As the novel opens, Lady Venetia Fleetwood is engaged to be married; when she finds out that her future husband doesn’t support her ambitions to become a doctor, she breaks off the engagement. Her distant cousin George Morland and his social-climbing wife Alfreda had been invited to the wedding, but are bitterly disappointed when it is called off. In order to improve their social standing, George and Alfreda begin an ambitious project to “improve” and modernize Morland Place.

Although I enjoy this series in general, it’s been a while since I read the previous book in the series, so I had to go back to my notes and review them before I began reading The Cause. Still, I thought that this book was more of a filler for the series—the connection between the two branches of the family is too great. According to the family tree at the front of the book, though, Venetia and George are second cousins once removed. It would be nice if the series could focus just on one branch of the family at a time.

I enjoyed watching Venetia’s story play out further, and I also enjoyed watching how the medical profession became more open to women. But I lost interest in George and Alfreda; I think that both are stock characters seen frequently in the story of the Morland family. I realized as I read this installment in the series how accustomed to Morland Place I’ve become; as I read about the “improvements” to the family seat I kept thinking “no!” ( )

The last few novels in the series have been wonderful, but this novel was somewhat weaker than the others. In general, I prefer the books that focus on one or two stories or that maintain a tight relationship between the various threads. This book is more scattered, and therefore less satisfying. I was also disappointed that she wrote herself out of a couple of pickles by inserting convenient deaths at just the right time. She’s done this before in other books, but it didn’t bother me much because she didn’t overuse the device. In this case, however, she did it twice in one book, and the timing in both cases seemed too perfect.

Although the plot here was not, in my opinion, as well-constructed as I would have hoped, there were plenty of elements that I enjoyed. Venetia’s medical career is always of interest, as was the story surrounding Morland Place.

So, on the whole, this isn’t a favorite Morland book, but it was pleasant enough reading, with an ending that has me looking forward to the next book.

See my complete review at Shelf Love. ( )

Another interesting chapter in the Morland Dynasty. Enjoyed Venetia's struggle to become a doctor and the disruption to Morland Place. Already started the next book! ( )