British aristocrat Lord Harrowby is set to marry American heiress Cynthia Meyrick - he may be deeply in love but it's also a financially convenient match so, just in case, he decides to approach the new York branch of Lloyds and take out insurance against the possibilty of his fiancée calling it all off. Although they're used to odd insurance requests, this seems the strangest of all but they agree to take it on with the proviso that one of their staff, Dick Minot, joins the happy couple in Florida for the final week of wedding preparations to ensure nothing comes between them. Unfortunately, on the train journey south Dick meets a fascinating young woman and promptly falls in love - then discovers she's the bride-to-be! Torn between his job and his feelings, what IS Dick to do?
Love Insurance is a delightful romcom-style novel that it's hard to believe was first published in 1914.
Although it's the last thing he wants to happen, poor Dick finds himself having to fend off all sorts of last-minute obstacles in the way of the wedding and help the couple on their way to living happily ever after - and there are all manner of things trying to get in the way of the wedding - someone claiming to be Harrowby's long lost elder brother, therefore the real Lord Harrowby; the mysterious disappearance of a famous diamond necklace; an actress with incriminating letters..... It's no wonder Cynthia's father's demands to call off the wedding are growing more heated!
It does have a few things that date it - primarily the fact that Florida is seen as a quaint winter holiday destination for the rich seeking to escape the northern cold, rather than a tourist hot-spot flooded with visitors from all over the world - but it's a light, enjoyable read with lots to appeal to today's reader.
Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Hesperus Press
Genre - adult fiction, humour, romcom
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