An Unwilling Bride

I think this is one of Jo Beverley's best books - maybe her best. It's a very daring book, for the genre, but not because Lucien is an alpha male with a potential for violence - that description would cover most romance heroes pretty well; certainly it's nothing unique. No, the reason why An Unwilling Bride is daring is because instead of just picking up the old cliche (alpha male, potential for violence) Beverley decides to put it on trial: what happens when the dreamy alpha male crosses the thin line that most romance authors so delicately avoid? What happens when the heroine is someone like Beth, who has strong feelings about her own independence and rights? Beth is very well contextualized, but she gives the readers the opportunity to ask the one big question that almost every book in this genre ought to pose us: how can you reconcile the desire to be free and respected with the desire for an alpha male? This is essentially what the book is about. Everybody - every mother, girlfriend, and companion - offers to protect Beth and punish Lucien for his transgressions. There is no 'tolerance' for violence and the sheer number of words devoted to the topic of Lucien's potential & actual violence should show that this is not a question of a 'wife beater' - although I think that it should be obvious that the alpha male hero and wife beating jerk are not totally apples and oranges. I think Beverley ends up arguing that the difference between the hero and the jerk isn't that one has the potential for violence and the other doesn't; rather, it's a matter of self-discipline, nobility of spirit, understanding of right and wrong. Lucien isn't perfect, but he understands those things, and that's why he's ultimately a hero. I don't think Beverley really dealt sufficiently with Beth and Lucien's feelings; this is probably the consequence of dealing so thoroughly with their beliefs. There's almost no steam, but the way that Beverley describes Beth and Lucien when they dance, or engage in a battle of the wits, is amazingly done and incredibly erotic. And, of course, the book is a lot of fun - plenty of other Rogues make apperances, it's excellently structured (I think Beverley sets up the quotation from the Rape of the Lock as the premise of the novel and its inclusion is really cleverly done), very smart, and Beth is a wonderful heroine - really smart and sweet.

I reviewed this book some while ago and have come back to look at ensuing comments from time to time with great interest. I do think it curious that readers of historical fiction so very often insist on applying contemporary behavioral standards to characters who peopled a world that is so different from our own that, if suddenly transported back, most of us would find life incomprehensible. Domestic and marital law and attitudes have changed so much in the last 100 years that even our grandmothers would seem to have lived lives of deepest deprivation in what was, in fact, a "man's world" - you can't change the past! So, why such vituperation at Jo Beverly for daring to present characters acting out situations from another world all together with a different set of morals and code of behaviour? The castigation she has received here seems to me to be ill-conceived at best. Would these critics be so scathing if reviewing science fiction? I doubt it but there is some similarity here in reading of a world radically unlike our own. Why read historical fiction if you prefer your stories and characters to be contemporary people dressed up in historical costume?I believe this was an excellently written, brilliantly peopled story and should be read with an eye to historical context and understanding that one is reading about a very different world which, whether we like it or not, we cannot go back and change.

If you are a stickler, as I am, for a well-written, well- plotted historical romance, you won't want to miss this re-issue of one of Jo Beverley's best stories. The heroine, Beth, is a "modern" 19th century woman who speaks plainly and enjoys her career as a teacher. The hero, Lucien, is the son of a Duke and a traditionalist who believes that the best wives are seen but not heard. The two come together through the machinations of Lucien's father, and the sparks begin to fly! The dialogue between these two is not only very witty and clever, but it is also very believable. There are a number of secondary characters in the book that are finely-drawn, and the plot contains a surprising suspenseful twist that keeps the reader intrigued. In short, if you have high standards and are tired of some of the "pap" that passes for romantic fiction nowadays, you will love "An Unwilling Bride." I can't wait for the re-issue of more of Ms. Beverley's older books.