I am normally quite careful when book shopping to check the 'new release' shelves for reissues. Publishers have a sneaky habit of reissuing older books in new packaging--and they often catch the unwary.
Today, that would be me.
Talk of the Ton is a reissue of a 2005 anthology. To be fair, I KNEW I had read an anthology by that name before with a very different cover. But I was in a hurry and merely glanced at the copyright page, missed the fact that there were 2 copyright dates. I only saw 2009.
The good news is that this is an excellent anthology by Regency romance authors who were just coming into their own back in 2005. And these novellas and short stories are a great deal lighter than some of the more involved historical romances. Eloisa James normally writes historicals that are extremely moving--but are often ones that must be read with tissues close at hand . Her contribution is one of the lightest pieces of writing by her that I've ever read--and just as wonderful as the rest of her stories. In fact, it sets the tone for the general lightheartedness of this collection.
For those who haven't read it and may still be unfamiliar with a few of the authors, it is an excellent choice. For those who have read it, but not recently, it is worth a revist. Even if that revist is unintentional.
