SOMETIME THIS CENTURY by Samantha Silva, a Regency romantic comedy, poses a uniquely postmodern dilemma

SOMETIME THIS CENTURY (Harper Collins 6/9) by Samantha Silva is a delightful Regency comedy, as well as a modern puzzle. I may not be a typical reader of the Regency genre, having stumbled upon Bridgerton on Netflix and then read all volumes of Julia Quint’s witty original. With a 21st century eye, I fixed on the very circumscribed lives of women, privileged or not, when the only acceptable career was “marrying well.” Even being a novelist (Austen was known, if not as famous in her lifetime) was a family secret. Silva’s novel has a lot of fun with Regency style, tradition and moneyed romance. There’s also a sly comparison with our modern social behavior, a kind of rigid status system about dress and class, which clashes with utopian quests for meanings.

Pale and pale, willowy in long floral dresses with upswept hair, Annabel Blake, the heroine in SOMETIME THIS CENTURY, looks as though she was born in another century. Her demure appearance and retiring habits, reading and long walks in nature, make her seem like a heroine in Jane Austen novels, which she often rereads.  Annabel, who wants to be a writer, likes Austin focus on intimate relationships–families and of course, romantic love. Having just finished her first novel, she is happy but without confidence it will succeed. Her job with a literary agent, who dislikes aspiring writers, means her ambition has been secret. Though she does share her book with a handsome colleague, who’s a published writer. 

There’s her family, who worry about her “living in a fantasy world” without a social life or future. When she announced her book’s finished at breakfast, outside of her dad’s casual congrats, there is little reaction from her mother and older sister, Cassie.  They are full of Cassie’s huge success as an influencer with an agent, backers and infinite followers. Her mother wants Annabel to “face reality” and get a real estate license. Annabel takes her tea to her room.

Cassie believes Annabel’s a misfit, hiding from the world (Annabel fears she may be right) So she’s excited to be invited to a glamorous book party at her boss’ apartment. But all goes wrong, including negative remarks from her colleague about her book she finds on target.  Annabel faces up to what she lacks in her life–real experience of love.  And because the Regency world is a kind of fairytale, life mysteriously provides…

Unlike Cassie, Annabel doesn’t have the “right” clothes, places and people. She has no cohort to bolster her “business” or a dependable “partner in crime,” like Cassie’s friend, Billy. Fabulously outrageous, he can excite her audiences.  Annabel resents Cassie’s judgement of her as a “crazy” nonentity with her weird Victorian outfits. Her spirit rebels. She may be a failure in her own time, who can’t wear modern clothes or feign interest in an electronic world!  

Unexpectedly, she receives an invitation from her boss to her family’s house museum in Hampshire England. Her aunt needs help cleaning antiques and it’s a couple weeks’ vacation for Annabel. She’s delighted, though the place is a dump and the aunt’s away. Then she comes across otherworldly gorgeous gowns that fit her perfectly. There’s a writing table, also perfect, that movers will soon take it to see what it will bring.  In the desk is an invitation to a Regency Event. She’s tempted by an opportunity to wear that gown at what she assumes is some local Regency reenactment group. She expects it to be filled with Regency fans dancing cotillion dances, some period music.

But a realistic and well cared for Regency stagecoach and attired driver pull up. She’s amused but then surprised at the many stagecoaches with folks in rich outfits, who excitedly pour into a glittering Society Ball?  Odder yet, she fits in very well, as the American guest visiting a respected local family.  Annabel is as much admired for her beauty, as her knowledge of dances and music. And she catches the attention of perhaps the most desirable of the local worthies? 

What a fine group of enactors? Who would have assume such rich detail in the hall and clothes? She remarks her praise to a chance new friend, who likes Americans. She barely notices the next morning the house is not such a wreck. The ruined garden is gorgeous and there’s a cook who makes the most exquisite treats. She decides not to question anything, enjoys making expected social calls, until one day, she hears familiar voices. Cassie and Billy, who think they are in modern day Britain, come to visit, but then how does she tell them where they are? 

Not just trapped “in the sticks” but in Regency England. No cell phones, lattes, wild parties, or serious employment? Cassie learns that for upper-class women the only “job” is marriage. It comes with nonnegotiable society rules. Yet Annabel is willing to take it on and even compete in a world achingly familiar. She becomes herself and, like Austen, secretly lives as she wishes.  Romance and weddings are one thing, heart’s desire another. And, in the best tradition of time travel novels, integration of time and space are ultimately about human limitations and desire. 

S.W.