I recently got the chance to read an ARC of To Be a Lady by Carolyn Twede Frank. You can preorder a copy now, but the actual book will be released next month. If you haven’t read a Carolyn Twede Frank book before, this is a great place to start.
An Intro to Our Main Lady
Mary, our main character, grew up considered a lady. After her dad gambled away their family’s money, the family found themselves having to work for their money. Mary ends up taking on a lot of the responsibilities for the whole family as her parents act irresponsibly. Even while she was considered a lady, Mary gained skills to help her as a working-class woman, including dressmaking skills and good number skills.
Mary is such a likable character. She’s had a hard life, losing her place in society when her father made some bad decisions and lost the family’s money. Yet, she’s a hard worker, willing to work to help her family survive. She’s definitely not your typical Regency female main character. She works for her money rather than just sitting at home or attending balls. She doesn’t ride sidesaddle. Mary has even sewn herself a split skirt so she can ride normally. She’s not afraid to get a little dirty working outside. She’s smart. Yet, she’s also a lady at heart.
What You Should Know About This Couple
I love that Mary and Thomas are both characters who really want to help others. They value their families and put the needs of their family members above their own needs. They get mad at each other a few times, and it’s generally because of misunderstandings or a lack of knowing the reason behind the other one’s actions. These two really are a couple you’ll want to root for. Luckily for Mary, Thomas doesn’t care what people think of him. He doesn’t follow the social norms for people in his position.
Was There Anything You Didn’t Like?
I had a few minor things I didn’t love about this book, hence why it’s 4.5 stars, not 5. The first is that Mary’s younger brother, who’s 16 feels off when it comes to his age. That’s the best way that I can explain it. Early on, he feels younger than 16, and later in the story, he feels older than 16. Maybe, that was meant to show growth, but he just felt like a different character maturity-wise from the beginning of the story to the end. Yes, that’s me being picky.
The second thing is that Mary supposedly hates Thomas in the beginning. I’m not entirely sure why she hates him, and I never really sensed that she did hate him. It felt more like she was trying to convince herself that she hated him when she really didn’t even know him yet.
But Was It Clean?
This is a clean novel. You won’t find any swearing, sexual content, or graphic violence. One character does suggest Mary engage in some less-than-honorable activities to repay a debt, but she quickly refuses. There are at least two scenes that could have become violent, but you don’t get the gruesome details. If you like Regency novels that aren’t your typical Regency novel, this one’s for you.
The author, Carolyn Twede Frank, is LDS, and she has written books for the LDS audience before. The first two books I read by her were The Hitler Dilemma and Trapped in East Germany. Both are novels based on the true stories to two LDS people growing up in Nazi Germany. While I liked both books, I actually enjoyed this book better.
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