Lessons For a Lady

Once a hoyden always a hoyden Susanna Marlowe's high spirit and independent ways were admired by few and discouraged by many. When her father flees England in the midst of a scandal, Susanna and her mother are forced to live in social disgrace. Susanna's childhood friend, Edward Farrineau, comes to the rescue. Theirs is a special relationship but Susanna knows her feelings of love cannot be returned. Edward will marry a lady of Quality with the genteel manners and graceful ways that befit his station in life. Yet when Edward announces his betrothal, Susanna is none too pleased. And when both Edward's fiancee and eccentric aunt enlist his help to catch an eligible for Susanna, Edward is none too pleased. Encouraged beyond reason, Susanna submits to lessons on becoming a lady, with surprising and somewhat embarrassing results.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Romance, Fiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.