If holidaying in the Scilly Isles southwest of Cornwall is the best fun we could expect to have over summer, reading this exciting romance adventure would be the next best way to enjoy the islands. In THE NATURE OF A LADY, Lady Elizabeth Sinclair and her lady’s maid Mabena Moon, leave the stuffy Society events for summer and head off for nature study in the peace of the Scillies. Elizabeth wants to work on her botany without tiresome brothers trying to marry her off in her supposed best interests.

Oliver Tremayne, the well-bred new reverend of the scattered sub-tropical islands, is slightly acquainted with Elizabeth, or Libby, as her friends know her. Oliver is more interested initially in finding another young Elizabeth from the islands, who was renting the same cottage but has now vanished after contacting strangers. Libby is then mistaken by the outsiders for the original tenant of the holiday cottage, and she starts receiving odd packages. Like a ship’s cannonball, and a mysterious letter. She turns to Oliver for help.

A sub-plot shows us that Mabena, originally from the Scillies, still has an admirer here, though not one she wishes to acknowledge. Through the eyes of the self-possessed maid and her mistress, we meet the good salty folks and climb the rocks, view the flowers and sail in the small boats. As the tale is set in 1906, such miracles as the telegram have arrived, but not yet the electricity being fitted on the mainland. Old piracy is long remembered, and anything sinister turns into a ghost story among superstitious people. At the end the author Roseanna M. White explains her researches in a note, making writing this book sound like the third best way to enjoy the Scillies. Honestly, I want to go.   

Today the Scilly Isles produce flowers, such as daffodils picked before the blooms open and shipped to mainland England, so people can enjoy the flowers weeks before blossoms open in their locality. The author assures us that THE NATURE OF A LADY is the first book in a series called ‘Secrets of the Isles’ so we can look forward to more adventures for some time to come. She has previously written several historical romance novels, and brings great expertise to weaving a tight story with many strands.

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