Christmas Angel

Leander Knollis, Earl of Charrington, has decided it is time to marry, and his requirements are practical to the point of being almost insulting: a sensible woman, free of romantic illusions, willing to manage his household with quiet competence. Judith Rossiter, an impoverished widow with two children and no illusions about her options, accepts his offer for reasons equally clear-eyed and pragmatic. What neither of them anticipated is that a marriage designed to be a comfortable arrangement would keep inconveniently developing into something warmer.

Susan Duerden narrates the Regency-era romance with the measured warmth that suits the genre's best work, giving both Leander's guarded reserve and Judith's careful pragmatism their full complexity before allowing either to soften. Her performance captures the holiday setting without letting the Christmas backdrop overwhelm the relationship at the story's center. At just under ten hours, the production gives the Company of Rogues world its proper atmosphere while delivering a romance that earns its resolution.