Category Historical Romance A-Z: Lord Darlington's Darling by Gayle Buck

 

Title: Lord Darlington's Darling

Series (If Applicable): Standalone

Author: Gayle Buck

Category Line: Signet Regency Romance

Released: January 2002

Time Period: Regency

Primary Tropes: London Season, Starchy Lord, Shy Heroine

Content Warnings: Sexual Assault (Off Page) 

The Pitch:

Lord Darlington, Marquis of Thursgood, became the Marquis at 15 when his useless gambler father kicked the bucket. Darlington scrambled to keep his family from ruin, and as a result has become an impecccably dressed, very responsible young lord lacking in humor. His teenage sister, Bethany, has caught the attention of Wickham-esque scoundrel, Mr. Farnham. In order to protect Bethany, Darlington decides to give her a season in London, far away from Farnham. 

Abby Fairchilde is a quiet, sweet, and chronically conflict-avoidant young woman. Her sister and sister's husband, Mrs. and Mr. Crocker, are pushing Abby to accept the suit of the deeply boring Lord Fielding, which Abby goes along with without much protest until she crosses paths with Lord Darlington at a dance. Suddenly, Abby is in the middle of a love triangle. And her new bosom pal, Bethany, is dragging Abby into even more mess, as Farnham has followed Bethany to London. Abby doesn't want to ruffle any feathers, ever, and suddenly, she's going to have to.

Diving In (Mild Spoilers):

Something I've found very interesting about some of these category-length regency romances is how much they are pulling from Austen. (Side note: I have yet to read Georgette Heyer, so I can't speak to how much influence she had on these, though I imagine quite a bit. Take this set of observations with a grain of salt). While there is a central love story with a happy ending, the focus is split across multiple story lines. In fact, what drives the conflict more than the love triangle between Abby, Fielding, and Darlington is Bethany's relationship with Farnham. Bethany browbeats Abby into being a correspondent between her and Farnham, a task that Abby finds increasingly uncomfortable, but her disposition makes taking action difficult. She's also helping Bethany while keeping her involvement from Darlington, who thinks Abby is the purest sweetest soul who could never do anything wrong. The entire third act, which I adored, features Abby taking action to actually stop Farnham's machinations, with delightfully farcical results. 

Another Austen element I noticed was the humor. Austen had an attitude towards her characters that I would describe as Well-Meaning Condescension. She found them mostly silly, but still cared about them. That was the energy I felt Buck had toward this cast. The reader is supposed to be annoyed that Abby refuses to have a spine, but rejoice when she finally does. Mr. Crocker despises that Darlington is both a well-dressed dandy and emotionally intense--frankly, his attitude reminded me of how people talked about "metrosexuals" in the early 2000s--but he does support Abby's growing independence and even tells Darlington he misjudged him in the third act.

Obviously, I mentioned Wickham from Pride and Prejudice for a reason. He's a man entirely too grown actively pursuing a teenager, and Buck does not shy away from how that would turn out and be distasteful to a modern reader--hence the content warning. He does get a far more satisfying comeuppance than Wickham, which I will not spoil. I will say, though, that it brought me a lot of joy. 

Worth a Shot?:  

Honestly, I had a lot of fun with this. It was well-paced, lighthearted, and cute. I know I didn't talk much about them as a couple, but Darlington and Abby are adorable together. It's fun to watch them fall in love over the course of the season, and there are enough external tensions to keep things interesting. If you want a quick, upbeat, steam-free regency (kisses only in this one), Lord Darlington's Darling is a good time.

Availability: 

Ebook, Mass Market Paperback (The original is Out of Print, but can be cheaply acquired secondhand. Buck also has a Print-On-Demand version you can acquire, as well.)

Author Website:  Sadly, none. Here is a list of all of her books, though: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/gayle-buck/