Faced with a lonely future and finding himself strapped for cash (as the young bucks say), Persuasion ’s Sir Walter Elliot manfully decides that the time has come to marry again. His choice is a young woman of breeding and distinction.

But alas, Sir Walter’s vanity is his undoing. He refuses to use his spectacles and so sends a Valentine to the wrong Lady Catherine. What a disaster!

That is, until Sir Walter gets a look at the woman’s grand estate.

Will the man’s good looks and powers of persuasion be enough to win Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s hand? Will a Valentine blunder lead to a match between two of Jane Austen's worst snobs?

Sir Walter Takes a Wife is included in A Very Austen Valentine anthology collection , which is available in eBook and print editions.