Oh, how to begin describing what this book is about? Set mainly on the north Devon coast during the 1790’s, the main focus of the story is Lord Thomas Eden, the Fifth Earl and Thirteenth Baron of Eden Point and Marianne Locke, fisherman’s daughter. Marianne manages to catch Lord Thomas on a bad day and he orders a public flogging, which she barely survives. Marianne’s recovery is slow, and she’s eventually sent to live with her sister Jane in London (Jane isn’t exactly thrilled to have a much more beautiful sister living with her). Circumstances bring Marianne back into Thomas’ life and let’s just say he’s hot to have her, and his mindset just doesn’t grasp the word NO. The chase is on and Lord Thomas will go to any lengths to have her, and he’s ably assisted by Marianne’s double-dealing sister Jane.
As the world was full of predators, now the King of Predators had arrived among them, a man schooled from birth in the art of selfishness and brutality.”
And if and when Lord Thomas catches Marianne, you don’t think it will all be smooth sailing, do you? Not on your life, just fasten your seatbelts because it’s going to be a wild and bumpy ride. I can’t even begin to describe the things that happen to both of our pair, and Harris is not an author to pull punches, she definitely will take you to the dark side of life and Thomas is definitely one of those characters you love to hate. Or did I hate him? I loved the way she brought in lesser known bits of history (oh, Dr. Graham and his Celestial bed ;)). This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and there are more in my immediate future, starting with book two in this seven book series. 4.5/5 stars and highly recommended for those who love to walk on the dark side…
Fortune’s Son is a follow-up to Lee’s first novel, The Highest Stakes. The prologue begins with the ramifications to Philip Drake after his high stakes wager with you-know-who at the end of the first book, and then back tracks to Philip at age twenty, a wastrel second son of the Earl of Hastings. His luck with the dice fail him one night and facing exposure for…umm…improving his odds he’s saved in the nick of time by Susannah, Lady Messingham. Susannah (Sukey) is recently widowed and short of funds and needs a man like Philip to teach her the ins and outs of gambling – a match made in heaven especially since she can lead Philip by the nose.
Or can she?
Philip and Sukey partner up to spin the wheel of fortune and the sexual sparks are flying fast and furious. There are plenty of ups and downs, great gains along with devastating losses, a duel and more until the story switches back to 1751 where we find Philip’s back to the wall and he’s forced to pay the piper for the errant deeds of his youth.
This was really a lot of fun, the story picks up from the get go and never lets up. Those of you who have read The Highest Stakes probably hated Philip as much as I did, but hats off to Emery Lee for fleshing him out and letting us see the bounder man behind the mask, as well as a huge thanks for giving us more than just another romance – a whole lot more. This story should suit lovers of romance, as well as those who need a healthy dose of history along with the romance – and attention Publishers there are a lot of readers who expect more than just another wall-paper historical. Kudos to Emery Lee for writing them. I want more!
“I have a deep-seated feeling-a premonition, if you like-that all through my life , no matter what I become or where I go, I am fated to have trouble with England and Englishmen.”
After his escape from Elba, after the 100 days and his defeat at Waterloo, came Napoleon’s last exile on the remote island of St. Helena. The house he’s supposed to reside in is rat infested and most definitely not ready for occupation, so he spends his first two months in the garden pavilion of local merchant William Balcombe. Balcombe’s daughter Lucia Elizabeth (Betsy) is the only one to speak French (she does some of the translating) and the two develop a great friendship despite the difficulties the Balcombes encounter from the new hardline governor for consorting with the *enemy*.
Not having read much about Napoleon, this was a bit of history I’d not heard of before and might never have but for a lucky find whilst scrounging the used book store, and I’m very glad I picked it up. This isn’t a book with high action/adventure, and while there is some political double-dealing of sorts, that isn’t the main focus of the book – that would be the friendship between young Betsy and Napoleon. Whether he was a ruthless tyrant or brilliant soldier, I really liked reading about this unique friendship with “Betsee” seeing him through her eyes, as well as hearing him reflect back on his life – my favorite was his childhood in Corsica and relationship with his siblings (Oh, that Pauline was quite a scamp).
To avoid spoiling I’ll not go further into what happens towards the end (sniff) as their relationship changes a bit as Betsy grows up (loved the chats about women’s clothing and who was better at making them, the French or English). Definitely recommended for those interested in all things Napoleon. Other books on the topic,
Like I didn’t have enough to read I go and do this to myself. First up was a visit to my local library FOL sale a couple of weekends ago. All books $.50 until Sunday when it was stuff as many as you could in a plastic grocery bag for $3. All told I popped just under $10 for all of this (click for larger image):
That edition of Anya Seton’s Katherine in the pile is dated 1954. I scored a bunch of Jennifer Blake and Laurie McBain romances, as well as four of Patricia Hagen’s Coltrane series (some friends at Goodreads have started these and loving them for the most part).
Soooooo, if that wasn’t enough I had a lunch date with a bookish blogger friend and I was foolish enough to Google used book stores in the area and found one neither of us had heard of before and no surprise we had to check it out for ourselves. The prices weren’t all dirt cheap, but we had some interesting finds including a bunch of the Angelique books and some HTF Plaidy paperbacks. Here’s what I nabbed:
The edition of The Sheik by E.M. Hull you see there has an inscription of Xmas 1926 on the inside so it’s an oldie. The Costain at the very top is about Napoleon in exile and it is a-calling me to be read and very very soon. As much as we took away, there were a lot more treasures left behind: The Windhaven saga, Roberta Gellis’ Roselynde series (although you would have had a mis-matched set). Shelves and shelves of old Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. This place is a must for book nuts, and you can see an old video of the shop and the owner here on C-Span. And don’t worry, there’s plenty of free parking. What are you waiting for?
“Grand Duchesses are not destined to share their lives with untitled Englishmen. Glorious summer days do not last forever. The memories, however, do linger.”
At the core this is a very simple story, that of John Kirby who has spent the last few years exploring Russia and its culture (he’s really a spy for the British government). John’s travels bring him to the Crimea as a guest of Princess Aleka Petrovna. The Imperial family is in residence at Livadia Palace and give a ball in honor of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna’s birthday and John gets an invite. John makes a big splash with the royal family and he’s soon like one of the family, playing tennis with the Tsar and romping in the gardens with the children. Olga and John share an instant chemistry, and those feelings continue to grow, although they know it is a love that cannot be.
They had inherited autocracy, they were imprisoned by their heritage and governed by the edicts of their ancestors. On this summer day it did not seem important.
Russia is soon caught up in a war they are ill prepared for, and the country is ripe for revolution and John finds himself in the thick of it and no matter what path life sends him on, he always seems to land right in the lap of the royal family and Olga. I won’t say more, but I assume most of you know the fate of the Romanovs and that is where the book ends, although it does finish on a somewhat positive note with one of my favorite characters in the book (no, I’m not telling). I found this a good solid read, and I thought the method of using a character like John to give us an inside look at the Romanovs a good one, just be warned that that inside look was seen through a very rose-colored set of glasses. The Tsar and his family were such good, kind, loving, wonderful, beautiful people who hadn’t a clue that people could actually disagree with them, let alone kick them out for another form of government…Recommended for those who must read all things Romanov. Out of print, but I was able to obtain a copy via Inter-library Loan.
This review might be considered slightly spoilerish to those unfamiliar with Lillie Langtry’s history – consider yourself warned.
Born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, she was the only daughter of the Dean of Jersey and grew up amidst a passel of brothers. That made her into quite the tomboy, but eventually Lillie grew up and her natural beauty was knocking men on their arses – except perhaps her husband, Edward Langtry. Edward was supposed to be a well-to-do gentleman of leisure, but he turned out to a bit too fond of his leisure (he sure did like to fish) and a drunken boor at that.
…The man she had married. A failure as a lover and as a companion, his one saving grace had now vanished. He was not even rich!
Lillie is resigned to a dull life in the country, but after a long illness she convinces Edward to take her to London. Her dreams of making a splash in society seem rather dire until one day when the right door is opened and Lillie’s beauty attracts the attention of some rather famous artists (James Whistler and Millais among them), and she’s soon the latest rage among London’s Professional Beauties. No surprise that all the men want to become her lover, and she turns them away (including a king!), but eventually she attracts the attentions of the Prince of Wales and well…one thing leads to another…
She kept thinking…the Prince of Wales…She lay back on the bed and found she was excited. Not so much by the thought of the Prince himself, but by all that being loved by him could mean.
Bertie had a fondness for the ladies and the mistresses usually came and went, but Lillie’s beauty and intelligence holds his interest much longer, and that royal favor keeps the creditors at bay. Eventually his interest wains and the cost of living the high life catches up with Lillie and the perpetually drunken Edward and a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do to make a living (no, not that!). While not high literature, I found this very readable and I enjoyed hearing Lillie’s story as far as the novel takes it. The book ends as Lillie begins a new period of her life, and it was very refreshing to see her want to stand on her own two feet and keep her independence instead of falling back on a man to take care of life’s little problems. Good for her.
The list of famous people who were close to or crossed paths with Lillie is quite something – Millais, James Whistler, Oscar Wilde, King Leopold of Belgium, The Prince of Wales, Prince Louis of Battenberg (what a dish), Disraeli and Sarah Bernhardt to name a few. I really did like the glimpses of Bertie and the frustrations he must have felt at being shut out by Queen Victoria from any participation in governing the country and how this led likely led to his dissolute lifestyle. I also found it amazing that Bertie’s wife Alix and Lillie could have developed such a close friendship despite her being *the other woman*. I’d have liked to see Lillie’s very complicated friendship with Oscar Wilde dealt with in greater detail, but beggars can’t be choosers. One final caveat and that is that this book is fairly well infested with minor typos, and while they weren’t bad enough to throw me out of the story or send the book flying, they are there. An instead of and. New instead of knew. Gentelmen (no, I am not kidding). YMMV, but that might be a deal breaker for some.I’m fairly positive this book was a tie-in to the Masterpiece Theatre mini-series on Lillie (it is mentioned on the front cover), and while it has been a couple of years (well maybe thirty) since I’ve seen it, if you are interested in Lillie’s story I recommend hunting down a copy – most especially for the stunning performance by the actor who portrayed Oscar Wilde.
There are at least three non-fiction books on Lillie’s life I plan on hunting down, but I’d love to find a novel that covers her latter years as well. Any ideas? Or shall we find someone out there willing to write it for us?
Oh, how to begin describing what this book is about? Set mainly on the north Devon coast during the 1790’s, the main focus of the story is Lord Thomas Eden, the Fifth Earl and Thirteenth Baron of Eden Point and Marianne Locke, fisherman’s daughter. Marianne manages to catch Lord Thomas on a bad day and he orders a public flogging, which she barely survives. Marianne’s recovery is slow, and she’s eventually sent to live with her sister Jane in London (Jane isn’t exactly thrilled to have a much more beautiful sister living with her). Circumstances bring Marianne back into Thomas’ life and let’s just say he’s hot to have her, and his mindset just doesn’t grasp the word NO. The chase is on and Lord Thomas will go to any lengths to have her, and he’s ably assisted by Marianne’s double-dealing sister Jane.
At Home With A Good Book and the Cat 