"A devotee of all things Austen… discovers the reality of life in Regency England: rampant body odor, sexual and class repression and a style of medical care involving bloodletting.…Rigler does a perceptive job in contrasting the different eras. Despite the smells, little in Courtney's current lifestyle — including most of the men — can compete with the erotic charge of dancing in a candlelit ballroom."