I am one of Ms Chatham’s many fans. One of the Christmas presents I treated myself to her regency romance, Charlotte Grey. The story takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. It is an absorbing blend of romance, mystery, smugglers, excise men spies, an admirable hero, and two delightful children. Isaac and his wife, Sara had adopted Charlotte, a lost, unhappy five-year old. They had provided for her, educated her and been her parents for nineteen years.” When the novel begins, Charlotte had lived a quiet, uneventful life, helping her late mother, Sara, with her millinery business and learning the art of map-making from Isaac,” until the day she returned to her ransacked home. A stranger, Benjamin Abernathy, waited there to take her to a safe place. She doesn’t know whether Isaac has been murdered or kidnapped. It is obvious that whoever were responsible for the chaos didn’t find what they wanted. To avoid becoming the next target, Charlotte must trust Benjamin, who assures her he...