The Pursuit of Lucy Banning

Newport debuts with a historical romance set in 1893 Chicago as the World’s Fair opens. Socialite Lucy Banning, a member of the moneyed class, is engaged to marry a young banker she has known all her life. Lucy does charity work at an orphanage and also uses that as her cover for taking classes at the newly opened University of Chicago, which neither her fiancé nor family would regard as appropriate for a young woman. As she contemplates her future, Lucy meets an attractive architect and also takes an interest in an unhappy young servant in her household. Social constraint dictates one thing, but her heart another. Newport has done good history homework about the fair and turn-of-the-century Chicago; details ring true. She is less surefooted with characterization; Lucy’s slightly psychotic fiancé, Daniel, is somewhat off-key in a romance. Some Christians may be put off by the amount of deception churchgoing Lucy engages in. However, historical romance fans will appreciate a new voice and a new period backdrop for some wholesome romance. (May)