A Holiday By Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella
£0.80
A Courtship of Convenience
Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run-of-the-mill London merchant. He’s grim and silent. A man of little emotion–or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she’s ready to put an end to things.
A Last Chance for Love
But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn’t as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there’s Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What’s a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one last chance to win her? Only this time there’ll be no false formality. This time they’ll get to know each other for who they really are.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Perfectly Proper Press (13 Nov. 2018) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 3956 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 174 pages |
by Kindle Konvert
This was my first time reading this author and I thought it was a lovely little read.
“I do feel things deeply. I may not always show it, but I do.”
Edward ‘Ned’ Sharpe is a wealthy tradesman who finds it difficult to show emotion. From the first moment he meets Sophie Appersett, daughter of a baronet with a heap of financial problems, he becomes besotted by her and asks permission to court her. Unfortunately, after a couple of months of really trying to connect with Ned, Sophie decides to tell him that they simply do not suit. She’s fed up of listening to her own voice whenever she tries to make conversation with him. However, knowing her family are in pretty dire straits, she proposes a deal of honesty between them and a promise to get to know each other better during his visit to her family home over Christmas.
“I intend to kiss you this Christmas…Under the mistletoe. Under the gaslight. Under the stars…Perhaps all three.”
I thought this was a really enjoyable story with great context pertaining to the times. I always enjoy a strong, progressive heroine and Sophie fitted the mould well. I enjoyed her efforts to draw Ned out of himself, but also that he managed to charm her in return, considering his somewhat taciturn nature. They were two people who knew their own worth, but maybe not their own charms. Great story with a great ending.
by Carol Cork
This was such a charming, heart-warming romance – just the perfect start to my Christmas reading.
Sir William Appersett is virtually bankrupt, having squandered most of the family fortune, together with his eldest daughter Sophie’s dowry, on modernisations to Appersett House. With no male heir, he regards the house as his only enduring legacy. Now he and his wife have brought Sophie and her younger sister, Emily, to London in the hope of finding them wealthy husbands.
Edward (Ned) Sharpe, a draper’s son, is a highly successful and wealthy factory owner. For the past twelve months, he has been considering marriage, but it is only when he sees Sophie Appersett that he seriously contemplates getting married and approaches her father for permission to court her
He’d wanted her from the first. Had known as soon as he looked at her that she was someone worth having in his life, no matter the cost.
Sir William is more than agreeable to Edward courting his daughter because he fully expects that Edward will provide the necessary funds for the next phase of his modernisations. Sophie is not averse to marrying Edward, hoping that, given time, he would come to care for her or even love her. But, after two months of courtship, she can no longer contemplate spending her life with a man who is so solemn, unemotional and lacking in conversation and calls off the courtship.
He never betrayed his feelings with a look or a word. And when it came to conversation, silence was, by far, his favorite subject.
Being unfamiliar with all the rules governing courtship among the upper classes, Edward had turned for advice to the Gentleman’s Book of Etiquette…not very sound advice as it turns out. It seems he has burnt his bridges as far as Sophie is concerned and is most surprised when the lady in question turns up at his office. Sophie has reconsidered and is willing to continue the courtship…perhaps if they talk openly and really get to know each other, she might find she was wrong about them being ill-suited. So, Sophie invites Edward to spend Christmas at Appersett House in Derbyshire.
Sophie and Ned are such appealing characters and the Christmas festivities provide the perfect setting for their romance to flourish. Ned is a man who rarely shows his emotions but feels things deeply, which is evident in his reactions after Sophie calls off the courtship. I enjoyed seeing him slowly emerge from behind that stern appearance and reveal something of his real self to Sophie; the way he treats his parents with respect and shows kindness to her mother, and even to her spoilt sister, Emily; his patience and attentiveness; how, when he smiles, there was a sparkle in his eyes that made her catch her breath; how he surprises her by teasing and flirting!
”…unless you very strenuously object, I intend to kiss you this Christmas.”
Sophie stared at him, her mouth suddenly dry. It took all of her strength of will to compose herself. To moisten her lips and formulate words more substantial than a breathless squeak. “Under the mistletoe, I presume.”
“Under the mistletoe. Under the gaslight. Under the stars.” Ned bent his head close to hers. “Perhaps all three.”
I admire Sophie for her loyalty to her family, even though her profligate father and spoilt sister hardly deserve it. She has shouldered the responsibility for trying to keep the family from financial ruin and I love how Ned is willing to shoulder this burden for her, while he is in Derbyshire, with no strings attached and the freedom to choose what happens afterwards.
Sophie is intelligent, strong, gracious, warm and kind, qualities that Ned recognises and values, unlike her father, and I love how he views marriage as a partnership where they will be equals.
“A partner,” Sophie repeated. “Is that how you think of me?”
He made a soft sound of assent as he enfolded her back into his embrace. “Not very romantic, is it? But I don’t want you to feel powerless with me. I value your intelligence and your strength. I’d rather you stood at my side than in my shadow.”
This was a time of great change both socially and economically and I like how Ms. Matthews explores the theme of adaptation to change by referencing Darwin’s work, which Sophie and Ned discuss, and in comments Sophie makes to her sister.
“We’re part of the modern age,” Sophie tells her sister. “We must change along with it or be left behind in the dust.”
The author’s love for and knowledge of the Victorian era is perfectly reflected in the historical details, the social commentary, and how she captures the essence of a Victorian Christmas.
MY VERDICT: This is a lovely, entertaining and heart-warming novella and the perfect accompaniment to the festive season.
by little bookworm
Sophie Appersett and Edward Sharpe have been courting for a few months. She is the daughter of a gentleman, albeit an impoverished one, he is a wealthy tradesman whose fortune will improve the family’s circumstances. Yet Sophie cannot bring herself to accept a man with whom she has nothing in common. Ned Sharpe is cold and forbidding and hardly speaks a word to her. Still she determines to give the match one last chance over the Christmas period, but only on the condition that this time they are honest with each other and are their true selves. Will romance blossom between them over the festivities at Appersett House?
This is a delightful Christmas novella by Mimi Matthews set in the Victorian era. It was a very seasonal read, warm and cosy. The story starts in London, but then quickly moves to Appersett House in Derbyshire for a Christmas House Party and is filled with lots of Victorian era Christmas traditions.
The evolving romance between Sophia and Ned was gentle and tender, and as the author herself alludes to at the end, did rather have a touch of North and South about it, which I could but appreciate. I do tend to enjoy the marriage of convenience trope (albeit here courtship of convenience) especially when it is done well, which I thought here it was. It was delightful to watch Ned put his guard down and be more himself with Sophie, and there was a genuine respect and partnership between them that Matthews captured very well.
For a novella, I thought Mimi did well not just to build up the romance and tell a Christmas holiday story, but to flesh out the story with themes of duty and sacrifice, the vastly changing times of the era (there are many references to Charles Darwin and the idea of adapting in order to survive) as well as exploring the societal class structure of the time. There is a secondary romance between Sophie’s sister and Ned’s friend Mr Murray too, which does actually feed into the main story as well.
Sophie herself was a delightful heroine, practical and dutiful towards her family, yet still independent spirited.
This is my third read by Matthews this year, and suffice to say she has not disappointed me yet. 4.5 stars
by Lucy Dunphy
Fans of Pride and Prejudice will love this. I just loved Ned and Sophie’s story. The writing was so atmospheric. I’ll definitely read this again. I’d love of there was a follow up.
by Wildfly56
Enjoyed the ups and downs in this delightful Christmas romance. The tale is well written and engages the reader. Set in the Victorian error it follows the norms of the time