"Arabella Dempsey can't imagine the effect that bumping into Reginald Fitzhugh will have on her life."
The Mischief of Mistletoe
By: Lauren Willig
Genres: Romance Historical
Posted: November 29, 2010
Arabella can't return to her family. Since the death of her mother, her father and three sisters are stuck in a small set of rooms with very little income. She can't stay with her Aunt and continually face her new uncle. She makes the decision to accept a job teaching at Miss Climpson's Academy for Young Ladies.
On her first day there, she is heading in the front door when she bumps into Reginald Fitzhugh and is drawn into a mystery. Reginald, who is called Turnip by his friends, has come to Bath at his mother's request to deliver a basket of goodies to his sister at the Academy.
His sister gives him a Christmas pudding which was sitting on the window frame of the parlor. When he bumps into Arabella, he drops the pudding. She follows him to return it and finds herself accosted by a man trying to steal the pudding. Turnip intervenes and saves Arabella. They discover a message on the ribbon around the pudding.
Turnip is friends with members of the gang of the Pink Carnation. Even upon the retirement of the Pink Carnation, the ring remains active. Turnip enjoys Miss Dempsey's company but she keeps rejecting his overtures of friendship. Her position doesn't allow her to keep company with the brother of one of her students.
However, events will conspire to draw her into the search for someone who is trying to sell secrets to the French. Her search will put her in danger and help her learn the value of love. Turnip will find a love he didn't expect as he seeks to protect Arabella from those who would endanger her.
THE MISCHIEF OF THE MISTLETOE was a highly enjoyable read with witty conversation between Arabella and Turnip. There were many likable characters and a tightly woven plot. It was only as I finished it that I realized that there was no contemporary component to this book. I missed it at the end but it didn't dim my overall enjoyment of the story. The inclusion of Jane Austen was a small but significant part of the story. Fans of the Pink Carnation series won't want to miss this.
Book Summary
Arabella Dempsey’s dear friend Jane Austen warned her against teaching. But Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies seems the perfect place for Arabella to claim her independence while keeping an eye on her younger sisters nearby. Just before Christmas, she accepts a position at the quiet girls’ school in Bath, expecting to face nothing more exciting than conducting the annual Christmas recital. She hardly imagines coming face to face with French aristocrats and international spies…
Reginald “Turnip” Fitzhugh—often mistaken for the elusive spy known as the Pink Carnation—has blundered into danger before. But when he blunders into Miss Arabella Dempsey, it never occurs to him that she might be trouble. When Turnip and Arabella stumble upon a beautifully wrapped Christmas pudding with a cryptic message written in French, “Meet me at Farley Castle”, the unlikely vehicle for intrigue launches the pair on a Yuletide adventure that ranges from the Austens’ modest drawing room to the awe-inspiring estate of the Dukes of Dovedale, where the Dowager Duchess is hosting the most anticipated event of the year: an elaborate 12-day Christmas celebration. Will they find poinsettias or peril, dancing or danger? And is it possible that the fate of the British Empire rests in Arabella and Turnip’s hands, in the form of a festive Christmas pudding?
Read an Excerpt
by: Lauren Willig
Dutton
November 1, 2010
On Sale: October 28, 2010
Featuring: Arabella Dempsey; Turnip Fitzhugh; Jane Austen
325 pages
ISBN: 0525951873
EAN: 9780525951872
Kindle: B00452V3LY
Hardcover / e-Book