A Lady's Guide to Scandal

A Novel

By: Sophie Irwin

Narrated by: Imogen Church

“Sophie Irwin is an exciting and original voice. She's a must-buy author for me.”―Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Carrie Soto Is Back

Internationally bestselling author Sophie Irwin brings us another delightful, escapist historical romance, led by an audacious heroine who has suddenly inherited a fortune—but it has strings attached…

When shy Miss Eliza Balfour married the austere Earl of Somerset, twenty years her senior, it was the match of the season--no matter that he was not the husband Eliza wanted.

Now, ten years later, Eliza is widowed. Suddenly, she is left titled, rich, and, for the first time in her life, utterly in control of her own future. She’s always lived by society’s conventions, but now, Eliza has resolved to do as she wants. And what she wants is to head to Bath with her cousin Margaret, pursue painting, learn to drive, and flirt with Bath’s most alluring new resident, the infamous Lord Melville.

But when the ripples of Eliza’s behavior reach her late husband’s nephew—who broke Eliza’s heart, years ago--Eliza will learn that freedom does not come without consequences. The only way to ensure she can keep her fortune is to avoid all scandal—but where’s the fun in that?

©2023 Sophie Irwin (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Praise for A Lady's Guide to Scandal:

“Brimming with wit and scandalous hand-touching, A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin will make you yearn for the wrong earl to happen into your life at exactly the right time. An artfully slow burn!”
―Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics

“Sophie Irwin is an exciting and original voice. She's a must-buy author for me.” ―Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Carrie Soto Is Back

“Light and enchanting....It’s a fun, unexpected ride from city ballrooms through country gardens, with a diverse cast, witty repartee, and plenty of laughter to go along with the love.” ―Publishers Weekly

loved it!

Excellent writing and unexpected story. The main and secondary characters' stories were all well developed and compelling and just beautiful.
Looking forward to more from the series.

another Jane Austin wannabe

I usually love novels styled as Jane Austin period pieces. However, in the narrative form at least, I found this one lacking and often irritating. Many of the chapters were not only predictable but tedious in their endless repetition. Luckily there is always fast forward. The narrator softened in the end, but in the early portions of the book she was rather grating with her voice interpretations of the pompous, members of Bath. I was in fact a bit disappointed with this one.

Enjoy

This book was a fun listen. I enjoyed the people and all the drama and delights.

Cute story, couldn’t handle the narrator

I loved the lady’s guide to fortune hunting! Was a bit disappointed with this one. For me I think it was mainly the narrator being distracting to the story and dialogue.

So Clever and Fun

This little gem is fresh. Fresh and clever and fun, with tropes turned on their heads, beginning with a widow rather than a young virginal protagonist. I won’t tell more so that you can discover the rest, but suffice it to say that Regency England never had it so topsy-turvy and it’s about time.

Though not great, it was enjoyable.

First it is a clean romance. For those that need this heads up this story has a supporting character that has gay relationships.
Our heroine starts off as a very timid and beat down character. With support from a strong natured cousin and a unexpected inheritance she slowly learns to break out of the timid role her family and then deceased husband had put her in. Other then the societal cliff dive I felt the story was well thought out.

Sophie Irwin’s Guide to the treatment of women in pre19th century England

Well written novel with interesting and enjoyable plot lines and good characterization. I like the suspense about which male character will win the hand of our heroine

Stylistic deviation from the first book

First off, the narrator is excellent. Superb performance. And the author's writing style is immaculate.

That being said, the contrast in storytelling and story development between this and the first book by this author is quite stark. In the first book, there were obvious stakes for the FMC, and the love story felt like it developed naturally out of her own character put into a very difficult situation -- within the confines of the culture and convention of her time. This creates tension for the MCs, and more than a "will they won't they" scenario, ups the ante with a "can they should they will they". The cast of side characters was also well developed, each on journeys in their own right. All in all, a very well developed story (as first books often are). It was reminiscent of Georgette Heyer, which is high praise indeed.

In the second book however, the FMC seems apathetic, the MMC's quite dull with numerous red flags each, so the tension between her and the two MMCs was weak. I didn't want her to end up with either of them. There was very little consequences to her flouting convention and society, other than potentially offending one particular family. But the consequences, had she truly gone against convention (and some women of the time period absolutely did), would have been far more dire. If this story had been about how she found herself and solidified herself in society standing on her own two feet, it would have been more compelling in terms of the stakes and the consequences of her behavior/choices.
Also conversely, the side characters ended up having more of a life than the FMC did. And while I appreciated the representation of queer characters during this time period, their story felt modernized and underdeveloped. In reality, it would have had higher stakes and a bigger payoff than the FMC's own storyline, which presents complications as a subplot.
Overall, the strictures of cultural and historical convention were less obvious and the MCs personalities less established within the conventions, which led to less tension and lower stakes. If you were hoping for a book similar to the style of Georgette Heyer and/or the first book by this author, you'll probably be disappointed. If this is your introduction to this author, you'd probably find it a decent read, and be delighted by the first.
Was I disappointed by the second book, yes. However, I will probably still listen to whatever this author puts out next, because their writing is excellent and I'm curious to see how their career and storytelling continues to develop.

A twist!

It was great! All the characters were compelling. I enjoy the genre and liked how this book mixed things up a bit. Looking forward to more books by the author.

Unorthodox story

Loved Sophie Irwin’s first novel that I couldn’t wait to read this! I was so thoroughly disappointed in her being so loose with a time period that held to strong standards. Far too much modern day behavior and too much focus on letting people’s feelings guide them. Great plot twist but too much vulgar behavior from the women.