A Lady To Treasure - Marianne Ratcliffe - ★★★.½

AUTHOR: Marianne Ratcliffe

GENRE: Historical Drama.

RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A historical drama centred on two young ladies who allow their duty to overshadow their preferences. The romance is minimal, despite what the blurb suggests. A good read with some serious topics.

Story Synopsis:

1812. Louisa has always been trained to think in terms of profit and investments. As the daughter of a wealthy NY businessman, she is aware of the current financial problems faced by the family company. To help it with a capital investment, she travels to London with a singular objective – finding a wealthy husband.

Sarah Davenport might be the daughter of a viscount, but with an ailing father, a distant stepmother, a spendthrift stepbrother, and a debt-ridden estate, she is focussed on saving her beloved home from ruin. She cannot accept that someone as intelligent as Louisa is looking at marriage solely through a financial angle. Then again, with her own independent streak creating more problems every day, who is she to advise Louisa about following her heart?

The story comes to us in the third person perspectives of Louisa and Sarah.

Bookish Yays:

😍 I liked the two main characters; it is a treat to read about characters who are so practical in their outlook. Though they did have communication gaps, their dedication to their families and their loyalty towards what they considered their “duty” was admirable. Louisa is quite judgemental at the start, and views everything in terms of profit. Sarah’s bluntness and singlemindedness often hurts others. Both young women grow during the course of the story, which is good for the characters and for the readers.

😍 Louisa and Sarah are atypical for 19th century historical fiction protagonists. Louisa’s aptitude for accounts and business dealings, and Sarah’s expertise with her estate and everything connected to keeping it running, proves them both intelligent women who weren’t afraid to venture into what was considered men’s territory. The plot uses their talent well, rather than just mentioning their talent and brushing it aside.

😍 The author captures the era well. You have the typical historical fiction jazz – the dresses, the balls, the elaborate lunches, the grand houses with servants, the social rules about the title hierarchy, the upper hand men get simply because of their gender, and so on. Rather than stopping only at this depiction, she also incorporates the unseen side, with the endless farming tasks on the estate, the impact of the wars on the trade between the UK and USA, and life for those who were not titled.

😍 Louisa’s cousin Eleanor has a mild disability (a curvature of the spine), and through her character, we get a glimpse of how tough it was (and sadly, still is) for anyone not conforming to societal standards of physical beauty to be accepted without judgement.

😍 The book is fast-paced from start to end. Despite the serious content and multiple characters, it never slackens the tempo.

😍 The ending in such stories is always predictable and neat, but I like how the author built up the finale; it was nice and sweet, and sprung naturally from the flow of the overall story.

😍 One uncommon thing about the world Louisa and Sarah inhabited was that there seemed to be no questions or judgement from anyone about their feelings for each other, which is so unlike typical historical same-sex love stories. Neither of them had any thought about a potential scandal resulting from their love, nor was there any hesitation or doubt about how they could have such “unnatural” feelings for another woman, nor did any of their family members scorn them for their affection. It seemed like a world where such relationships were accepted. Totally fictional, no doubt, but I still relished the thought of this alternate world where people were free to love regardless of gender.

😍 I liked the apt use of the word ‘treasure’ in the title. Two women who are so pragmatic and single-minded about monetary security come to realise that there are other, better treasures in life. From their quest for financial treasure to their coming to treasure each other, the story represents not one but two ‘ladies to treasure.’

Bookish Mixed Bags:

😐 The title and cover indicate that this is a Sapphic romance. However, I think the word ‘romance’ is applicable to this story in the loosest possible manner. A major chunk of the book is about Louisa’s and Sarah’s personal learnings and growth than about their romantic feelings. The romantic track exists, of course, but is not dominant. Except of a couple of mild kisses and fade-to-black scenes, there’s nothing to make it feel like a romance. Those looking for a typical lesbian romance story might not enjoy this as much. It works much better as women’s fiction or a historical family drama.

😐 The first half of the book, though nice, isn’t outstanding. I cannot pinpoint any flaw in it, nor can I highlight anything that makes it memorable. It stuck to the formula in almost every way. The second half is much better, as both the lead characters come into their own, and the story shows their true grit in the face of tough times. So even if you find the initial half somewhat repetitive and typical, stick with it because the latter half is worth it.

Bookish Nays:

😟 The “romance” between the two doesn’t develop organically, but I can’t even call it insta-love as there are no initial thoughts about physical attractiveness. Their romantic thoughts seem to spring up out of nowhere, and for most of the book, those thoughts remain just thoughts. I’d have loved to see the actual progress of their romance.

😟 The blow-hot-blow-cold connection between Sarah and Louisa frustrated me. Every relationship-based book has conflict scenes, but in this book, the conflicts were hardly ever on the page. In one chapter, they would be pally with each other; in the next, one of them suddenly wouldn’t want to talk and the other would feel let down, and again after a couple of chapters, they would be on chatty terms. The repetitive on-and-off mode between the two was primarily due to communication gaps, which is never fun to read. This issue also affected the continuity of their portrayal because I could never predict what the next chapter would have in store.

All in all, this indie #OwnVoices work is a good enough read, though it didn’t blow my mind away. Luckily for the book, I am not much of a romance fan, so the lack of it didn’t bother me that much.

I had picked this up as I had enjoyed another book by the same author: The Secret of Matterdale Hall, which, being a Gothic historical fiction, was more suited to my palate. I had loved the way it had been inclusive in terms of LGBTQ+ rep and disability rep while staying true to the era. This factor is applicable to the current book as well.

Definitely recommended to those looking for a historical drama with strong women characters. Not for those wanting a light romcom; this isn’t light in any way.

3.5 stars. (3.25 stars for the first 50%, 3.75 stars for the rest. Averaging and rounding up wherever applicable.)

My thanks to author Marianne Ratcliffe for providing me with a complimentary copy of “A Lady To Treasure”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.