54. The Good Fortune of Miss Robbins. Melanie Dickerson. 320 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, clean romance, historical romance, Jane Eyre wannabe]
First sentence: "Charlotte! A letter came for you!" Hattie Jacobs emerged from the back entrance of Mrs. Southey's School for Young Ladies, waving something over her head.
Premise/plot: Charlotte Robbins, our protagonist, is incredibly excited to start a new chapter of her life as a governess to an earl's niece and nephew. Lord Brookhaven is extremely friendly and sociable from their first meeting. Charlotte was hoping to find love in this new chapter as well though she knows that it couldn't possibly be with the earl himself. But surely there's someone about with whom she could find a happily ever after. BUT when Charlotte is included in Lord Brookhaven's social calendar--a house party--she begins to realize she is in fact falling for the earl. AT the same time, he begins to realize he is falling in love with her. But, dear readers, we are barely a fifth of the way through the novel. Readers still have a couple hundred pages to go before the incredibly obvious and tedious misunderstandings can be cleared up in three or four minutes of conversation.
My thoughts: The book wants to be Jane Eyre without being Jane Eyre. They've upgraded Mr. Rochester to an EARL. They've removed the hidden wife in the attic. Simply not acceptable to have a MARRIED MAN falling in love with another woman, proposing, or trying to marry again unlawfully. They have tried to make the story a little more Charles Dickens...introducing TWO ORPHAN CHILDREN that must be saved and rescued. Charlotte does "inherit" but not from an uncle she's never met--but from an imaginary uncle created by the earl as a guise. This money from an "uncle" (wink, wink) sets her up in London, brings two street orphans into her life, and makes her the catch of the season. As marriage proposals abound, Charlotte is unhappy because Lord Brookhaven is keeping his distance. The truth comes out...and she's livid. And then the nonsense continues because of course it does. Eventually these two have an honest conversation and when he proposes she accepts.
It is published by a CHRISTIAN publisher. There is little to no Christian content. There is 800% more Christian content in the original novel Jane Eyre than in this book. The "improvements" to the story are not really improvements in my opinion.
© 2026 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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