Wit and Prattles

A neglected Austen character deserves the happiest ending of all.

Irrepressible Charlotte Jennings is hardly the pick of the Season, despite all efforts to train, constrain, and mold her into a proper lady. She's had her sights set on introverted Thomas Palmer since she was a girl. Now circumstances force Thomas into society to find a meek wife in possession of a sizable fortune and good teeth. Instead, he stumbles on Charlotte, who pursues him with laughter and perseverance. It's a mismatch made in heaven.

After a tense wedding night, Charlotte's high spirits sink. Isolated in the Palmer estate, she's largely ignored by Thomas, spurned by the visiting Dashwood sisters, and barely tolerated by Thomas' bookish maiden aunt.

For their marriage to survive, the Palmers must learn that words can cut, happiness is a choice, and the path to lasting love is often pitted with ruts.

Minor characters in Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, the Palmers in Wit and Prattles, are fleshed out in full color in this funny, heartwarming, spicy romance.