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Series · historical romance

Travelling Matchmaker

by M. C. Beaton

The Travelling Matchmaker series by M. C. Beaton has 6 known books (6 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Emily Goes to Exeter (1990).

Books
6 known books (6 novels)
Published
6
First published
1990
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: Emily Goes to Exeter (1990) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Cover of Emily Goes to Exeter

Emily Goes to Exeter (1990)

Reading order

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

  1. Emily Goes to Exeter

    Novel

    Emily Goes to Exeter opens the Travelling Matchmaker series in November 1990, sending former housekeeper Hannah Pym -- newly wealthy and determined to see England by stagecoach rather than settle into quiet retirement -- on her first matchmaking mission. Written under the M.C. Beaton name, it runs 151 pages.

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  2. Belinda Goes to Bath

    Novel

    Belinda Goes to Bath, from February 1991, is the second of Hannah Pym's six stagecoach journeys, bringing her sharp eye for character to a young woman whose romantic prospects have gone wrong through family interference. It runs 155 pages.

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  3. Penelope Goes to Portsmouth

    Novel

    Penelope Goes to Portsmouth matches Belinda Goes to Bath's length at 155 pages, the third of Hannah's journeys as she nudges another couple's stalled romance toward a proper Regency ending in a new English city.

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  4. Beatrice Goes to Brighton

    Novel

    Beatrice Goes to Brighton returns to the series' 151-page opening length as the fourth stop on Hannah's travels, published in October 1991 with Hannah's matchmaking confidence growing with each new city.

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  5. Deborah Goes to Dover

    Novel

    Deborah Goes to Dover, from March 1992, is Hannah's fifth journey at 151 pages, arriving between Beatrice Goes to Brighton and the series finale as she continues untangling romances derailed by pride and bad luck.

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  6. Yvonne Goes to York

    Novel

    Yvonne Goes to York closes the series in June 1992 at 212 pages -- the longest of the six by a wide margin -- as Hannah Pym makes her final stagecoach stop and matchmaking mission.

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About the Travelling Matchmaker series

Hannah Pym is a middle-aged former housekeeper who inherits an unexpected fortune from her late employer and decides to spend it seeing England by stagecoach instead of settling into quiet retirement. In each of the six Travelling Matchmaker novels, Hannah's journey to a different English city brings her into contact with a young woman or couple whose romantic prospects have gone wrong — through family interference, misplaced pride, or plain bad luck — and Hannah, with her sharp eye for character and no patience for wasted happiness, nudges the situation toward a proper Regency ending.

Written under the M.C. Beaton name (originally published as by Marion Chesney) in the early 1990s, the series belongs more to Beaton's Regency romance output than to her mystery writing, though her comic timing and eye for social absurdity carry over completely. Each book is a complete, self-contained romance built around its title city and its particular pair of lovers, with Hannah as the connecting figure who travels on to the next town once she's set things right. It's a light, episodic series well suited to readers who enjoy Regency romance with a recurring matchmaker figure rather than a continuous plot, and it shows a different side of Beaton's writing from the cozy mysteries she's now best known for.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in M.C. Beaton's Travelling Matchmaker series?

Six, published between 1990 and 1992: Emily Goes to Exeter, Belinda Goes to Bath, Penelope Goes to Portsmouth, Beatrice Goes to Brighton, Deborah Goes to Dover, and Yvonne Goes to York.

What order should I read the Travelling Matchmaker books in?

Publication order is conventional, though each book is a self-contained romance with its own pair of leads, so reading out of order won't cause confusion.

Who is Hannah Pym?

A former housekeeper who inherits money and travels England by stagecoach, matchmaking for the young couples she meets along the way. She's the only character who appears in every book.

Is the Travelling Matchmaker series a mystery series, like Beaton's other work?

No — it's Regency romance, not mystery. Each book centers on romantic misunderstandings and family interference rather than a crime to solve.

Were these books written as M.C. Beaton or Marion Chesney?

Originally published under Marion Chesney, the author's other pen name, and later reissued under the better-known M.C. Beaton name.

Reading order last verified .