The Ladies Rewrite the Rules
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Average rating3.5
From the author of Mr. Malcolm's List comes a delightful romantic comedy set in Regency England about a widow who takes high society by storm. Diana Boyle, a wealthy young widow, has no desire to ever marry again. Particularly not to someone who merely wants her for her fortune. So when she discovers that she’s listed in a directory of rich, single women she is furious, and rightly so. She confronts Maxwell Dean, the man who published the Bachelor’s Directory, and is horrified to find he is far more attractive than his actions have led her to expect. However, Diana is unmoved by Max’s explanation that he authored the list to assist younger sons like himself who cannot afford to marry unless it’s to a woman of means. She gathers the ladies in the directory together to inform them of its existence, so they may circumvent fortune hunters’ efforts to trick them into marriage. Though outraged, the women decide to embrace their unique position of power and reverse the usual gender roles by making the men dance to their tune. And together…the ladies rewrite the rules.
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I feel like the story drones on, and could have been wrapped up in 100 pages or even less with a happy ending.
Summary: When Diana Boyle discovers the existence of a directory of wealthy single women being used by the bachelors of England to find wives who will improve their financial situation, she decides not only to confront its author, Maxwell Dean, about his having painted targets on the backs of the women included in it, but also to plan with the ladies how they might use their inclusion in the directory to flip the social script and gain some control over their romantic destinies in a society that would not usually afford women this ability.
