Rating: 3.4* of five

I have finally figured it out: The pleasure of reading these books comes from the same orderly place that the pleasure of studying genealogical tables comes from. If you're into it, this kind of book, with its large cast of characters that you meet here, the large cast of characters you've met before in other circumstances, and the passing mentions of familiar names, will wrap you up in a tea-cosy and feed you clotted cream on scones in front of a warm fire.

Still, in this entry into the Chronicles of Barsetshire, the characters one meets again are interesting but not A list, and a lot of the new people aren't that fascinating. Laura Morland, the authoress's alter ego in these books, appears, and that's always fun. But overall, this book would most certainly not be the first one a newbie should pick up. It's a fill-in and comfort read for us old hands.

No recommendations, no avoid notices, just a small sigh of contentment at having discovered a new book in an old, well-loved series.