Free (Kindle) Lady Fortescue Steps Out by M. C. Beaton [Regency Historical w/Romance]

[ATDrake]

Lady Fortescue Steps Out by popular mystery novelist M. C. Beaton (SYKM, Wikipedia), is the 1st in her Poor Relation series of humorous Regency historical adventures with strong romantic elements, this installment starring the eponymous impoverished yet resourceful widowed Lady who begins an entrepreneurial business venture in conjunction with the equally impoverished retired Colonel Sandhurst, and together, they fight crime! hilarity ensues, as mishaps and murder and romantic entanglement occur among their guests, free courtesy of publisher RosettaBooks, who are e-printing it from its 1993 St. Martin's Press hardcover originally under her pseudonym of "Marion Chesney".

NB: while Beaton/Chesney does also write dedicated Regency romances (of which we've already received 2 free), a look at the other books in the series suggests that these particular tales are less about getting people together to tell their love story, than in the "regulars" having all sorts of wacky hijinks adventures (including theft and arson installments) which just happen to also get other people together in the course of them.

This is RosettaBooks' Valentine Day countdown promotional special giveaway selection for the 8th, and I'm pleased to see it's actually an official promo again this year (apparently the skip days were due to them having 99 cent sales on selected titles in lieu of a freebie).

Currently free, just for today @ Amazon (available to Canadians and in the UK and also elsewhere worldwide this time, as this one doesn't appear to be geo-restricted like the last). This is another one of the RosettaBooks titles which are under their exclusivity agreement with Amazon, although they are couponable for their remaining titles @ Kobo and eligible for similar discounts/rebates from other retailers.

And this has been the selected 3rd (non-repeat) free ebook thread of the day.

It barely edged out the 17 glitch freebies from Tyndale House tonight, but quite frankly, I'm rather unlikely to even try more than two out of the Tyndale lot (I'm morbidly curious about the Batman thing, and the Holocaust survivor memoir also looks promising) although I'm pleased to see repeats of a whole bunch of stuff for the sake of other MR members who might actually be interested in getting a second chance on things they've previously missed, whereas the plotline of this one appeals to me, and it's actually available worldwide this time, for many more Gentle Readers (well, those with Amazon accounts in countries they don't block, that is) to benefit from.

Enjoy!

Description
The impecunious Lady Fortescue, widowed and alone save for two loyal, unpaid servants, has sold off almost all of the furnishings in her large Bond Street home and faces a grim future as a member of the aristocracy too proud to seek employment or charity, yet too poor to survive on the infrequent largess of wealthy relatives oblivious to her plight.

Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of old Colonel Sandhurst, an equally impoverished retired military man who falls at her feet in a hunger-induced faint one afternoon in Hyde Park. The two decide to join forces: the Colonel will share Lady Fortescue's home, and they will invite others of their station and situation to live with them and pool their resources.

Thus is born what eventually becomes one of London's most popular hotels, The Poor Relation, to which the nobility flocks to enjoy the novelty of being waited upon by members of their own class.

[pdurrant]

Looks fun. Thanks!