Finessing Clarissa

School for Manners, Book 4

By: Marion Chesney

Narrated by: Lindy Nettleton

Lovely, wealthy, and well bred, Clarissa Vevian has been unable to find a suitable husband because of her terrible clumsiness. Her petite and fastidious mother, the Lady Clarendon, has tried to mold Clarissa into a dainty miss to fit the fashion, but until the fashions fit tall Clarissa, her mother’s efforts are doomed to fail.

Enter Amy and Effy Tribble, chaperones-for-hire, who have seen three charges through the perils of three seasons and into the waiting arms of eligible gentlemen. Can they do this for Clarissa? Only if they can prevent her falling down the nearest available staircase instead of into the embrace of an appropriate suitor. At Clarissa’s approach, tea tables totter, curtains and carriages erupt into flames, and prospective suitors fall to their knees not to profess undying love but to howl in pain after being decked by an errant elbow or felled by a misplaced foot. And when Clarissa enters their home, the Tribbles fear their reputations for matchmaking success, as well as their carpets and furniture, may go up in smoke.

Confidence is what Clarissa needs, the kind of confidence that accompanies the friendly attentions of someone like the graceful Earl of Greystone, who rescues the accident-prone Clarissa from an ambush by a would-be highwayman. The earl’s feelings for Clarissa seem no more than brotherly, however, and Amy and Effy (when they’re not keeping tabs on their own eligible gentlemen) are determined to help Clarissa become the stately, graceful woman that will win the earl’s heart - and a few other battles, too.

©Marion Chesney (P)2013 AudioGO

Critic reviews

“With customary grace, Chesney charms with this latest Regency froth.” ( Publishers Weekly)

entertaining plot excellent narrator

great narration. entertaining and well constructed plot. I prefer romantic comedies that do waste my time with detailed descriptions of sexual encounters.

not the same old love story

Ugly duckling blossoms when she gets away from her ever critical mother and finds her own personality. Devious future inlaws, along with an exciting spy subplot, makes this a fun read.
Details are rather scimpy but charming overall.

Good story.

I really enjoy a story where the heroine is smart. She may have some problems to overcome but she is able to manage things. I really dislike it when she allows herself to get in trouble from a stupid mistake. You’ll like this story.

Favorite of the series so far!

I loved this one. Far less miscommunication, different formula, much more natural development of love, much more HEART. Even for the spinsters. Just loved this. Clarissa herself is my favorite of the girls so far. And Lindy Nettleton never lets you down.

Too much murder & mayhem for a historical romance

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. I have become weary of the overbearing spinster pair of Tribble sisters. Amy is coarse mouthed and Effie wails & weeps with the best of them. MC Beaton had her mind on murder when she wrote this book as there are not 1 but FOUR graphic murders in this supposed historical romance.

Would you ever listen to anything by Marion Chesney again?

Don't know.

What about Lindy Nettleton’s performance did you like?

Excellent narration and she does the character's voices very well.

Any additional comments?

I was expecting to like this series because I enjoyed book 1, which has no violence in it. Am disappointed in books 2-4. Really enjoyed the Traveling Matchmakers series and the Poor Relations series by Chesney.