A Change of Pace

Stevens’s charming debut reimagines Regency London as a place where “trans and queer identities are not shunned nor hidden away, racism does not reign, and people with disabilities and neurodivergence are valued members of society,” and deploys an affirming lexicon of her own creation to discuss these identities. Readers meet heroine Miss Georgina Pace, a wealthy and free-spirited socialite, as she tumbles out of a female lover’s window to escape the lady’s returning husband. When Georgina later learns that her friend Arthur Coombes, a miris, or person with Down syndrome, has been trapped into gambling debts at a shady club called Solitaires, she resolves to save both his bank account and his reputation. As she hatches a scheme to bring down Solitaires, she also navigates a flirtation with the enigmatic Lady Elizabeth Mortimer, a velina, or transgender woman. The romantic subplots multiply when Georgina’s rakish friend Lord Robert Coulthurst tries to ignite an amorous spark with his friend Sarah Fortescue, a widow. The gambling-den machinations work as solid scaffolding for these two romantic liaisons, and the story’s strengths lie in its deep empathy for its characters and emphasis on consent. The result is a warmhearted and witty spin on historical romance that celebrates the vitality and complexity of queer and inclusive connections. (Mar.)