Lady Rosamund Phipps, daughter of an earl, has a secret. Well, more than one. Such as the fact that she’s so uninterested in sex that she married a man who promised to leave her alone and stick to his mistress. And a secret only her family knows—the mortifying compulsion to check things over and over. Society condemns people like her to asylums. But when she discovers the dead body of a footman … footman on the stairs, everything she’s tried to hide for years may be spilled out in broad daylight.
First the anonymous caricaturist, Corvus, implicates Lady Rosamund in a series of scandalous prints. Worse, though, are the poison pen letters that indicate someone knows the shameful secret of her compulsions. She cannot do detective work on her own without seeming odder than she already is, but she has no choice if she is to unmask both Corvus and the poison pen.
more
LADY ROSAMUND AND THE POISON PEN by Barbara Monajem is A Rosie and McBrae Regency Mystery. It’s the delightful first person account of Lady Rosamund Phipps, daughter of an Earl, in a marriage of convenience to a man that emotionally and physically loves her best friend – and with her blessing, and who is constantly fighting to not end up like Great Aunt Edna did.
At a very tender age, Rosamund found out about her mentally disturbed relative locked away against her will – no more than a prisoner – for fear of how society would react to what was perceived as strange behavior. With Rosamund’s tendency for OCD behavior, which was looked upon as a form of total madness, she lived her life with the thoughts, as well as the threats from her mother and brother, that she too was on the edge of mental illness and in need of being “put away” at some asylum or at their country estate at the least in order to protect the family name and status.
After the death of a footman on their staircase, a person who calls them self Corvus started to do caricatures portraying Rosamund and those around her in very unflattering scenes – although somewhat entertaining to Rosamund. Rosamund is determined to find out who this Corvus is and reveal their identity to the public. Not an easy task for a proper lady of the time with all the rules of propriety of the day for folks of her status.
About the same time, Rosamund started receiving poison pen letters threatening to reveal her dirty little secret. Are the caricatures and letters from the same person? How can she stop them without tipping her hand to others about her obsessions and odd behaviors? Made even harder with the sudden appearance of her overbearing mother. How can she get her to leave?
To make matters worse, right when they both need the support of the other, Rosamund and Cynthia, her best friend and her husband’s mistress, have to pretend to be at odd to squelch rumors of improprieties between the friend or the three of them including Albert. Who else can she trust or confide in? Why does the less than noble Scott both irritate her and entice her, though she has no fancy for those things? Dare she speak to him honestly or accept his offer of help?
LADY ROSAMUND AND THE POISON PEN was a delightful read for me. I enjoyed feeling as if I were a speck on the wall watching it all unfold and at the same time in Rosamund’s confidences that no one else but me could hear. I loved the way Barbara Monajem portrays the delightful character of Gilroy McBrae and I’m hoping there will be many more match ups between Roseamund and Gilroy. LADY ROSAMUND AND THE POISON PEN is a great mystery that will have you guessing only to get it wrong until the very end as you fall in love with the characters within the pages of this book as well as give you a laugh or two along the way. I, for one, will be looking for more books by this author as well as hopefully another book with Rosamund and McBrae.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Lady Rosamund Phipps has herself wrapped up in a sticky wicket. Her footman either fell or was pushed to his death in her home, an anonymous caricaturist is posting outrageous prints featuring her, her family and friends, and someone is sending her threatening letter in hopes to send her over the edge.
Lady Rosamund is a willful, independent woman who knows what she wants and will go to great lengths to get it. She also has a severe case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder although not yet in the mainstream at the time of this story. The malady is serious because she could be locked away easily. She is in a marriage of convenience which is perfectly fine with her. She and her husband support each other and attend important events as he desires a political career. Her husband also has a mistress, Rosie’s best friend but she is fine with that too. Her mother does come into their home to address the perception of the drawings on her family and basically curtails most of Rosie’s visits, teas, and parties, even making her stay home and eat invalid rations. Her brother also makes an appearance trying to get to go to the country until things settle down We also met several members of the class and the staff. All the characters are cleverly written.
This is a unique story as Rosie tries to chase down clues to the poison pen letter and the drawings. She doesn’t focus too much on the footman at first. She gets help from some unusual people that kept the story moving along and fresh. I did hone in the caricaturist very early in the story. A historical cozy Regency mystery with a twist. There are some adult themes. The author used her words beautifully in setting each scene taking readers right there with her. I was surprised by the ending and a little heartbroken.
Lady Rosamund and the Poison Pen is really the story of a woman’s journey with 3 mysteries blended together. While not my typical read I did enjoy this one very much and look forward to reading more by this author.
LADY ROSAMUND AND THE POISON PEN by Barbara Monajem
The First Rosie and McBrae Mystery
Lady Rosamund Phipps is a bit different. Her best friend happens to be her husband’s mistress. The situation suits Rosie perfectly as she has no interest in carnal desires and is happy that she gets along well with her husband and is away from her domineering mother and older brother. Rosie also has a secret. She feels the need to check things over and over again. Her mother and brother believe she teeters towards madness and at any moment could bring shame to the family name. After discovering the dead body of a footman, Rosie becomes a favorite subject of the anonymous caricaturist, Corvus. While she thinks it funny, her politician husband does not. Soon she starts receiving anonymous letters threatening to reveal her secret. But, who could possibly know? Rosie decides to discover the true identity of Corvus, that revelation surely taking attention away from her. But can she trust her husband to stand up against her mother and allow her to remain in London? Is that Scotsman a friend or foe? Will she find the answers she seeks, or will the threatening poison pen letters send her over the edge?
LADY ROSAMUND AND THE POISON PEN is an interesting book with an interesting protagonist set at an interesting time. How Rosie deals with her obsessive behavior is realistic and sad. At that time it really was a danger and such an “affliction” could have easily ended her life. Unfortunately, “appearing mad” and being labeled mentally ill is almost as big a stigma as it was then. I truly appreciate how the ingrained societal prejudices are shown. Rosie is a good person. As a protagonist, we like and feel for her. However, some of her thoughts make modern readers cringe…things that were truly believed and not at all abnormal at the time. It’s important that she does voice these beliefs, giving veritas and reminding readers of the reality of Recency life, but I’m happy we have McBrae to bring some modern day sensibilities.
The mystery itself is somewhat odd in that the death that starts the story isn’t the main thrust, indeed I find that aspect of the story somewhat incomplete. The main mystery is the intertwined search for the identity of Corvus and the poison pen writer. While I was able to determine some of the mysterious activity, another part left me completely stunned. It’s compelling how Rosie’s mental status deteriorates as the threats continue and how her normal reaction could be seen as unstable…especially at that time.
LADY ROSAMUND AND THE POISON PEN is a unique historical mystery which looks at entitlement, prejudice, and the role of women in Regency England. I loved this first book and look forward to watching the characters develop and grow as the series continues.
FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me an e-copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.
I really enjoyed this new Regency mystery from Barbara Monajem. I love her voice and the humor and wit in this story.
The OCD heroine has carefully crafted her world to hide her “condition”–worried that she might someday find herself locked away in the attic as the family’s secret lunatic. She’s even carefully chosen the perfect husband–someone who won’t bother her in any way.
Until she stumbles over a dead footman at the bottom of her stairs, and the starts receiving threatening letters. A fun story, and well-crafted.
Not one but two mysteries or perhaps there was more?
This one was different OCD would have been looked at as something was a bit off with the person perhaps even something that would be used to send them to Asylum. This, not Rosamund’s only problem someone is sending her horrible letters and someone is placing her in scandalous pictures by an anonymous caricaturist. The one thing that went through my mind is how cruel. This one starts off with a very interesting twist and they just keep coming. Now I like Albert but he was a bit of a devil and just how bad will not show up till the end. This book was very unusual and I rather liked it. It is not cookie-cutter regency it will not be for everyone if you are only looking for a mystery romance, but the author tied everything up well. There is just one question will Rosamund and Corvus see each other again? I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.