A Lady of High Regard

A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson, 2007 Bethany House Publishing

     Mia Stanley is a well-bred young Christian woman in mid-nineteenth century Philadelphia. Her life seems charmed: she plays matchmaker for her sisters and friends, and enjoys the company of the admirable Garrett Wilson, while choosing to work for the Godey's magazine. When Mia discovers the plight of Philadelphia's women, her sympathies are engaged and the simple mission for Godey's Ladies Book becomes a passion that ultimately threatens everything she holds dear.
     In an era where women and children's working conditions are being challenged the wives and widows of Philadelphia's seamen are forced to pay exorbitant amounts and non-existent debts. The women cannot afford to feed their families and maintain the roof over their heads with their menfolk gone for years at a time and the debt collectors turn to other forms of payment: kidnapping children into indentured servitude, or coercing liberties from mothers with nowhere else to go. The sheltered Miss Stanley is introduced to this downtrodden world when her editor asks her to try and help the women.
     At first, working for the magazine and helping the women is just another adventure, one becoming more and more difficult for society to accept. But when Mia's closest friend, Garrett, looks into the situation he quickly discovers the difficulties are more than just the cycle of poverty. Though Mia discounts the danger, believing God will protect and bless her for the work she does among the less fortunate, Garrett finds the main perpetrator is more dangerous than Mia will accept.
     While committed to her activism and the surrounding events, Mia begins to discover that her feelings for Garrett aren't always what she assumed them to be. Finding a match for him brings her more anxiety and jealousy than the pleasure of finding love for her friends has. Garrett realizes the love he has always had for Mia is not that of a sister as he always assumed. Neither is willing to speak of their desires for fear of rejection until the matter is taken from their hands.
     While mainly a story of romance, A Lady of High Regard deals with the changing social climate of the mid-nineteenth century: young women from the heights of society begin to venture outside the home into activism and the worksphere, women and children's labor conditions become a major issue in politics. But the changes cannot make up for the corruption throughout all levels of society. Mia is a passionate woman living the values her Christian upbringing has instilled in her, fighting the dictates of society even while trying to live within them. It is a story of persistence and caring for fellow humans, despite differences of class and wealth.
     Once the reader gets into the story, it is a fairly quick read. Mia's story is inspiring with characters one can relate to, familiar language, and an easily adopted cause. A Lady of High Regard is a read for fluent readers: high school or older will get more from the story than younger children who may not be able to connect to the main conflicts.