Lady Elizabeth's Comet
Elizabeth Conway is my favourite heroine. Like Caroline Herschel, the first woman elected to the Royal Society, Elizabeth is an astronomer. Her greatest ambition is to discover a comet. However, she is the eldest of eight daughters of the Earl of Clanross, so her relatives harass her to take her rightful place in Society. When her father and his third wife drown in a boating accident, Lady Elizabeth retreats to the dower house at Brecon, Lord Clanross's principal seat, sets up her telescope, and throws herself into contemplation of the night sky. Her solitude is a little complicated by the fact that her twin half-sisters are living with her.
When the new earl, Richard Falk's friend, Thomas Conway, finally shows up, Lady Elizabeth is less than delighted to welcome her strange second cousin, nor is he impressed by her monomania. Her sisters are running wild.
In the course of the novel, Elizabeth saves Lord Clanross's life, accepts a proposal of marriage from one of his best friends, and discovers a comet. She also discovers that she is in love with her father's successor. She is sure he cannot reciprocate. Naturally, it takes a few plot twists to sort all of that out. I must say I enjoyed doing it.
"This is a superior Regency, with wit and characters of some substance." LJ
"Simonson has captured the elegance, the stylishness, and the unique voice that makes readers of this genre so faithful . . . I wish I'd written this book." Donna Meyer
"Everything ends as it should, but Lady Elizabeth's desire for a quiet relationship with her telescope is doomed from the start." McNaughton
"I particularly like the custom of having the lady's maid warm her slippers on damp, chilly nights." Rocky Mtn. News