More than passing resemblance to a well-known romantic classic

British comedic fiction writer Catherine Alliott's About Last Night has romance aplenty.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT
Catherine Alliott
Penguin Random House NZ

By PATRICIA THWAITES

A British writer of popular comedic fiction, Catherine Alliott introduces new lead character Molly Faulkner in her latest book.

Molly has been living a chaotic country life in Hertfordshire for five years. The move from a comfortable London life to this new bucolic one was the idea of her husband, who died only weeks after their shift, yet  she has felt an obligation to carry on, a process that seems to involve a never-ending succession of  financial and other problems.

It is not surprising then that when deliverance arrives in the form of a most unexpected legacy, the obligation is dropped in favour of the prospect of a return to her former city life.

Molly’s children support her decision to sell and move on. There’s Lucy, stunningly beautiful and about to marry a handsome, rich and aristocratic young man; Minna, younger and attached to an unfortunately unsuitable local; and Nico, an unpleasant lad who spends much of  his life slouching about in messy rooms.

When Molly arrives in London to find out what she’s inherited and how much, she also finds a complication in the form of Felix, a tall and tanned charmer. He becomes only one of three handsome and successful men who have taken a fancy to her. The author lives a rural life and the most convincing parts of her book are descriptions of Molly’s encounters with livestock and the beauty of her surroundings. The other parts are pure escapism, and, towards the end, bear a more than passing resemblance to a well-known romantic classic.

But readers tempted to buy this book will know just what to expect inside after inspecting the cover, which is pink and  features two glasses of bubbles. And in this fictional genre anything is possible, including a suitor who stages an amazingly effective rescue after she’s been swindled by a cad and, to Molly’s surprise and delight, also comes from a remarkably similar background to a certain Mr Darcy.

Patricia Thwaites is a retired Dunedin schoolteacher

 

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