Minerva

The Six Sisters, Book 1

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Charlotte Anne Dore

Minerva marks the delightful debut of The Six Sisters, a family saga in six volumes that will recount the romantic adventures of the six marriageable daughters of a country vicar, the Reverend Charles Armitage, in Regency England. The eldest, Minerva, is enchantingly beautiful - but a prude. She lives in the country looking after her siblings while her mother reclines on a chaise longue happily inventing new malaises. Her father, a vicar of decidedly secular inclinations, indulges a hearty passion for hunting instead of worrying about the girls' dowries. But when he wants to send his boys to Eton, the money must be found - and how better than by marrying Minerva off to a man of fortune?

Dispatched to Town, Minerva experiences her first season under the wing of an elderly relative. But age, it seems, is no guarantee of respectability, and Lady Godolphin's plan for a good time scandalize her young charge. Finally Minerva's moralizing ways make her the subject of a shocking wager among the rakes and dandies of Regency London.

Meanwhile, the handsome Lord Sylvester Comfrey is observing her progress in the marriage market. For such a virtuous girl, Minerva unaccountably finds herself in some extremely compromising situations with this gentleman, who alas professes not to be the marrying kind.

©1994 Marion Chesney (P)2012 AudioGO

For those who haven't read Georgette Heyer

This is a typical regency romance. A good way to wile away a rainy day, or a workout on the treadmill.

Entertaining light romance written in 1980s about the 19th century

Voicing various characters in challenging, so I disagree that the narrator was not up to the job..
While there were a few seconds where a listener might not be clear who was speaking, subsequent text by the AUTHOR’s WRITTEN word clarifies. This would be the same if I were reading a page in a book.


The author tries to show some awareness racism, imperialism, and sexism in a story she wrote mainly to be escapist entertainment. I winced at the scenes of affection as they reflected the perspective of a different time. I liked it overall because i just wanted something light to listen to ad I washed the car.

Okay story, Bad reader.

I don't expect much from Beaton's regency romances, at their best, they are lighthearted distractions from real life, but this is NOT one of her best. The main characters are not particularly likable or compelling and you get almost no insight into the love interest's thoughts making his actions unfathomable, especially if you are not acquainted with the tropes of this genre.

The reader is bad. It's as if she is just sitting down to read the book out loud for the first time with no prep work. Not only does she mispronounce words, but she is inconsistent in those mispronunciations. Her stilted delivery adds to nothing to the froth of a story, and pretty much eliminates the humor of elements clearly added to lighten the mood.

I'd skip this one unless you are determined to hear everything by this author. She's written better books which are read by better performers.

Predictable cheesy romance

This would be right at home as a Harlequin romance. Totally predictable plot and 2 dimensional characters. I won't be listening to the other 5 in this series. Not my cup of tea at all.

Traditional Regency Romance

The heroine had a lot of growing up to do, and ultimately did so. The narrator did well with the voices of characters, but paused in odd places at times, making it harder to follow the meaning.