To Love a Lady - Gabrielle Meyer - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Gabrielle Meyer

SERIES: Dollar Princess, #1

GENRE: Historical Romance, Retelling

PUBLICATION DATE: January 6, 2026

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In an Nutshell: A historical romance inspired by the classic musical, ‘My Fair Lady’. Christian fiction. Excellent characters and plotline. Great exploration of the gilded era, social mores, and emotions. Does far better justice to the adopted-heiress trope. The first of the ‘Dollar Princess’ series, but standalone. Much recommended. ♫‘Wouldn’t it be loverly’♫ to read more such adaptations? 😍

Plot Preview:

1882. Twenty-one-year-old Keira O'Day, abandoned by her parents in childhood, has grown up with her uncaring relatives in the tenements of NYC, scraping by somehow. So when a wealthy eccentric widow named Maude Hill makes a wild proposition, Keira hesitates only a little before accepting. The plan is that Maude, an unflappable social climber, will adopt Keira, train her to be a lady, and present her as a rich bride for any titled English gentleman who needs American wealth. Maude’s nephew Alexander is sceptical of the whole endeavour, but has to do his part in training Keira as per his aunt’s instructions. Even if it means stifling his own attraction to the potential society debutante. When the trio reach England, Keira has to perform the role of a lifetime. But can she really marry a lord when her heart lies with someone else?

The story comes to us in Keira’s first-person perspective.

Retellings are aplenty in today’s fiction. We have seen retellings of fairy tales and mythologies and classic novels. But how many times have we heard of a movie retelling?

To be fair, the classic Hollywood musical ‘My Fair Lady’ itself was adapted from the stage musical by the same name, which in turn was a heavily romanticised adaptation of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Pygmalion’. Pygmalion didn’t have the problematic ending that ‘My Fair Lady’ does. GBS was in fact quite insistent that ‘When Eliza emancipates herself […] she must not relapse.’ The ending of the musical was thus a giant contradiction of his wishes.

I have always been fond of old Hollywood musicals, but for the above reason, and despite its outstanding songs and Audrey Hepburn’s mesmerising performance, ‘My Fair Lady’ was never a favourite of mine. Every time I watch it, I can't help wish for a different ending. Eliza deserved so much better! (In preparation for this novel, I watched it once again, this time with my elder daughter. Her irritation at the injustice of the ending echoed mine.)

Why did I go for a book that retells a movie I dislike?

Just one reason. Gabrielle Meyer. The only author whose historical romances – a genre I have long stopped adding to my TBR – I still read. I am a huge fan of her Timeless series, so when she announced that she was working on a new series of five books retelling five classic Hollywood musicals and set in the Gilded Age, I had no doubt I would be on board.

As my rating tells you, my faith in her is justified.

Bookish Yays:

💰 The fabulous transposition of ‘My Fair Lady’ into ‘To Love a Lady’. There’s a change in era, location, plot, and characters and yet, there are enough glimpses of the original to help us *feel* the retelling. (I love that Higgins is the butler this time! 😂)

💰 The ironing-out of the problematic content of ‘My Fair Lady’, and retaining only as much as is required to make this novel convincing as a retelling.

💰 The freshness of the plotline despite the retelling, with the new location and era adding much charm and authenticity. This story, even with its larger-than-life grandeur, feels far more believable.

💰 The correct approach to such a story. ‘My Fair Lady’ feels more like a farce, making a comedy out of a tragedy, expecting us to laugh at the mental and physical abuse Eliza Dolittle has to endure at the hands of the egoistic Higgins. This novel is never a comedy. (And it helps that Maude is a somewhat more palatable version of the pompous professor.)

💰 Keira – such a wonderful character! Initially, it was tough for me not to picture Audrey Hepburn as Keira. But the power of Meyer's writing is such that after a while, Audrey Hepburn faded away and Keira O'Day took her own independent shape in my mind. I loved her character, especially as she showed both vulnerability and spunk in the right measure.

💰 Keira being the first-person narrator. An excellent writing choice, because we get to see her trials and tribulations from her own viewpoint. Unlike the movie, which focusses mainly on Eliza’s voice modulation and accent-related struggles, the book also shows us Keira’s reaction to her sudden wealthy lifestyle and her worry over her other family members back home still struggling with poverty.

💰 Alexander. A lady needs a gentleman, and Alec was the perfect one! I love that he wasn’t afraid to show his emotions.

💰 Maude – an apt, though somewhat annoying antagonist. Her character was probably the toughest to convey effectively as she could be quite callous with others while still being generous (albeit for selfish reasons). She tested my patience many times, but that only proves the success of her character development.

💰 The historically accurate detailing of the Gilded Age, with its opulent parties, powerful matrons, grandiose gowns, and aggressive social-climbing. Fascinating!

💰 The romance. Slowburn and satisfying. A romance anyway doesn’t follow a twisty road but a mostly straight path towards an expected destination. Despite the directness of the route, the author manages to push in a couple of surprises. I could guess one major reveal beforehand, but still enjoyed it.

💰 The use of the two locations – USA and England – in the plot, with a clear portrayal of their contrary attitudes while still depicting their shared antipathy for the Irish.

💰 The Christian content. I love how the author incorporates faith into her plots without turning the books preachy. Moreover, her faith-related thoughts are somehow always reassuring to me.

💰 The ending – 100 times better than the movie ending! ♫‘I could have danced all night’♫ in happiness!

💰 The author's note – as impeccable as always, demonstrating her research as well as her eye for detail.

💰 The cover art – perfection!

Bookish Okays:

💵 Because Maude keeps ignoring a certain issue, Keira has to keep worrying about it. This makes her narration a bit repetitive at times.

Overall, I had a great time reading this story. These days, I am more of a historical reader than a romance reader, but as I said, I happily read romances written by this author; to date, she hasn’t failed me even once! Her characters, her historical detailing, her plotlines, and her faith-related inclusions always work well in tandem to create a memorable narrative. I especially love how she turns even a predictable genre such as romance into a satisfying endeavour.

This is the first of a planned five-book series. I am not at liberty to reveal all five musicals that inspire this set, but trust me, I am so very excited for the rest! Of the five movies chosen by the author, the only one that wasn’t a huge favourite of mine is ‘My Fair Lady’. So if its novelised upgrade went so well for me, I can't wait to see what she does with the remaining movies!

The books are planned as standalone works, but while reading this novel, I got the feeling that some characters might be used later. So I took a quick peek at the second book’s blurb and squealed in delight at the confirmation of my suspicion. Not revealing more! 🤐 Just keep in mind: don’t read the blurb of Book Two before completing Book One! I already have a secret wishlist of characters I want to see in the subsequent books. ♫‘With a little bit of luck’♫, I’ll see them all find happiness in the upcoming pages!

Definitely recommended. This would be a *loverly* book for all fans of historical romance and of the golden era of Hollywood musicals. You don’t need to be familiar with ‘My Fair Lady’ before reading this, but you will appreciate it more if you do.

My thanks to author Gabrielle Meyer for providing me with a complimentary copy of “To Love a Lady” at my request. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The digital version of this book is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.