, but as the book progressed I could understand how she landed in her situation. Her injuries were bad, very bad, and her treatment was inadequate. She truly thought she was a hideous monster and she slipped into apathy and depression without putting up a fight. General Palfry was no help at all to his cousin since he was horrified that anything imperfect should be in his beautiful world. Besides, he disapproved of Miranda and her family – they were independent and more concerned with learning than pretty appearences. As far as he was concerned, she was out of sight, and out of mind.

Morgan is simply too stubborn to give up on Miranda. After trying without success to help his friend Phillip, he is determined that Miranda should make an effort to improve her situation. At first she resists, but Morgan’s mind is made up; he bullies and coaxes Mirander until she realizes that she can sit up, use her hands, and feel her legs. He brings her a mirror and she sees that she is not a monster. At last, Miranda begins to hope in the future. Both Miranda and Morgan are strong-willed and they fight a lot, but as the book progresses, they recognize a kindred spirit in each other.

Nancy Butler never disappoints me. Her books are thought-provoking, her characters interesting, and I look forward to everything she writes. If you like Regency romances that are dark and a bit angsty, give Prospero’s Daughter a try.