Although the young child Clarissa was a not very endearing character, she turns out to be a much more likable character as the narrator of this installment in the Daughters of England. She has a kind nature but with that does go the general gullibility that Carr gives to gentler women. That she cannot see the various schemes going on around her is a bit hard to believe but I do feel sympathy for her marriage to an inveterate gambler. At least she gives him what for every now and then,. My main complaint is that Carr decides to cover so much ground that she ends up doing summaries instead of actual action. I don't want the book to be any longer but the last quarter at least is nothing but a summary of events. I think she gets too trapped in her format of a generation per book and forgets to make a novel out of it.

Although I prefer some of the earlier novels in the Daughters of England series, this one features a couple of characters who evoked my sympathy to a greater extent than any of the former heroines.

First off, Clarissa – the leading lady – is very endearing. She first appeared in the previous novel as an infant towards the latter stages and for me she stole the show with her childish charm.

In “The Drop of the Dice”, we meet Clarissa as a child again, watch her grow up, and towards the end the author twice skips along a decade.

I think this sudden fast-forwarding is a shame. This character deserved to narrate another story, and there’s certainly the scope available for another book from Clarissa’s perspective. I guess Ms Carr was adamant that each episode of the Daughters of England should be told by a new heroine.

Clarissa is likeable for several reasons, but it’s what she endures that won my sympathy. This isn’t a depressing tale, but there’s a lot of pathos throughout. And much disappointment for Clarissa, though it’s far from being all doom and gloom.

Another character for whom I also felt much sympathy towards is Clarissa’s cousin, Sabrina, who’s thirteen years her junior. Despite this, their relationship is more like that of a mother and daughter. This relationship becomes central to the story from about halfway through. Virtually every scene with Clarissa and Sabrina together is engaging for one reason or another.

As for the plot, this is quite varied, mainly owing to it changing with Clarissa as she grows up. We have the backdrop of early Georgian England, along with the Jacobites who want to restore the Stuart line to the throne.

Intrigue, deceit, theft, romance, adventure, and murder are all apparent here. Certain outcomes were easy to work out, others were less obvious, and I was surprised by a few twists in the tale.

I won’t spoil the ending, but will say it left me happy and sad at the same time. This is again owing to my sympathy for Clarissa and Sabrina. A good author should be able to affect readers by creating vivid and believable characters, therefore I can only praise Ms Carr for pulling this off so well. ( )