Clarissa and the Poor Relations

By: Alicia Cameron

Narrated by: Heath Miller

In Regency England, Mrs. Thorne's School for Young Ladies is about to close due to the death of young Clarissa's mother a year ago. This leaves 18-year-old Clarissa Thorne and her three schoolmistress friends no option but to return to the bosoms of their families as despised 'poor relations' - at everyone's beck and call for all their lives.

But Clarissa has just inherited Ashcroft, a large, crumbling estate, and she offers her companions an escape - to run away with her to a life of independence and adventure. They must put the estate to rights with little money and less experience. Can sensible Miss Micklethwaite, aging romantic Miss Appleby, and the beautiful Miss Oriana Petersham escape their fate? To keep the vivacious, impulsive Clarissa in check, they must at least try.

However, their relatives may have other plans.

Meeting the Earl of Grandiston and his companion (a devotee of the divine Oriana) on the road sets hilarious events in motion. Perhaps to adventure the ladies must add romance.

©2016 Geraldine Cameron (P)2016 Geraldine Cameron

Clarissa and the Poor Relations is a fun light read

This is a good story with acceptable performers. The very tangled plot plays out as Steampunk tale more than a Historical Romance. It does remind me of movies of the 1940’s I watched as child. The were “corny” yet humorous.

The written story was quite well written but, I feel it lacked in smoothness of flow from one scene to another.

The narrator was not consistent with the “voices “ so there was occasional confusion as to whom was talking. He did use good emphasis and did a fairly good job narrating.

The characters’ personalities were well defined and endearing. The scenes were adequately portrayed but not easily visualized. The Title and Cover were a good fit.

All in all, I offer a Three and a Half Stars rating.

Well done romance

Enjoyable. Puts me in mind of Georgette Heyer novels, but not as good in my opinion. The characters are likeable and the plot is good. There is just a little too much gong on at one time. And it all was rather rushed. There is a wonderfully unlikeable villain that I wanted to get her just deserts. This book just did not quite hit the mark for me, but it was still a good listen.

Brilliant!

I'd never heard of this author but this was such a great departure from the usual girl under male control story. Horrible brother & godawful sister in law, but Clarissa & her friends bring them to rout. With the help of a fab supporting cast of friends. Funny & great read by narrator. Please could I have a Sullivan as butler on my next estate(Dream on)!

Sweet passtime

it is an enjoyable escapist romp that is a perfect beach read or micro vacation.

A light and loverly farce.

A very exciting read, with likable and realistic characters.

The narrator helped to added even more dimension to the portrayal of each character.

The unfolding of the story was so much fun, I could not put it down until I discovered how it all ended.