{"id":5755,"date":"2016-03-25T19:23:11","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T23:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=5755"},"modified":"2022-08-25T19:10:38","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T23:10:38","slug":"mrs-drew-plays-her-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5755","title":{"rendered":"Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand<\/a><\/em> (2012) Carla Kelly<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mrs-Drew-Plays-Her-Hand\"<\/a>Set in England in the early 1800s (after the war) <\/p>\n

Mrs. Drew is a young widow, and after an improper proposition from her brother-in-law needs to find a home for herself and her two young daughters. She ends up in the dower house of one of Lord Winn’s many properties.<\/p>\n

Lord Winn has returned from the war, but wants little more than to escape his over-bearing sisters who are pushing him to remarry–despite the fact that he is a terrible scandal for having divorced his previous wife for infidelity (on her part).<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not see how you can possibly find another wife.\u201d <\/p>\n

He went to the door then and rattled the knob, giving any servants listening time to scatter from the hall. \u201cAs I have no urge to ever marry again, this concerns me not at all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This book is… completely different from the other historicals I have a penchant for getting.<\/p>\n

First, there is no boinking (well, there *is* boinking, but it’s all off the page), secondly, the heroine, Mrs Drew, is a vicar’s wife and quite religious.<\/p>\n

she never repeated scandal, and did not think of it, either, beyond a sad shake of her head. \u201cFor who of us has not fallen short of the mark?\u201d Anthony would say, and she could only agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can forgive, she thought. It costs nothing except a little pride, and the rewards are infinite.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I quite like both characters, and although there are of course misunderstandings and mix-ups, both are sensible, and more importantly, amusing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bow to your judgment,\u201d he said, his voice calm, his mind in outrageous turmoil. \u201cJust make it look like a home.\u201d <\/p>\n

She laughed and got off the bed, to his relief. \u201cThat\u2019s easy, my lord! I\u2019ll loan you jackstraws and blocks to trip over in the middle of the night, enough clutter to drive you distracted, and suspicious marks and rings on things that no one admits to.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And the daughters are really quite lovely.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow don\u2019t plague Lord Winn anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI am not a plague, Mama,\u201d she replied with dignity. \u201cI am merely a trial.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lissy drew a picture of the three lambs. Over her daughters\u2019 protests, Roxanna vetoed Lissy\u2019s first picture of her arm in the sheep. \u201cI think Lord Winn has sufficient imagination to figure out where lambs come from,\u201d she assured her children.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(I thought the birthing of the lambs was a delightful detail).<\/p>\n

And as much as this is a romance, it’s also very much about grief and mourning, and I thought those parts were very well done, especially since Mrs. Drew had lost her husband in most ways three years before he actually died.<\/p>\n

Although it was a bit slow at times, I appreciate the details, and bits of the time (such as how deadly common illnesses were, how divorce was unacceptable, and especially how women had almost no rights.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the only road you left open to your sister-in-law!\u201d Winn shouted. \u201cShe and her daughters are my chattel now and if you do not leave this house at once, I will ask this sheriff to arrest you!\u201d He came forward and took Lord Whitcomb by the neckcloth, jerking him off his feet. \u201cThey are my property now!\u201d he snapped, each word distinct.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A reminder that women truly had few rights.
\nRating: 7\/10<\/strong>
\nPublished by Cedar Fort, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand (2012) Carla Kelly Set in England in the early 1800s (after the war) Mrs. Drew is a young widow, and after an improper proposition from her brother-in-law needs to find a home for herself and her two young daughters. She ends up in the dower house of one of Lord […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30,292,33,26],"tags":[381,556,213],"class_list":["post-5755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british","category-ebook","category-historical","category-romance","tag-carla-kelly","tag-georgian-era","tag-grief"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-1uP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5283,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5283","url_meta":{"origin":5755,"position":0},"title":"Miss Grimsley’s Oxford Career","author":"Michelle","date":"June 12, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Miss Grimsley's Oxford Career (2012) Carla Kelly Set in England, indeterminate time during the Napoleonic wars. Ellen Grimsley is frustrated--she would love to study at Oxford, but instead her brother Gordon is sent, and he wants nothing to do with Oxford but wants instead to be fighting in Spain. James\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Miss-Grimsleys-Oxford-Career","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Miss-Grimsleys-Oxford-Career.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9344,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9344","url_meta":{"origin":5755,"position":1},"title":"The Admiral’s Penniless Bride","author":"Michelle","date":"October 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Admiral's Penniless Bride (2011) Carla Kelly Set in England in 1816. Sally Paul is a paid companion. 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After traveling with Melody, her new husband, and Jane's parent's for part of their wedding Tour... \u201cYou must not go!\u201d Mrs. Ellsworth came to a stop in front of them with a hand pressed to her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Alternate History"","block_context":{"text":"Alternate History","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy\/alternate-history"},"img":{"alt_text":"valour-and-vanity","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Valour-and-Vanity.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24870,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24870","url_meta":{"origin":5755,"position":5},"title":"A Moveable Feast","author":"Michelle","date":"September 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A Moveable Feast (2025) Jennifer Ashley (A Below Stairs Mystery #7.6) Set in London in 1884 Mrs Bywater really is a horror. 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