A Splendid Indiscretion by Elizabeth Mansfield

Although I'm a Regency fan, I didn't come to the Regency world in the typical way - I never read Heyer and barely read Austen. My first exposure to Regencies came with the more emotional, romance-y books of Mary Balogh, Mary Jo Putney and other authors. I tried going back to read Heyer, after talking to so many Regency fans who love her, but I find her dry and a bit cold. (And most of the time, I only find her mildly amusing, or not funny at all.) As much as I enjoy the Regency period, I still want the kinds of emotions that I find in later Regency books. Which always presents me with a problem when I pick up an older Regency - will it be a new-style emotional Regency or an old style comedy of manners Regency?

A Splendid Indiscretion by Elizabeth Mansfield
(1985, Regency) 4/12/08
Grade: 3

Everyone considers Ada Surringham a bit bubbleheaded and absent minded, but living in the country with her uncle, it doesn’t matter much. But when she’s invited to London by her godmother, she finds herself kissed by Griff, Viscount Mullineaux, and working as a librarian’s assistant in his house - how did that happen?

A cute Regency “comedy of manners” that unfortunately lacks a bit of romance. Even though Ada seems like a typical TSTL heroine, she’s appealing because she knows it - her struggles to become more responsible and less flighty don’t work very well, but they’re endearing. Griff is less strongly drawn as a character - I was never sure why he was so in love with Ada other than her lovely eyes, although his eventual acceptance of (and amusement with) Ada’s muddles is heartwarming (even though it doesn’t happen until practically the last page). Although this book was very funny in places, I didn’t really buy the hero and heroine’s devotion to each other - the two barely spend any time together and don’t seem to know each other at all. More of a Regency “romp” than a real romance.

I've read a few of Mansfield's Regencies in the past (and I have quite a few more in my TBR) and even though I enjoy her characters, I often find they're missing that "certain something" that makes a book feel romantic to me.