An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

An Offer From a Gentleman – or The Bridgertons do Cinderella – is the third in Julia Quinn’s perennially popular series of books following the lives and loves of the eight alphabetically named Bridgerton siblings.

Benedict is the second eldest and has spent most of his life being referred to simply as “A Bridgerton” or “number two” and he’s fed up with it. Nobody – other than his family (and sometimes not even them!) – sees him as an individual, a man worthy of attention on his own account, until he meets a lovely masked woman in a silver gown at a masquerade, who sees him – Benedict – and his life changes instantly.

Our Cinders is Miss Sophie Beckett, the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood. Sophie has never been publicly acknowledged by the earl, although he has always provided for her; and while society whispers about the truth of her parentage, Sophie is known simply to be the earl’s ward. But her life changes dramatically after he remarries, and takes a real turn for the worse after his death when her stepmother grudgingly agrees to allow Sophie to remain living in her former home in return for an increased allowance under the terms of the earl’s will. While Sophie has not been brought up in the height of luxury, she was nonetheless used to some comfort, but now, she’s no more than an unpaid skivvy, at the beck and call of her stepmother and stepsisters. But for one, magical night, she manages to escape her life of drudgery to attend a ball at Bridgerton House, where she meets her own handsome, charming prince, in the form of Mr. Benedict Bridgerton. The two are mesmerised by each other, their connection instantaneous – it really IS love at first sight – but when the clock strikes twelve, the fairytale ends and Benedict is left with nothing more than a faded glove to remind him of the enchanting woman who has stolen his heart.

Fast forward two years, and Benedict is wondering why he agreed to attend a very boozy, debauched country house-party hosted by a friend of a friend. Looking for his host so he can say his goodbyes, Benedict stumbles upon the man and a couple of his friends attempting to molest a housemaid, and immediately puts a stop to it. He insists the young woman leave with him, planning to take her to his mother’s house where he is sure the dowager viscountess will be able to find the maid a position, either in her own household, or that of a friend.

Sophie doesn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved that Benedict doesn’t recognise her from that night two years ago. On the one hand, he’s out of her league, but on the other, she’s sure he’d felt the same intense connection flare between them that she had. Reflecting sadly that it’s probably for the best – given their relative stations – that he continues in ignorance of who she is, Sophie accepts a position as ladies’ maid to the younger Bridgerton sisters, and for the first time in her life, finds acceptance, kindness and affection.

Having actively searched for his mystery woman for six months following the ball, Benedict still can’t help looking for her every time he enters a room or hoping against hope that he might one day run into her. She remains his ideal, yet there’s something about Sophie that intrigues and charms him; the more he gets to know her, the more deeply ingrained his fascination becomes… but he can’t shake the image of the woman in silver, feeling as though by falling for Sophie he is somehow betraying her. He knows Sophie is as attracted to him as he is to her; he feels she really knows him, in much the same way the lady in silver had seen him as Benedict and not just another Bridgerton. There’s no denying the strength of the attraction of the depth of the connection he feels, but the brother of a viscount can’t possibly marry a maidservant, no matter how lovely or witty she is, and Sophie is vehement in her refusal to become his mistress.

I enjoyed the story, although it’s not my favourite of the set (that’s a toss-up between The Viscount Who Loved Me and When He Was Wicked), and the familial relationships are as beautifully drawn as they are in all the books in the series. The central characters are engaging and well-rounded; Sophie knows who she is and stands by her convictions, always striving to do the right thing, even when it isn’t to her own advantage, while Benedict is struggling to find his own identity, both within his family and out in society. He’s completely adorable though; kind, compassionate, funny and a hopeless romantic, and it’s no wonder Sophie falls for him on sight. Given the story follows a well-trod path, there are no real surprises, although I do have to take issue with a decision of Sophie’s fairly late on, in which she throws away her convictions and her good sense, and which feels somewhat out of character.

One thing I really appreciated about the novel is that Ms. Quinn doesn’t ignore the difficulties faced by Sophie and Benedict on account of their difference in station and her illegitimacy. Both these things put Sophie so far below Benedict that a union between them, while not impossible, is nonetheless going to be frowned upon and will never be fully accepted by the society into which Benedict was born. Even though they do get their HEA, it’s made clear that sacrifices have to be made if they are to be together, and I applaud the author for showing that.

Once again, Rosalyn Landor doesn’t put a foot wrong in terms of the narration, which is beautifully paced, wonderfully expressive and skilfully differentiated all round. The three Bridgerton sisters – Eloise, Francesca and Hyacinth – all sound completely different from one another, and I adore her interpretation of Violet, whose quietly authoritative, matronly tone nonetheless serves to remind us that she is a relatively young matron. The Bridgerton brothers – she’s already got Colin’s jauntiness off to a T, so I can’t wait for the next book in the series! – are easy to tell apart in the few scenes in which they appear together, and all the supporting characters are captured perfectly, whether it’s in the horrid Aramintha’s nasally disdain, or Penelope Featherington’s quiet dignity. As Melinda noted in her recent review of The Duke and I, Ms. Landor never employs her own speaking voice to portray a character, so there is never any question as to whether one is listening to a piece of narrative or a piece of dialogue or character introspection. And as I’ve said before, her appreciation for and understanding of this type of material is always evident in her performances and there are very few narrators who can match her in terms of range, ability and consistency.

But fans of historical romance audiobooks don’t need me to tell them that. An Offer From a Gentleman is another treat for the ears; sublime narration and a romantic, funny and warm story. One can’t ask for more than that.

Caz


Narration: A+

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence Rating: None

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Recorded Books [jwl-utmce-widget id=32435]

4 thoughts on “An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

  1. Thanks, ladies. It’s great to finally have the rest of this series in audio. I’m assuming they are only doing books 1-5 as 6,7&8 are already available (although not in the UK, sadly).

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