Stephen Wright, Viscount of Endicott, is appalled when he learns that his half-brother George has compromised the reputation of an innocent woman of good family. To win a bet, George kidnapped Miss Diana Somerville, not letting her go home until the next day. George has disappeared to the Continent, leaving behind a scandal that Stephen, a deeply honorable man, feels he must deal with. He immediately goes to Diana and proposes to her.

Diana refuses him. The scandal doesn’t matter to her. She intends to be an adventuress and explore the Amazon or perhaps the Nile, and she doesn’t want to get married. Stephen, charmed by her, puts his foot down – the scandal must be defused, he tells her, if her sisters are to marry well. Diana agrees to this, and they embark upon a sham engagement, which she insists will be broken later.

This plan doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Authors need to be careful about placing too much weight on half-understood rules of Regency etiquette. The force Stephen and Diana need to combat is gossip. Hear about that woman who ran off with one brother, then got engaged to the other? Sounds juicy to me. And then when the engagement is broken later, it just gets that much more scandalous. Still, in this novel, somehow it works – once people realize she’s engaged to Stephen, all is forgiven and forgotten.

Stephen is a very nice hero. His instant fascination with Diana is incomprehensible but sweet, as is his determination to protect her and keep her. It is apparent very soon that he wants to make the engagement a real one. He attempts to convince her of his love by being honest, honorable, supportive, and kind. But that’s not good enough for Diana: she wants adventure.

Diana’s more than a bit dim, if you want the truth. She is described as too naïve for her own good – but she comes across as stupid rather than innocent. She is quite firm that she will never marry Stephen – she considers him dull, conservative, and unlikely ever to take her to the source of the Nile. When Stephen’s brother George returns, she feels sorry for him because Stephen is so angry with him. She forgives him for kidnapping her, molesting her, and ruining her reputation, and though she doesn’t trust him, she is willing to spend time with him.

Stephen is horrified. His attempts to protect Diana from George backfire – she is furious with his attempts to control her. This makes her even more intent on flaunting his wishes, and goes out with George for ices. Her father confronts her: “You went with him for ices. A man who tried to rape you.” Diana thinks, “Put that way, her actions sounded ridiculous.” Um, yes. That’s one word for it.

The Wrong Mr. Wright features a pleasant hero whom I wanted to see happy. But it also has a cobbled-together feel and a ninny for a heroine. I rather pitied Stephen during the “happily ever after” epilogue. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of bluestocking heroines who need frequent rescuing, I’d passs this one by.