A Perfect Bride For Mr Darcy by Mary Simonsen

Convinced that the lovely Elizabeth Bennet is her brother's soul mate, Georgiana Darcy enlists her clever and not at all snobbish cousin Anne de Bourgh in ensuring that pride and prejudice aren't able to keep these two hearts apart. All is going according to plan until Lydia Bennet brings scandal on the family by eloping with George Wickham, and Darcy is called away from Elizabeth's side before he has a chance to propose. It will take all Georgiana and Anne's considerable matchmaking talents to ensure that Elizabeth and Darcy are reunited in time to claim their happily ever after.

Pride and Prejudice is my all time favourite novel, so my first instinct was not to like this story, or see the point. However after a chat with the blog owner, she explained this fitted into a genre called ‘Fan Fiction’, i.e. spin offs of classic works whose characters are taken and sequels to the original are produced. 

This is a new concept to me, but with that explanation on board, I persisted and found ‘A Perfect Bride For Mr Darcy’ is in fact a regurgitation of the original story with virtually the same cast of characters. This version proved quite interesting, in that it shows the introspection and motivations of other characters - which Austen left for her readers to work out for themselves.  I suppose if you have read Pride & Prejudice and didn’t understand why the characters behaved in the way they did this book fills in some of the blanks.

As the novel went on, I found I really liked Ms Simonsens’s style and she does have a clever way with satyr and irony which I feel Ms Austen herself would have admired. The author did, I felt, take liberties with not only the characters, giving them direct quotes from the original and not all in the right places – but changed some of the plot by giving Jane Bennett a suitor other than Mr Bingley, giving more prominent parts to Georgiana Darcy and Anne de Bourgh and we also see events through the eyes of Mr Darcy. However for those, like me, who always felt Mary Bennett was sidelined, the author does provide a happy result for her.

The fact Elizabeth and Darcy were destined to be together and will mange that in any variation of the theme, will not come as a surprise, however the culmination of their misunderstood love is not as exciting nor as satisfying as the original.

I did enjoy Ms Simonsen comments on the political situation at the time, which helped give a view of what is happening outside the drawing rooms of the main characters – an omission Jane Austen is famous for.

My main criticism of this version of Miss Austen’s classic, is the fact the author has introduced a sexual element.  Not only is Lydia still a virgin after three weeks in a boarding house with Wickham, a detail of which I didn’t see the point as she still insists on marrying him, but Darcy, in his pursuit of Elizabeth, has explicit sexual fantasies about her.  I realise I must be old fashioned where my romances are concerned, but Austen was the queen of sexual tension and she kept the bedroom door firmly shut!

I would very much like to read a story Ms Simonsen has composed herself, for she is an accomplished and skillful writer whom I feel could achieve more than the regurgitation of a story that didn’t need any embellishment.  However for ‘Fan Fiction Enthusiasts’, ‘A Perfect Bride For Mr Darcy,’ would be a good addition to their reading list.

The Countess by Lynsay Sands

Christiana is a young woman newly married to Dicky Fairgrave, a cruel, heartless man. He keeps her isolated from friends and family. When her sisters arrive for a visit, Christiana learns that their father has been gambling again, and the sisters must make a quick marriage to a rich man in order to save him. While they are discussing their dire situation, Dicky is found murdered in another part of the house.

Determined to attend that evening’s ball despite the sudden demise of Christiana’s husband, the sisters carry Dicky to his bedroom and surround him with ice to preserve his body. As Christiana circulates amongst society that evening in search of future husbands for her sisters, who walks in, much to her horror, but Dicky. But it is not actually the dead Dicky who has walked. Rather, it’s Dicky’s twin brother, Richard, whom unbeknownst to Christiana, Dicky murdered years ago in order to assume his identity, wealth, and status.

Richard Fairgrave has returned to America to avenge himself and confront his brother. When Richard encounters Christiana, his unexpected wife, he is both intrigued, but irritated at the discovery. As the night wears on, Christiana becomes accidentally drunk and he begins to realize she is enchanting. Intrigued, he knows he must win her heart and must find out who murdered his brother, and keep scandal away from her.

If you are looking for a humorous romantic story to disappear into, then this is the book for you. I found myself bursting out in laughter during many of the antics. The book definitely reminded me of an old Lucille Ball episode where the heroine’s life escalates quickly out of control, but somehow, she finds herself coming out unscathed and richer for it. The relationship between Christiana and Richard unfolds slowly, tantalizingly, with much love and laughter. There were plenty of plot twists to keep me engaged to the end. All in all, this is a fun read for those who want to sink into a good romance.

The King of Silk by Joe Douglas Trent

The King of Silk by Joe Douglas Trent








Michael Patriate is a rising star in the business world. His knowledge and shrewdness have taken him into the most powerful offices and boardrooms of New York City. As he occupies himself with merging two powerful corporations and gracing the pages of the world’s most respected finance magazine, his personal life is falling apart. The woman he loves has left him. One dark night, as he walks alone through a deserted street in Manhattan, he is mugged and assaulted and falls into unconsciousness.

When he awakes, he finds himself in a strange world, one that is completely foreign to him. As he encounters people, he comes to the realization that the year is 1492 and he has somehow travelled to Renaissance Italy in the area of Caorle. With nothing of value except for his wristwatch, which is more of a danger to him than an aid, Michael is utterly alone and must fend for himself. Armed with his business acumen, he soon finds himself a job working for a merchant. Soon, he takes over the bookkeeping for the small business and teaches his new boss knowledge from the modern world. Soon he finds himself travelling to Venice, trying to outsmarting a bevy of callous merchants. His knowledge attracts attention at the highest levels. Even his love life improves as he falls in love with the lovely widow, Cecile, who he boards with.

The King of Silk is a fascinating story about a man armed with modern knowledge who is forced to explore the world centuries ago. Michael is a congenial hero thrust into an impossible situation. As the reader progresses through the novel, they are swept into the dangers and realities of a treacherous world. The book is well written and edited. The prose is clear and the story is easy to follow. Numerous colourful characters that Michael meets as he journeys to Venice and later Portugal, keep the reader engrossed in the story, turning pages to find out what happens next. For anyone who loves time travel and Italian historical fiction, this book is definitely a well-researched winner.  But you'll have to wait to read it.  The book is scheduled for release early in 2011.  Watch for it on Amazon or visit the author's website at: http://www.jdtrent.com/

The Flight of the Sorceress by Barry S. Wildorf

Reviewed by Vanitha Sankaran

After centuries of grand triumphs and glorious rule, the Roman Empire is coming to an end. Though there are some who would give their lives to see the enlightenment and freedoms gifted by the Empire live on, darker forces are at play. The Catholic Church has focused its attention on rooting out pagans using zealots and men drunk on their own power.

The story centers around Glenys, a Druidic healer forced to live her life on the run, not just because of her views but because of the man she loves. As she struggles to stay ahead of her would-be captors, Glenys is exposed to the harsh realities of the world’s violence. Instead of bowing to the brutality she experiences, Glenys grows stronger, not just for herself but for the baby she is carrying.

At the same time, another memorable woman—Hypatia, the famed scholar and librarian of Alexandria—is fighting a similar battle to keep her freedoms and way of life alive. Caught in the Church’s crusade to stamp out pagan ways and knowledge, Hypatia risks her own life to save what and who she loves in the world.

When the two women finally cross paths, they realize they are kindred spirits and will help each other, no matter what the cost.

The Flight of the Sorceress is meticulously researched and beautifully portrayed. Whether in Hypatia’s luxurious palace, walking along the dusty Jewish pogroms, or trapped within a burning library in a fire that threatens to consume humanity’s knowledge, Wildorf’s prose brings the moment alive. The themes explored in this book, of prejudice and power, are deftly interwoven with the beliefs of the time. The conflict manages to educate and compel at the same time and you can’t help but feel for these women, who are so grossly over-matched but who still do not give up.

This book is a rare look at a time and place not often seen in historical fiction and is a read that will keep you turning the pages!

Cross The Line by Rie McGaha

Reviewed by Ginger Simpson

The story opens with nineteen-year-old Carrie Robertson struggling to bury her father clad in his Confederate Uniform.  She’s already lost all other family members, and the burial scene is quite vivid and realistic. Back-story tells the reader that Carrie is now living in a cabin built by her father, on land he spent  plowing and sowing to dispel his grief. They’ve left their home in Charleston and settled for much less, and sadly, her remaining sister has been claimed by the flu. With her father gone, Carrie is alone in a home that’s miles from the nearest neighbor. She’s determined to keep the place going using the funds her father left behind. 

Noah Moseley, an escaped slave who found safety living among Indians, is thrown from his horse and injured.  Crawling on his belly and dragging his broken leg, he seeks shelter.  His ammunition is gone and he fears “creatures of the night” will smell his blood.   He awakes the next morning, nestled under a mere shrub and continues his search for help.   He never expects to be found by a woman toting a rifle--one who will later become the person who nurses him back to health and falls in love with him despite his being a mixed breed.  The romantic element is definitely steamy in parts. If you enjoy “blow by blow” descriptions, you will be totally satisfied.  No pun intended.

Noah and Carrie find an attraction despite their ethnic differences.  At first, Noah fights his feelings, fearing Carrie will be ostracized for loving a man who is half black, but caution be damned, they begin a very sensuous relationship without benefit of marriage.  His plan to have the village Shaman marry them is delayed by the time Noah spends aiding the Buffalo Soldiers in negotiations with warring tribes.  Despite his sporadic schedule, each visit leaves Carrie pregnant, even with twins at one point. Imagine giving birth the first time while alone and following instructions in a book. Carrie certainly came across as a strong heroine with few fears.  Unfortunately, Noah’s torn between his love for her and his obligation to help the Indians avoid anymore bloodshed.

It is extremely difficult for this reviewer to read without an internal editor whispering in her ear.  There is a great historical story in Cross the Line, but connecting with the characters was hampered by the story being told rather than shown in many places. Too much repetition of facts shared among the characters as well as too many unnecessary tags made the storyline drag. Surely, those who read for pure pleasure will be able to overlook what drew me out of the story.

Clearly the author has done a lot of historical research with regard to Indian tribes--my favorite time in history.  This wasn’t a page turner for me, but I’m sure it’s because of all the editing expectations that weren’t met.  I’m still questioning whether some of the vocabulary was appropriate for the era, but other readers may not even notice the things so blatantly obvious to me. A review is merely one person’s interpretation of a novel so I urge you to read this book and draw your own conclusions.  Cross the Line is a Coffee Time Romance Review Award winner so that proves my point--a book is never everyone’s cup of tea...or coffee in this case.

This book is offered by Solstice Publishing, and you find out more about the author on her website.

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell

Nelly, as she liked to be known, was born in the mean alleys round Covent Garden of an unknown father and a mother notorious as a ‘brandy-soak’. Nelly’s childhood was a constant round of beatings and hard work, but when her fortunes changed, Nelly brought her mother to live with her and when she was found drowned in a brook, paid for an elaborate funeral.

I have heard of various starts to Nell’s life, but Gillian Bagwell’s Nell was an oyster seller who, fearing a rapid old age and continued poverty, decides on the day that King Charles II returns to his throne that she will follow her sister Rose into whoring.

Her pretty face and neat figure, not to mention her quick tongue, helped her acquire a post as an ‘orange wench," selling fruit in the theatre pit. Fascinated with the theatre, and with the help of her first long term lover, Charles Hart, she starts acting on the stage and comes to the attention of King Charles II. John Dryden described Nell as, ‘"Oval face, clear skin, hazel eyes, thick brown eyebrows ... a full nether lip ... the bottom of your cheeks a little blub, and two dimples when you smile."

Like all the King's women, Nell was paid out of the Secret Service funds. Second only to Louise de Keroualle, the Duchess of Portsmouth, her greatest rival apart from the fading Barbara Palmer, Nell was given a house in Pall Mall and an annual income of £5,000.

On one occasion, Queen Catherine arrived at her husband’s bedchamber. Nell had enough time to hide behind an arras, but her slipper lay in plain sight on the floor.  The Queen withdrew with the comment that she hoped ‘that the lady might not take cold.’ 

Nell was one of the least greedy and most faithful of Charles II’s mistresses, despite that he kept them in houses, jewels, titles and producing numerous children who all had claims on the royal purse.
Nell had two sons by Charles II. Charles Beauclerk who went on to have eight sons of his own and James, nicknamed, Jemmie who died when he was nine.  Nell had many true friends in the Royal court, many of whom she helped through hard times, among them, George Duke of Buckingham, Rochester, Killigrew, Aphra Benn the lady playwright,  the ill-fated Duke of Monmouth, and of course her beloved Charles Hart who was always her first love.

When anti-Catholic riots took place in London in the late 1660’s, Nelly's coach was mobbed by Whigs, who thought it carried the King's Catholic mistress, Louise de Keroualle. [Whom the King called ‘Fubbs’and Nell nicknamed, ‘Squintabella’]  Never at a loss, Nell stuck her head out of the window and bellowed: "Pray, good people, be civil. I am the Protestant whore." 

On his deathbed, Charles besought his brother and heir, "Let not poor Nelly starve." James II kept faith, although her life was less extravagant after her royal lover’s death. Nelly died of a stroke brought on by an occupational disease, at 37.

Gillian Bagwell’s meticulously researched novel takes us from the cobbled, rubbish-strewn alleys of Covent Garden to the Royal Theatre in Drury Lane and into the royal court. She handles the 17th Century London street vernacular with aplomb, and Nell comes across as the epitome of the ‘tart with a heart’, who never apologises for her profession and is generous with both her time and her money.  I got the impression Nell truly loved her ‘Charles the Third’ as she called him, and was distraught when he died. 

Miss Bagwell’s interpretation is a colourful and sympathetic portrayal of a young woman whose beginnings foretold only misery and heartache, and that Nelly herself not only took advantage of her assets to make her life, and that of her family better, but she never took it for granted or became too greedy, like many of her rivals. 

I enjoyed the romp through 17th Century London, and learned a lot about how the actresses owned their ‘parts’, and when they married or, as was more frequent, taken up by a lover, they returned their ‘parts’ to the theatre owners, which was when they could be played by other actresses. I can thoroughly recommend this book, and look forward to Miss Bagwell's next foray into 17th Century England.

My Love, My Enemy by Jan Cox Speas

Review by Sheila R. Lamb

Originally published in 1961, Jan Cox Speas’ popular romance My Love, My Enemy will be re-released in February, 2011 as part of Casablanca Classics by Sourcebooks.

During the War of 1812, precocious Page Bradley steals away on her family’s sloop for a clandestine shopping trip. She’s determined to buy herself a birthday present, while her father’s servant, MacDougall keeps his eye out for British ships as they make the short sailing trip up the Chesapeake Bay, from the Bradley plantation to Annapolis.

Page, carefree and careless, meets a handsome gentleman – by running into his horse while crossing the street (she didn’t look both ways). Soon after her blunder, she finds the same gentleman surrounded by a mob determine to hang him for being a British spy. Impulsively, she rescues the would-be spy; persuading the mob to let him, and his manservant Farley, go. Jocelyn “Joss” Trevor, Lord Hazard is grateful for the odd rescue and pledges to see Page and MacDougall safely home. Unfortunately, his plan falls short when the sloop runs afoul of a British ship, the Falcon, and the quartet are taken into British custody.

Between ships, sloops, and various countries, the attraction between Page and Hazard grows. True to his time period, Hazard follows a gentleman’s code of conduct and Page would expect nothing less. Dialogue between them is witty and precise.

            “‘This is a dark dreary place and I have had quite enough of it,’ ” states Page to Lord Hazard as she is forced to remain in the warship’s cabin.

            “‘You will do as you are told,’ ” replies Hazard.

The battle of wills begins as Page finds she is torn between loyalty to her country during wartime and her growing love for an Englishman. Tensions mount when she discovers a truth that he would have preferred stayed hidden.

 

As Page travels to Bermuda, France, Spain, and England, the reader is drawn into the historical events that surround her. Naval warfare between the British and the Americans is exquisitely described, vividly setting the scene of cannon fire and grapeshot on the quarterdeck of a 19^th century ship. Page has a civilian’s view of the burning of Washington. Speas also spares no expense illustrating Lord Hazards’ dealing with Bonaparte, Wellington and the Peninsular Wars.

My Love, My Enemy by Jan Cox Speas is destined to invite a new generation of readers to a classic historical romance.