Jane Feather: The bachelor list, The bride hunt ja The wedding game

Jane Featherin viihderomaanitrilogiassa kolme itsepäistä sisarusta etsii ja löytää itselleen puolison 1800-luvun lopun Englannissa. Sama kaava toistuu kaikissa romaaneissa, mutta teksti on kohtalaisen sujuvaa ja jonkin verran omaperäisyyttäkin tarinoissa on.

The bachelor list (Bantam Books, 2004; ISBN 978-0-553-58618-3)

Constance Duncan may be the eldest of three sisters, but she has more important things on her mind than finding a husband—for herself, at any rate. Through the Personals services of her popular newspaper, The Mayfair Lady, Constance connects lonely hearts. But her own heart lies in her work, and nothing will distract her from it—until she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a man of disastrously different views. Max Ensor is a politician whose outmoded attitudes outrage her—even as his powerful presence intrigues her. Clearly there is only one thing to do with such an exasperating man: convert him! Little does Constance know that Max has the same plan in mind for her.... What follows is a fiercely passionate duel in which two headstrong people discover that, differences or not, sometimes one gender cannot—will not—do without the other.

The bride hunt (Bantam Books, 2011; ISBN 978-0-553-58619-0)

Soon after the Duncan sisters’ personals service turns a profit, their controversial newspaper The Mayfair Lady offends a powerful earl—who is now determined to demolish them in court. In dire need of counsel, the women turn to England’s most sought after young barrister. Sir Gideon Malvern is notorious for his aggressive style—and his love of a challenge. Spirited Prudence, with her beauty unsuccessfully hidden behind spectacles and frumpy clothes, provides him with exactly that. But how in the world will the Duncan sisters be able to afford Gideon’s fee? Prudence proposes a barter: Gideon defends their case; they find him a bride. It’s an exchange of services even this most cynical single barrister cannot refuse.

The wedding game (Bantam Books, 2011; ISBN 978-0-553-89839-2)

Chastity listens to Dr. Douglas Farrell’s distressingly unromantic requirements for a wife: wealth and social status. Her instinct is to refuse service to the tall, muscular, dark-eyed physician, but she can’t turn away a paying client. Yet the doctor conceals a secret. He’s prepared to sacrifice his bachelorhood for his true passion: caring for the poorest of London’s poor. Of course, his dream requires capital. For that, he is convinced he needs a well-to-do, well-connected wife. Little does Chastity know that if she ever learned the selfless truth, the handsome doctor just might steal her heart. And if Douglas ever lifted the veil that covers this mysterious woman, he might discover his perfect match.