jacey | Booklog 24/2018 - Sheila Walsh: The Sergeant Major's Daughter (Reply)

I've never read any books by the late Sheila Walsh before, but this was on offer so I gave it a try. Written in 1978, it easily stands up alongside the modern crop of Regency romances, with a strong heroine, though the evil antagonist is a bit two dimensional. Felicity Vale, the daughter of a well-respected sergeant major who has been brought up as an independent army brat, has to rely on her cousin for a roof over her head after her father is killed at Waterloo. The cousin, Amaryllis, is the widow of the younger brother of an earl (Stayne) and felicity's new home turns out to be Stayne's estate. Not wanting charity, she takes on the task of governess to Felicity's (spoilt) son and then – at the Earl's request – opens up a school in the village, thus angering an evil neighbour who wants the peasants kept in their place. Dastardly shenanigens ensue with a fire and peril, but eventually it all ends as expected.