A Matter of Class

By: Mary Balogh
Genre: Regency Romance/Novella
Grade: A

From www.matterofclass.com

Reginald Mason is rich, refined, and by all accounts a gentleman. However, he is not a “gentleman” by birth, a fact that pains his father, Bernard, since Regency society values station above all else. And the Masons, despite their vast wealth, are still members of the merchant class.

An opportunity for Reginald’s social advancement suddenly arises through the possibility of marriage to Lady Annabelle Ashton. Since Annabelle is the only child of the Earl of Havercroft—who is both neighbor and arch enemy to Bernard—the elder Mason is positively joyous. After all, this would allow him to both one-up the earl and raise his son’s social standing, in one fell swoop.

The fact that Reginald and Lady Annabelle both loudly proclaim their disgust at the idea of marrying each other matters not at all.


But Annabelle has been disgraced by a scandal that has left her branded as damaged goods, just as her father desperately needs the money that would come from marrying her off to a wealthy man.

Regency-era damsel that she is, Annabelle is trapped. She’ll be shunned by society for life if she doesn’t marry someone even close to respectable. Plus, she’ll carry the crushing lifelong guilt of believing herself personally responsible for causing her family’s financial ruin if she doesn’t immediately marry someone wealthy enough to pay-off their looming debt.

By the same token, Reginald proclaims that he doesn’t want to get married now, especially to a hoyden who has managed to disgrace herself. Instead, he insists he’d rather live the wild, extravagant bachelor life to which he has recently become accustomed. However, Bernard gives Reginald an ultimatum: Marry Annabelle or be cut off from all family funds.

Reginald grudgingly consents, and an openly antagonistic engagement ensues. So does a tale riddled with secrets, deception, and the trials of love. In A Matter of Class very little is as it first appears.

This little gem of a book is short and very sweet. It contains a bit of a twist, easily discerned, but then the twist is what adds a dollop of sweetness to the whole story. It also makes it difficult to discuss without entering into spoiler territory. If you are a Regency romance fan or a Mary Balogh fan then I strongly recommend it. It is a good story with likable characters and might intrigue you even if you are not either of those things ;-)

Tea: A proper Earl Grey of course!