I have just finished this book, An Illustrious Lord by Helen Dickson, and although it was an easy read and there was nothing particularly wrong with it, I felt all the way through that it was just a pale Pride And Prejudice imitation. The same themes run consistantly through the storyline. A headstrong and witty second sister, daughter of a gentlemen but lacking in the family connections to be considered a good match for an aristocratic family of immense wealth. An interference in an attachment between close relations. A sister fallen from grace who seems to drive the hero and heroine apart but indeed brings them closer together, and many other instances of similar plot lines that just left me slightly dissapointed in the whole tale.
I know there are only so many stories to be told, and the rest are just variations on a theme, but it is my opinion that there was not enough variation on this particular theme and it really was as if I was reading just a second hand copy of my beloved Pride And Prejudice, and it did not stand up to the mark against the original in any way. But if you are a fan of the light historical novel and Austen is too classical for your tastes you may enjoy An Illustrious Lord by Helen Dickson.
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