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    A Holiday by Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella
    A Holiday by Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella
    A Holiday by Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella
    Ebook193 pages3 hours

    A Holiday by Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella

    By Mimi Matthews

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    "Readers will easily fall for Sophie and Ned in their gaslit surroundings." -Library Journal, starred review

    A Courtship of Convenience

    Sophie Appersett is quite willing to marry outside of her class to ensure the survival of her family. But the darkly handsome Mr. Edward Sharpe is no run of the mill London merchant. He's grim and silent. A man of little emotion—or perhaps no emotion at all. After two months of courtship, she's ready to put an end to things.

    A Last Chance for Love

    But severing ties with her taciturn suitor isn't as straightforward as Sophie envisioned. Her parents are outraged. And then there's Charles Darwin, Prince Albert, and that dratted gaslight. What's a girl to do except invite Mr. Sharpe to Appersett House for Christmas and give him one more chance to win her? Only this time there'll be no false formality. This time they'll get to know each other for who they really are.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPerfectly Proper Press
    Release dateNov 13, 2018
    ISBN9780999036464
    A Holiday by Gaslight: A Victorian Christmas Novella

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    Reviews for A Holiday by Gaslight

    4/5

    83 ratings15 reviews

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    • 4/5
      It's been a while since I've read anything and this was the perfect way to ease back in. Sophie and Ned were both adorably awkward but they muddled through to genuinely find they liked each other. After a false start they both made an effort to be honest and straightforward and share with each other their pasts, desires, dreams, wants, etc and in the process found they were a great team. I really liked the emphasis Ned put on find himself an equal, a partner who would stand by him and help him to achieve their dreams. And I really liked both characters and their story. It was sweet.
    • 4/5
      This feels kind of classic, but I hadn't read quite this scenario before, so it's not just a rehashing of some worn trope. There were lots of moments that were especially sweet or made me smile.
    • 4/5
      Christmas Season, 1861, Victorian England.Sir William and Lady Appersett of Appersett House in Derbyshire have 2 daughters, Sophie and Emily. Having no sons, Sir William's mindset is that he has no heirs. Appersett House is his legacy. As the eldest, Sophie has long been aware of her family's financial situation and the expectation for her to marry for money. After all, her younger sister Emily is the beauty, and Sophie and her mother have always protected her. Sophie has been walking out with Mr. Ned Sharpe, a wealthy tradesman, for 2 months, but with nothing in common, Sophie decides to speak up. There is an explosion when her father learns of Sophie's actions, but the shock is when her mother is dismayed too. Sophie must repair the damage and invite Mr. Sharpe for Christmas. Oh my! Will Sophie choose duty or love?The author captures the essence of the period with atmospheric writing and well-developed characters. Known for her meticulous historical research, she delights readers with this sweet Christmas novella by blending seasonal joy, women's fashions, technological advances, scientific thinking, social attitudes, and the era's history.I recommend spending a few extra reading moments to enjoy the Author's Note.
    • 5/5
      I fell in love right along with Sophie. That's truly astounding for a reader. A love that grows and is so gentle that your heart soars for the main characters.
    • 4/5
      In this Victorian romance Sophie Appersett is willing to marry a wealthy tradesman if it saves her family from ruin. But could she be happy with the taciturn Mr. Edward Sharpe. As Christmas approaches and after two months of courtship what does she decide to do.
      A delightful romantic novella. The characters are a well-developed group most of which are likeable. Overall a charming read.
      A NetGalley Book
    • 4/5
      This was a bit subdued: Ned and Sophie took an extremely long time to warm up to one another and even then they were somehow lacking in joy - Emily, Sophie's sister, seemed to be having far more fun!
    • 4/5
      A Christmas novella following Ned, a wealthy businessman, and Sophie, the daughter of a gentleman in financial straits as they try to buck the etiquette of Victorians times and actually get to know each other before deciding whether to marry. This was nice but never fully sparked for me. It didn't feel rushed, exactly, as I thought the pacing was good, but, ironically, I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough to care about them as much as I would have liked to.
    • 5/5
      From the first chapter of this Christmas novella, I was rooting for Sophie and Ned :). I appreciated that they were both introverted, stoic characters, and yet those were never treated as being shortcomings. I also really liked Walter and Emily's subplot. Very cute!
    • 4/5
      Nice quick novella to read around the holidays. Sophie, the daughter of a Baron, who has no dowry is being courted by the son of a wealthy merchant. After buying an etiquette book Ned is trying too hard to do everything correctly and is appearing to stiff and proper and not being himself. There's the usual miscommunication between them and then there's the fact that Sophie's father is incredibly self-centered and has spent all of their family resources on modernizations.
    • 4/5
      This is a short, sweet Christmas novella that finds two sisters finding love at Christmas. Sophie Appersett has tried to get to know her new suitor Edward Sharpe for two months, but has given up on their relationship. After she tells him that they just don't suit, her father is extremely upset. He wanted this match for the money. He has pretty much bankrupted the family and Edward is a very wealthy tradesperson who he wants to marry his daughter. Sophie's mother is much better at getting Sophie to see the error of her ways and she agrees to try again. If Mr. Sharpe would only be candid with her about his feelings, she could make an informed decision. Edward Sharpe (Ned to his friends) was smitten by Sophie Appersett at first sight. Not just her beauty, but her winning smile and the way she presents herself has made him sure that he wants her for his wife. When she breaks off the relationship he is hurt, but does not want to let her know. When she visits him to ask if he is willing to try again to get to know each other, he agrees, but is worried that it won't work.

      I enjoyed this story. I liked the banter between the characters and the humour in the story. I was not impressed with Sophie's father. I found him selfish, self-centered and feeling sorry for himself. I also didn't like that his attitude rubbed off on his youngest daughter Emily. It was great to see Emily change her attitude by the end of the story. This story deals with class expectations and their stations, the way women were often seen as chattel and about the importance of marrying for love. Just what I needed at Christmas time. The publisher, Perfectly Proper Press, generously provided me with a copy of this book upon my request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

    • 3/5
      A historical romance Christmas novella set in London and Derbyshire in 1861. A wonderful cover. All things that I love in a good cosy read.

      Still, I struggled with this book. The main characters felt wooden to me, I could not connect to them. Since that rubbed me the wrong way, a few things, like phrases, name changes, that really stuck out to me.
    • 3/5
      Gas lamps and mistletoe!A disarming romantic novella set in Victorian times exploring the trials of a young woman, Miss Sophie Appersett, daughter of a baronet, who has the role of the family 'sacrificial lamb.' As Sophie and her mother practice economies, her father outfits their ancestral home, Appersett House, with the latest rage 'gaslights'' with untrammeled visions of plumbing throughout. There goes Sophie's dowry!Sophie is the one who has her clothes resown and turned whilst her beautiful (and selfish) younger sister Emily is given anything she wants. Emily is touted as the one who will save the family's fortune and allow her father to continue to develop Appersett House.When a successful, wealthy businessman, Edward Sharpe, sues for Sophie's hand, all her spendthrift father can see is more house improvements. As Sophie comes to see it, Ned and she don't have much going for them if their relationship is nothing more than a business transaction. So she determines to end the courting. But a lady can change her mind!The action takes place around the Christmas season completed with Yule tide logs and mistletoe.I must admit I abhorred Sophie's father and felt quite antagonistic towards her sister Emily. Indeed, I wouldn't have given Emily the chance of coming around. I would have left her to make her unthinking, selfish and vain comments to her cat as she faded away into spinsterhood.But it is Christmas!A NetGalley ARC
    • 5/5
      If you like Gaskell's North and South, you'll love this Victorian Christmas novella. Sophia Appersett has been courted for the last two months by London merchant Edward (Ned) Sharpe. She breaks it off, despite her family desperately needing his money, because she thinks the two of them have nothing in common. Ned has been the epitome of a gentleman, guided by a helpful manual, who speaks of nothing, thinking it's how he should behave, while Sophia only talks about the weather. After thinking it over, Sophia decides maybe she misjudged the man and invites him and his family to her family estate for Christmas. She's been reading Darwin and thinking about how species adapt which leads her into some revelations about her own courtship.Ned is very much the epitome of John Thornton, complete with the cold stern mother. Sophia is not quite the same as Margaret Hale, but close enough. I love both the book and movie of North and South, so I enjoyed this story very much. The ending was just perfect (something Gaskell didn't quite do as well). Even aside from my love of N&S, I would love this story. The writing flows, the characters are interesting and multi-faceted, and the Victorian setting is perfect in its details.Another great story from Ms. Matthews that's perfect for the holidays.
    • 5/5
      A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi MatthewsLoved it – from beginning to end! Having read only one other book by this author I wanted to see if she could hold my attention, make me care and believe in the characters as she did in The Matrimonial Advertisement – AND – I have to say she definitely did. This is a novella length story that packs a lot into a few pages. It deals with the concept of women and their “value” on the marriage market, the idea of status and station, progress in science and society, economizing, love vs duty, societal expectations vs emotions, and how not having an heir could impact a family. I found myself actually there with Sophie and Ned and wanting them to find a way to be together. I could see how Sophie wanted at least the potential of more than the traditional emotionless marriage and applauded her for trying to achieve it. I felt for Ned as he tried to do what was “right” only to find that it might not get him what he wanted. The people were well fleshed out and believable as was the story AND I have to say that ANY book that comes my way that is written by this author is one that I will snap up in a second.Thank you to NetGalley and Perfectly Proper Press for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars
    • 5/5
      Victorian London, romance, class-consciousness, love She is level headed and knows that her aristocratic father has spent the family into debt with all of his farsighted improvements to the country house, but she is more ill at ease with man who is courting her because he seems so unemotional than because he is a rich cit. He has been raised to be reserved but it seems that he is going to lose the woman who fascinates him. They agree to begin again at the Christmas house party and decide the outcome at the end of it. Well told and engaging! I requested and received a free ebook copy from Perfectly Proper Press via NetGalley.

    Book preview

    A Holiday by Gaslight - Mimi Matthews

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