The Native Air

A dollop of Dickensian melodrama and a generous measure of Jane Austen-ish matchmaking are the tasty ingredients of this first-rate historical romance, sequel to The Peacock's Feather . In 1803, as England braces for a Napoleonic invasion, crusty, lovable Dr. Alexander French, preparing to leave for Bombay, returns first to Norfolk to test whether he, like Pope's happy man, would be ``content to breathe his native air.'' Still secretly longing for the lovely young Norfolk widow Lady Ann Gerard, he finds himself mesmerized sexually by mysterious newcomer Julia Hawksworth and strongly drawn to Julia's appealing little daughter and eccentric old Irish horse-trainer aunt. Country life and society, suspected French spies, runaway horses, a glorious lottery prize and a kidnapping followed by a chase over land and sea keep the reader happily turning pages. (June)