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A Matter of Class
A Matter of Class
A Matter of Class
Audiobook4 hours

A Matter of Class

Written by Mary Balogh

Narrated by Anne Flosnik

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

From New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh comes yet another classic historical tale that sizzles with romance and unforgettable drama.

Reginald Mason is wealthy, refined, and, by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by title, a factor that pains him and his father within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family, Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.

Though Reginald Mason, Senior, wishes to use Annabelle to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Reginald Senior serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.

So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love—a story in which very little is as it seems.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 29, 2009
ISBN9781441826411
A Matter of Class
Author

Mary Balogh

New York Times bestselling, multi-award-winning author Mary Balogh grew up in Wales, land of sea and mountains, song and legend. She brought music and a vivid imagination with her when she came to Canada to teach. There she began a second career as a writer of books that always end happily and always celebrate the power of love.

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Reviews for A Matter of Class

Rating: 3.872972969189189 out of 5 stars
4/5

370 ratings42 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I chose this book thinking it would be more like an Austen book, but it was silly and improbable. The reader was good, though.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I do wish everand would put a warning on these sexually explicit books. Not too much to ask I think.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved the way their love developed over time and then blossomed. MB is an extremely talented artist. Thank you ?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It is a perfect novella by Mary Balogh....and a great narration by Anna Flosnik.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Charming story of love triumphing over adversity. Very appealing hero and heroine.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A rare, stand alone, period romance by NYT best selling author Mary Balogh. Just as delightful as the many books in her Bedwyn and Survivor series, but without the huge time commitment. ??
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Absolutely fell in love with this book.

    Its short and sweet.

    If you're looking for a quick read, this is it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Such an excellent story, well woven together between past and present. Balogh”s work is 5 star even though I worked out what was happening fairly quickly. The narrator was a chore and I did not like her reading at all. I persevered as I loved the story so much
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Mary Balogh is a master of the genre! Every word of this novella is sweet and entertaining!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A lovely HEA with a twist. Ms Balogh's characters charm us readers with their sometimes quirky ways.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was just sweet and lovely - I enjoyed it very much
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Totally unexpected. The perfect ruse. A lovely and sweet end ?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Intriguing love story. All is not as it seems between Reggie and Anna.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Enjoyed the story and characters but did not enjoy so much the reading of it. Seemed laboured.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a delightful short read with no angst.

    Reginald is the son of a coal baron whose neighbour is Annabel, the daughter of an earl and never the twain will meet. The fathers have loathed each other for 30 years.

    Well ... that is until Annabel has a failed elopement; and to save face and ruination the earl agrees to an arranged marriage.

    I loved all the characters and I enjoyed reading about how they met and ultimately, how the two houses have to come together.

    Sometimes a little to no angst and steam can be a good thing, especially if it's a good yarn!

    The narration by Anne Flosnik is good too!

    #elopement
    #arrangedmarriage
    #classdisparity
    #marybalogh
    #childhoodsweethearts
    #anneflosnik
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I found this book well written and entertaining.I did not find the ending to be a big suprise though. Overall a nice light read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I loved it, but the last chapter felt a bit like an episode of Perry Mason.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lovely story with what I think was supposed to be a surprise twist but was pretty easy to figure out from the beginning; still a great romance and happy ever after.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Fast read that was fun and light after the last book I trudged through.

    There is a twist that is easy to figure out, but the banter between the two main characters is fun and makes it worthwhile. I could have done without the porn. A skilled author can insinuate what transpired without the smutty details.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Mostly I liked it. It was sort of too fast of a read not to. Literally, I spent 2 hours and 10 minutes from start to finish on this puppy last night. And it kept me wanting to turn the pages. It’s not complex or sophisticated, but it was charming. Although I’m a little surprised to discover that Mary Balogh is a historical romance writer–I’m uncertain if she’s in the bodice ripper category–although there were a few things just in this book that made me think her other books might not be so tame. ;)

    Set in regency England, A Matter of Class follows a gentleman’s daughter with a failed elopment, and resulting in scandal upon her already cash-stretched daddy, the Earl. So it’s no surprise the balding rich marquess with halitosis spurns the beauty as damaged goods. The neighboring estate has a layabout son who is trying mightily to spend the family fortune on gambling and other vices. What are two sets of disappointed parents to do? Why get them married off to each other, of course.

    The story has some lovely flashbacks, and actually has enough oomph to it to give you a decent picture of the characters themselves. Generally, you like everyone you are supposed to like, sympathize with everyone whose gone and done silly things, and dislike the few you are supposed to dislike. I can’t tell you more, or I’d ruin a couple of the delightful twists.

    This would be great plane-ride reading or beachfront fare for the summer. Enjoy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My first Balogh, and it won't be my last. A sweet story with a twist, and good character development for a novella.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an easy and fast-paced reading. The story is set in the wonderful world of Regency England. It's a love story which explains that there are no barrier when true love has to succeed. What I liked most was the fact that the woman was so inventive.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Description from dust flap
    From New York Times bestselling author Mary Balogh comes a classical historical tale that sizzles with romance and unforgettable drama. Reginald Mason is wealthy, reined, and by all accounts, a gentleman. However, he is not a gentleman by birth, a factor that pains him and his father, Bernard Mason, within the Regency society that upholds station over all else. That is, until an opportunity for social advancement arises, namely, Lady Annabelle Ashton. Daughter of the Earl of Havercroft, a neighbor and enemy of the Mason family. Annabelle finds herself disgraced by a scandal, one that has left her branded as damaged goods. Besmirched by shame, the earl is only too happy to marry Annabelle off to anyone willing to have her.

    Though Bernard wishes to use Annabell to propel his family up the social ladder, his son does not wish to marry her, preferring instead to live the wild, single life he is accustomed to. With this, Bernard serves his son an ultimatum: marry Annabelle, or make do without family funds. Having no choice, Reginald consents, and enters into a hostile engagement in which the prospective bride and groom are openly antagonistic, each one resenting the other for their current state of affairs while their respective fathers revel in their suffering.

    So begins an intoxicating tale rife with dark secrets, deception, and the trials of love - a story in which very little is as it seems.


    My Comments
    This book was really cute! It was very short, so we didn't get the character development we usually do in Mary Balogh's books, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed it - especially the twist we discover at the end. I'm not sure I've ever read a romance novel with a twist at the end before. Very fun read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What a clever story! I loved the originality of the plot and the cleverness of the main characters. I love how this story jumps between the present time and the past. I can't say too much without giving something away, but this book was an absolute delight and one that as soon as I finished it, I wanted to jump back to the beginning and begin again! This is a shorter book, but has excellently developed characters and a story line that will leave the reader reflecting back on it for a long time. This was an absolutely delightful read and I highly highly recommend this book!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is an enchanting little novella about a young couple forced into marriage by their parents. Or are they? It rather reminds me of an O. Henry story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Nice sweet story but the narrator spoiled it for me. She sounded constipated. I don't think I will listen to other books she narrates, I found it too painful.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Light. The plot twist was entertaining and fairly well executed, but was revealed too late, and I really felt the story needed to be padded out. There just wasn't much *plot*.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My go-to movie when I’m in need of a little romance in my life is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, the one with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen (although I’m also partial to the A&E mini-series with Colin Firth). I love the music; the repeating ‘pianoforte’ tune played by different persons with varying levels of skill. I love the scenery; vast pre-Victorian brick homes surrounded by thriving gardens and farmland. And I love the characters; the perfect Knightley (except, bless her, for the endearing crookedness of her teeth) and the sexy Madfadyen, whose expressive eyes soon won me over, even though I’d rebelled at thinking of him as Darcy after so many viewings of Firth in the part.Other than my sporadic intimacy with Jane Austen’s work (I’ve read the novel and seen and liked a few Emma’s, etc.), I’m not terribly knowledgeable about Historical Romance as a genre.I don’t know why I picked up ‘A Matter of Class.’ Maybe I felt a sudden need for my go-to movie while browsing at the bookstore and gravitated to the romance section. I had never read author Mary Balogh before—never even heard of her—but the cover of the book has a single lady standing in one of those feminine Regency high-waisted dresses, wearing white gloves and holding a lace umbrella, and I immediately thought of Pride and Prejudice. Plus, the slim volume looked like a quick read (quick enough to maybe mitigate the guilt of avoiding the pile of books I’m supposed to be reading), so I brought it home.The story starts out with our hero Reginald putting on a petulant show for his father in a discussion that sets the plot firmly in stone. Reginald is to marry the daughter of his father’s sworn enemy, a young woman who has disgraced herself by attempting to run off with the groomsman. This marriage is being forced upon the foppish Reginald to curb his spending, gambling, womanizing ways.Lady Annabelle, the disgraced, newly affianced woman in question, is unhappy but resigned to the match. Her cold father, the Earl of Havercroft, can think of no other way to redeem her reputation but to marry her off, even to the son of new, and therefore distastefully crass, money.Interspersed between Reginald and Annabelle’s points of view of the impending wedding are flashbacks to their childhood friendship. They meet at different stages of childhood along the river that acts as a boundary between the two families’ property. The reader sees that a romantic attachment has formed, so the “twist” at the end isn’t so much a surprise as a happy, “I knew it!”The story is lighter than P&P, and not in a comedic sort of way. I’m used to Austen’s portrayal of characters whose depth is emphasized through clever insights into the quirks of their personalities. The people who populate Balogh’s Class are exactly what I’d expect to find in a book set in a different era, and a different class, than my own—people whose motivations escape me. Austen wrote her novel prior to 1813 and barring a few phrases that could only be found in the Urban Dictionary of the time, I felt like every word resonated. I wasn’t surprised to find, according to Balogh’s back cover flap, that she’s written, “more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas” since 1985. Seventy! Balogh must be cranking these babies out in her sleep (which is what it takes to make a decent living as a mid-list author these days, I hear).I must say, she’s clearly in her groove when writing in this genre. With all her experience, the clothing, architecture, politics, and word usage that set the story in its time-frame must be ingrained in her brain. Some of my favorites are words and phrases that wouldn’t be caught dead in a modern book (but showed up here again and again and again) (and again, I kid you not): various forms of “plucky,” “haughty,” “chit,” “dash it” or “dash it all,” and my personal favorite “vulgar.” The characters purse their lips more than the fish on Finding Nemo. Reggie shudders elegantly, Annabelle gazes disdainfully, and everyone’s eyebrows are in a constant state of raisedness. Oh, and I would be remiss in describing this novel’s true charm if I left out the following, a new take on an old cliché that had me laughing out loud:“Indignation did marvels for the bosom of a lady wearing stays and a flimsy gown. Hers heaved and looked for a moment as if it might pop free of her bodice. Alas, it did not happen. But it drew Reggie’s eyes, and it heated his blood.”Please don’t get me wrong. I actually enjoyed this story. It was exactly the quick read I was looking for, and I suspect the author doesn’t take herself too seriously when producing (or mass-producing?) these books, assuming her other works of fiction are in a similar vein. If you read Regency Romance, you might like the light-hearted ‘A Matter of Class.” I don’t, and I did.(Review originally appeared on Booksquawk)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A charming, quick romance that spans decades and holds more than a few secrets. Read it, if you're a fan of Balogh's style - or just well-written and endearing historical romance novels. You won't regret it!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A very classic romance. A great rainy day love story to read by the fire.