I’m pleased to be the next stop on the blog tour for A School for Brides by Patrice Kindl. This is such a fun book and I highly recommend it to fans of Jane Austen or historical fiction with a humorous bent in general.
Read on for more about the book and a delightful top ten list from the author!
The eagerly awaited companion to the award-winnng Keeping the Castle.
The Winthrop Hopkins Female Academy of Lesser Hoo, Yorkshire, has one goal: to train its students in the feminine arts with an eye toward getting them married off. This year, there are five girls of marriageable age. There’s only one problem: the school is in the middle of nowhere, and there are no men.
Set in the same English town as Keeping the Castle, and featuring a few of the same characters, here’s the kind of witty tribute to the classic Regency novel that could only come from the pen of Patrice Kindl!
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TOP TEN TIPS FOR FINDING A HUSBAND IN 1811 ENGLAND
- Take a bath now and then, for goodness sakes.
“I strongly recommend to every lady to make a bath as indispensable an article in her house as a looking glass.” (THE MIRROR OF GRACES, by a Lady of Distinction, 1811)
- Don’t make a pig of yourself. And go to bed at a decent hour.
“A young beauty, were she fair as Hebe, and elegant as the Goddess of Love herself, would soon lose these charms by a course of inordinate eating, drinking and late hours.” (MIRROR OF GRACES)
- Don’t be so pushy. Wait until you’re sure he’s interested before you let on that you are.
“In all cases, a modest reserve is essential to the perfection of feminine attractions.” (MIRROR OF THE GRACES)
“It must be very improper that a young lady should dream of a gentleman before the gentleman is first known to have dreamt of her.” (Jane Austen)
“…Be virtuous, industrious and, above all, silent when your opinion is uncalled for.” (Patrice Kindl, A SCHOOL FOR BRIDES)
- On the other hand, don’t overdo the pretense of indifference to a young gentleman.
“In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels.” (Jane Austen)
- Be a good dancer.
“To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love.” (Jane Austen)
“A young lady in love needs a ball, just as a flower needs the sun and the rain.” (A SCHOOL FOR BRIDES)
“Dancing is the accomplishment most calculated to display a fine form, elegant taste and graceful carriage to advantage.” (MIRROR OF THE GRACES)
- Find a man with money and go for him.
“A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.” (Jane Austen)
“If I chose a man of great age and infirmity, I might become a wealthy widow quite soon after the wedding.” (Patrice Kindl, KEEPING THE CASTLE)
- Stop fussing about your clothes! Men don’t care. And other women would actually prefer you badly dressed.
“It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of a man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire.” (Jane Austen)
“Woman is fine for her own satisfaction alone. No man will admire her the more, no woman will like her the better for it. Neatness and fashion are enough for the former, and a something of shabbiness or impropriety will be most endearing to the latter.” (Jane Austen)
- This one is rather sweet, actually. Being a loving person makes you loveable.
“There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart.” (Jane Austen)
- On the other hand, don’t forget that if you do make a mistake, you are doomed.
“Beware how you give your heart.” (Jane Austen)
“I doubt you would be happy, yoked for life to a thief and a cheat.” (SCHOOL FOR BRIDES)
And the number one Top Ten Tip for finding a husband in 1811 England?
- Don’t be an idiot! Just pretend you’re an idiot.
“Where people wish to attach, they should always be ignorant. To come with a well-informed mind is to come with an inability of administering to the vanity of others, which a sensible person would always wish to avoid. A woman especially, if she has the misfortune of knowing anything, should conceal it as well as she can.” (Jane Austen)
“Imbecility in females is a great enhancement of their personal charms.” (Jane Austen)
“Of all the objects that are disagreeable to the other sex, a pedantic female, I believe, is the most confessedly so.” (Thomas Broadhurst, educator, quoted in A SCHOOL FOR BRIDES)
How fun was that?!? It gives you a glimpse of the wit you will find in A School for Brides. Thanks to Patrice Kindl for the top ten list!
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