The five-minute marriage (by Joan Aiken)

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It’s well over a decade since I last read Joan Aiken’s historical novel ‘The five-minute marriage’. This author is probably best known for her children’s classic, ‘The wolves of Willoughby Chase’, but she wrote quite a few books for adults too. I don’t like all of them; she has written some ‘gothic’ style thrillers which don’t appeal to me. But I did recall that I had very much enjoyed this book.

The heroine is a young woman called Philadelphia Carteret - known as Delphie - who lives with her mother. Delphie is a musician, and earns her keep by giving piano lessons to wealthy children. Her mother was widowed some years earlier and is not good at sticking to a budget. And she’s been quite unwell recently. So the medical expenses - in these pre-NHS days - have taken up most of their rather scanty savings. 

One of Delphie’s clients is the wealthy, outgoing Mr Browty. He has two daughters who take piano and singing lessons from Delphie and they adore her, though neither is very talented. He finds her interesting and wants to help; he learns that she and her mother are estranged from her mother’s family. And in one of those unlikely coincidences (which seem quite believable when reading) Mr Browty is acquainted with her great-uncle Mark, Lord Bollington. 

So although Delphie received a curt rejection when she wrote to him once before, she decides to pay her great-uncle a visit, armed with a note of introduction from Mr Browty, who vouches for her character. So she sets off, accompanied by Jenny who works in the shop below the flat that Delphie and her mother are renting.

They eventually arrive, only to be greeted with Great-Uncle Mark’s imminent demise, and the discovery that there’s someone else also claiming to be his great-niece Miss Carteret. The other Miss Carteret - Elaine - has been supported by the family for some years, and is engaged to be married to the heir, Gareth Penistone. If he is to inherit anything other than the title, he must be married before his uncle dies… but Elaine has refused to be there.

So Gareth and his cousin Mr Fitzjohn suggest an astonishing deception, offering Delphie and her mother an income if she will agree. And despite the gravest reservations, she somehow goes through with what she believes is a false ceremony, only to learn, later, that it was legitimate…

It’s a plot worthy of Georgette Heyer, with three dimensional characters as well as authentic descriptions and dialogue. There’s an excellent pace to the novel, and several surprises which I had forgotten about. Of course it was inevitable that the hero and heroine would eventually fall in love; that’s a given in this kind of novel. But it was hard, at times, to imagine how it would happen since he disapproves of and distrusts all women, and is rather rude to Delphie at first.

There are twists and turns to the story, and it’s not immediately clear who can be trusted. There are plenty of minor characters, but they’re well enough developed that they’re easy enough to distinguish, even when they don’t appear very often. I liked Delphie very much; I also liked Jenny and her sister.  There’s some humour in the book - including the attitude of a bankrupt poet who plays a part - and there are some quite tense scenes, too.

I didn’t entirely grasp the details of the family connections that are explained - but it didn’t seem to matter much. And it’s a clever plot which works very well, with an entirely satisfactory ending. I enjoyed rereading this book very much: once I started, I could hardly put it down. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes the Georgette Heyer style of historical romance.

I'm delighted to see that this book, and others by Joan Aiken, was reprinted a couple of years ago, so can be bought new as well as second-hand.  It's also available in Kindle form. 

Review copyright 2026 Sue's Book Reviews