Short stories by and author I like. I had read 3 of the four stories before. The Light Within has always been one of my favorites, A Hasty Marriage is OK, and Something New is also a favorite. The Background Man I hadn't read before and it just didn't seem very historically authentic. Surprising from an author whose writing usually is. Otherwise not a bad story. ( )

Why haven't I read Carla Kelly before? Well, it's my loss.

This ebook is a new reissue of four utterly charming short stories about the men who fought for England in the early 19th century and the women who came to love them. There are not a lot of lords and ladies but rather real people living real lives. As might be expected from a short story, each couple falls in love rather rapidly, but in a quite believable manner.

* The Light Within - A Quaker widow from America is helped by the younger brother of a spendthrift marquess who has returned from Waterloo believing he has no future.

* A Hasty Marriage - While visiting a friend in Portsmouth, an upper class spinster finds herself attracted to an American sea captain from Boston, but war is breaking out and he must flee before his ship is confiscated.

* Something New - A Scots artillery major returns to England with a four-year-old French orphan, and "decent" people seem to think he should turn her over to an orphanage. The widow of a Navy captain, however, sees things differently

* The Background Man - Although he was only a clerk for the East India Company, a mild-mannered young man fought beside Wellington in India. Now he runs a high-class hotel and is content with the hum-drum nature of his life until an unusual guest arrives and shakes him up.

I would give this more than five stars if possible, so I'll just say READ THIS BOOK. It's only $2.51 on Kindle. ( )