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Series · historical romance

Travelling Matchmaker

by M. C. Beaton

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

Books
6 books
First published
1990
Status
completed
Last checked

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

Cover of Emily Goes to Exeter, the first book in Travelling Matchmaker

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. Emily Goes to Exeter

    Novel

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  2. Belinda Goes to Bath

    Novel

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  3. Penelope Goes to Portsmouth

    Novel

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  4. Beatrice Goes to Brighton

    Novel

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  5. Deborah Goes to Dover

    Novel

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  6. Yvonne Goes to York

    Novel

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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.

How to read this series

Publication order, starting with Emily Goes to Exeter (1990). Each book is a complete, self-contained Regency romance centered on a new pair of lovers in a new English city, with Hannah Pym as the only character who carries over from book to book — so while reading in order preserves the small arc of Hannah's own stagecoach travels and how her matchmaking confidence grows with practice, any individual title can be read on its own without missing anything essential. There's no overarching mystery or family saga to track, which makes this a good series to read out of sequence or pick up and put down between other books.

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 .