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Series · historical romance

A House for the Season

by M. C. Beaton

A House for the Season series by M. C. Beaton has 6 known books (6 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Miser of Mayfair (1986).

Books
6 known books (6 novels)
Published
6
First published
1986
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: The Miser of Mayfair (1986) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of The Miser of Mayfair

The Miser of Mayfair (1986)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Miser of Mayfair

    Novel

    The Miser of Mayfair is the book that opens M. C. Beaton's A House for the Season series, first published in 1986. It's followed in the reading order by Plain Jane. It runs 167 pages. The series ran to completion in 1988 across 6 books.

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  2. Plain Jane

    Novel

    Plain Jane is the second book in the A House for the Season series, published in 1986. In the reading order it comes after The Miser of Mayfair and before The Wicked Godmother. It runs 171 pages.

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  3. The Wicked Godmother

    Novel

    The Wicked Godmother is the third book in the A House for the Season series, published in 1987. It follows Plain Jane and precedes Rake's Progress in the reading order. It runs 166 pages.

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  4. Rake's Progress

    Novel

    Rake's Progress is the fourth book in the A House for the Season series, published in 1987. In the reading order it comes after The Wicked Godmother and before The Adventuress. It runs 169 pages.

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  5. The Adventuress

    Novel

    The Adventuress is the fifth book in the A House for the Season series, published in 1987. It sits between Rake's Progress and Rainbird's Revenge in the reading order. It runs 246 pages.

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  6. Rainbird's Revenge

    Novel

    Rainbird's Revenge is the sixth book in the A House for the Season series, published in 1988. It follows The Adventuress, closing out a series that ran from 1986 to 1988. It runs 237 pages.

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About A House for the Season

A House for the Season is told from an unusual angle for Regency romance: the servants' hall of 67 Clarges Street, a fashionable London townhouse that's rumored to bring bad luck to anyone who lives there. Rather than following one aristocratic family, each of the six novels centers on the below-stairs staff -- led by the sharp, resourceful butler Rainbird -- as they scheme, matchmake and quietly manipulate events to secure a good match for whichever tenant is currently renting the unlucky house, all while trying to keep their own positions and the house's reputation intact for the next season.

Written under the Marion Chesney name in the mid-to-late 1980s, the series lets Beaton indulge her interest in class and social maneuvering from the servants' side of the stairs rather than the drawing room, with the same downstairs ensemble recurring across all six books even as the upstairs tenants and their romances change from one novel to the next. It's a distinctive structural gimmick that sets the series apart from Beaton's other Regency sextets, and a good pick for readers who enjoy stories where the household staff are the real protagonists.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in M.C. Beaton's A House for the Season series?

Six, published between 1986 and 1988, starting with The Miser of Mayfair.

What is A House for the Season about?

The servants of an unlucky London townhouse on Clarges Street who scheme to matchmake each new season's tenant, told mainly from the staff's point of view rather than the aristocracy's.

What order should I read A House for the Season in?

Publication order: The Miser of Mayfair, Plain Jane, The Wicked Godmother, Rake's Progress, The Adventuress, and Rainbird's Revenge.

Do the same characters appear in every book?

The household staff, led by butler Rainbird, recur throughout; the upstairs tenant and their romance is new in each book.

Were these books originally published under a different name?

Yes, originally as Marion Chesney; later editions have been reissued under the M.C. Beaton byline.

Reading order last verified .