Sharp-edged romance - Rated 
I first read this story many years ago in an ancient Nelsons Classics edition with a nice woodcut at the front. I have reread it so often that the old book is falling apart, so I looked for a new copy and found to my surprise that what I had thought to be a private enthusiasm was widely shared-a great pleasure.
As many have said the story is melodramatic. Burnett was a more than competent writer and a marvellous observer of people and society. She makes her heroine frankly and explicitly stupid,but keeps our sympathy for her. (Incidently, contrary to what some reviewers state Emily Fox-Seton is handsome going on beautiful, as the woodcut illustrates.)
What makes the booke for me is her observation of society and people--from a middle-aged marquis to a lower-middle-class servant to a whole rural village. These are not saccharine portraits, but sharp and witty comments on the society of late 19th century Britain. You could write a useful social history of that time from this book.
The description of the plight of poor but genteel women before employment as other than servants was available is extremely touching. The disintegration of an aging aristocratic lady as she finds herself subject to ordinary human feelings for the first time for many years is very funny--and very moving.
Definitely a keeper!
JW
An unlikely couple - Rated
I first read this book in my teens and owned a very old out of print copy. To see that Persephone had reprinted it was a glorious surprise and I read it once more as an adult and found that my enjoyment was still the same. A more unlikely couple of lovers you could not meet - a dull, prosaic Marquis bored by being pursued by society women, and Miss Emily Fox-Seton, who cannot be described in any way as young or beautiful or even interesting. She is however a good woman, living by her own endeavours and in similar circumstances to Miss Pettigrew Lives for a day, another Persephone gem, in that she is facing a frightening future on her own. I adore all of Frances Hodgson Burnett's children's stories with their happy endings and alls well that ends well - yes, this is sentimental, yes it is Victorian, but it is delightful and each time I read it I am sorry that I have come to the end. The Indian ayah portrayed in this book is, of course, politically incorrect in today's climate, but the attitudes prevelant at the time must be borne in mind when reading in the 21st century. Some of the situations are contrived, but it is a lovely book and calling it a 'good read' though not an intellectual recommendation, sums it up beautifully.
Splendid story - Rated
One can only say "Aaaahhh" when this book is over. It is a gloriously readable book with well-rounded characters but very little story. There is no "darker side" in the first third, up until the Marchioness in question gets her proposal. The major part of the book has a dark side which is easily dealt with (by packing them off to India) and true love wins out in the end! Of course, as one would expect from the author, the novel is sentimental and (occasionally) over-simplified, but if you let all of the trials of the 20th (and 21st) century glide off you, you have a rather pretty tale from an idealised 19th and it is rather fun. Worth reading for its 'Cinderella' start and its 'Snow White' ending.
delightful but frustrating - Rated 
in the Making of a Marchioness, we are introduced to a lovable and well - portrayed heroine of unusual status: unmarried in her thirties, dogsbody and well-born lady in reduced circumstances. The romance is what dreams are made of, and Part Two, with its demonic elements and melodramatic close-to-death moments, is fast moving and a good contrast to "and they lived happily ever after". HOWEVER, much though the realistic failings of the characters to be perfect is the making of it, we are still reading a dream as very little is explained, very little is motivated and there are huge anomolies to a modern reader between Frances HB's willingness to discuss a birth in detail but not to mention more than a kiss on the cheek for a newly married couple.
Well worth a read to extend the dream-like wonders of "the secret garden" and "a little princess", but you may come away knowing more about linen and clothes, and less about WHY they fell in love or ran away ..
Emily and the marquis - Rated 
Emily Fox-Seton is a well-bred woman who makes a living as a general dogsbody for rich, upper-class people with less breeding and good taste than herself. The novel was originally published in two parts. The first part is quite short, almost a novella, and ends with Emily marrying a rather dull marquis after a country house party in which her qualities of good humour,good taste and sympathy are shown to best advantage. It reminded me of the fairytale qualities of last year's Persephone bestseller "Miss Pettigrew lives for a day". The second part, which explores Emily's life after her marriage, has a decidedly different tone-almost melodramatic. Emily's joy in her good fortune leads her to try to help her husband's cousin and heir, Alec Osborn. Osborn is the villain of the piece, and when the Marquis goes off to India for a long period, Alec begins to plot his revenge for being excluded from the succession to the estate. The plot includes mysterious accidents narrowly averted and Alec's wife's mysterious Indian ayah gliding around the estate looking sinister. The claustrophobic atmosphere of suspicion is beautifully conveyed. I enjoyed all this while thinking it was quite a contrast to the almost Edith Wharton-like observations of society life in Part 1. The ending is very moving, and thoroughly satisfying. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoyed Hodgson Burnett's fiction for children. It has the same unsentimental flavour that made the Secret Garden a classic.
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