The redemption of Philip Thane

To secure some much-needed cash from his "aunt," Henrietta Penhallow, the irrefutably charming yet always penniless Philip Thane begrudgingly agrees to go to Whittlesey and deliver a speech to open the village's annual Plough Day. After picking up a stranded Margaret Allen, her Aunt Seraphina, and a journalist on the way, Philip plans on delivering his remarks and then immediately afterwards heading back to civilization. However, Philip quickly finds that his attempts to leave Whittlesey are cosmically thwarted when he is forced to relive Plough Day over and over again. But is being stuck in Whittlesey with Margaret really a curse or a wake-up call from the universe? While offering a Regency riff on the movie Groundhog Day, with a dash of Macbeth and pinch of Greek mythology added for good measure, Berne (The Worst Duke in the World, 2021) fashions another sublime addition to her Penhallow series, one that is brilliantly enhanced by a stellar cast of characters (Margaret's doughty lexicographer aunt is a particular delight) and generous measures of the author's wry wit and wondrous sense of whimsy.

Berne's winning sixth Penhallow Dynasty Regency romance (after The Worst Duke in the World) begins when Philip Thane, an unrepentant rake whose debts are catching up with him, visits his relative Henrietta Penhallow to ask for money. She agrees on the condition that Philip visits the agrarian village of Whittlesey to deliver a speech on her behalf at their annual Plough Day festival. En route, Philip meets Margaret Allen, a ravishing folklore scholar researching Plough Day, who can't stand his snobby, lecherous behavior. Philip's hopes for a perfunctory trip are dashed in bizarre fashion when he wakes after the festivities to find it's Plough Day all over again. From there, anyone familiar with Groundhog Day will anticipate what comes next, as it follows the movie almost beat for beat (though Berne deserves credit for the copious humor and heart). As Philip progresses from confusion through hedonism to desperation to bed Margaret (who will have none of it) and near-madness, Berne patiently lays the groundwork for his redemption: learning to see cozy Whittlesey as more than a backwater and Margaret as more than an object of desire. The eventual coloring-in of the setting and central relationship leads to a romantic and satisfying conclusion. It's familiar but expertly crafted. Agent: Cheryl Pientka, Jill Grinberg Literary. (Jan.)