Reviewed by Katie
This was the most delightfully unique
Regency I’ve read in years. It was like
being tucked in the corner of a drawing room and observing the lives of friends. The emerging tenderness between Katherine and
Brian provides affirmation of both an intense intimate life but also, as both
characters acknowledge, an emotional and mental accord that twines between them
like ivy on a cottage. The book is
entirely free of the recent trend in romances to hurl the hero and heroine into
adversarial straightjackets so the resolution is a strain to declare a happy
ending. However, this is no two
dimensional facsimile of the hay-day of Regency publishing either.
Katherine is a formidable woman, made so by
life, her own will and her late father’s fortune. She is not crusading or rebelling; she
desires to be something more than expectations might grant and is determined to
do so in a way society will accept. Shunned by a family unknown to her and then
the society of India where her father had not only made his fortune but also a
difference, Katherine understands the narrow paths allowed to her and though
there are moments she frets, she does not falter. She plans, prepares and progresses without
becoming an anti-heroine, more than once I found myself thinking: Yes, that’s how it was done.
Brian is equally formidable with enough
genuine humility to prevent him from being a Beta Hero. In a wonderful turn of the tables, we observe
the man economizing and stretching every penny to keep soles on his shoes. The details of a man’s existence are just the
right amount of fact and reflection without bogging you down. Even better, Brian does not turn to the
gambling hells, wild speculation or indifference while raking his way through
the muslin company. He genuinely cares
for others and their good opinion of him does matter. It was refreshing to find a group of male
friends not based on school or some gruesome trial of life but because they
enjoyed each other’s company. He is a
man to be admired and Katherine not only sees this, she acknowledges it in the
most forthright manner.
Both are resolved to survive without
violating their honor or the rules of society they are glad to dwell in even as
the work to change it for the better, not just for themselves but others as
well. Her blunt proposal nearly knocks
those re-soled shoes off his feet and from then on, you sit on the edge of your
seat waiting for the explosion that never actually comes, except in the matter
of life common to all mankind. Well, all
right, that and a few ironic twists of fate that can only be found in fiction. You are not the least sorry to skip the
fireworks of misunderstandings and foolishness so common in this genre. These characters are too well-educated from
their years of deprivation. It is a
glorious treat to have characters that have actually learned and willingly
applied those lessons from the life they’ve lived. It is even better that when
they make stupid mistakes, they don’t give up; they keep trying until matters
are once more as they should be.
I could easily see this as a weekly
installment such as Gaskell’s work. But
instead of the over blow cliff hanger required by the press of the time, our
author leaves us with the subtle anticipation ending each chapter so you do in
fact pause and savor before turning the digital page. It is not written in a
faux historical style but the flavor of each word is crisply intended to
provoke the tone of the era. I was not
shocked to discover at the end of this wonderful read that D. W. Wilkins is a
mister, only surprised. I did laugh at
myself for making notes about the masculine detail that was charming and the
lack of endless feminine wardrobe descriptions that was a precious gift. The romance was as delicately handled as the
historical details and I confess to a sigh or two as I read. This is definitely a *keeper* for my
bookshelf.
If you are looking for a Classic Regency
with characters that you genuinely empathize with while enjoying their foibles
and falderal, this is a book I earnestly recommend.
