A Lady Would Know Better

A woman with amnesia falls for the earl who saves her in this glittering, Austenesque historical from Theriault (Rebel Rose). In 1877 Surrey, England, Jasper Maycott, the Earl of Belhaven, is still grieving the death of his parents, eldest brother, and fiancée from scarlet fever when he finds an unconscious woman on the road and brings her to his home at Mulgrave Hall. She wakes with no memory of who she is or how she came to be injured, so Jasper and his sisters invite her to stay with them while she recovers, agreeing that at least temporarily her name will be Jane, after contemporary author Jane Austen. They continue to introduce her as such throughout the days-long house party that Jasper’s aunt arranges to help bring the family out of mourning, though Jasper is suspicious of Jane’s background and wonders if she is truly a lady. Still, he can’t help being captivated by her wit and beauty, even though he vowed never to love again following his fiancée’s death. Theriault plumbs her characters’ emotional depths without ever skimping on lighthearted banter. Meanwhile, the mystery of Jane’s past keeps the pages flying. Lovers of historical romance won’t want to put this one down. (Feb.)