The Bargain

According to her father's will, Lady Jocelyn Kendal must marry by age twenty-five if she is to receive her inheritance--if she does not, her home and her fortune will go to her aunt and uncle. With only four weeks left now until her birthday, Jocelyn has no suitors that she could stand being married to her whole life that she could bring up to scratch so quickly.Major David Lancaster was gravely wounded at Waterloo--he is paralyzed from the waist down and is dying. His main concern is for his sister, a governess, who will be left all alone after his death.When a friend of the family mentions Major Lancaster to Lady Jocelyn, a plan springs to mind--one that might benefit her as well as the Major...For those of you who have read Mary Jo Putney's books before, I need only assure you that THE BARGAIN is well on par with the usual incredible no-one-else-does-it-like-Putney style that we love so much. For those of you who haven't read a Mary Jo Putney novel yet, this is the perfect one to start with. That Putney style includes sympathetic characters who are not without their foibles and wounds (both outside and in); a range of emotions that are realistic, never manipulated; and such smoothness in storytelling that one easily forgets she is reading, rather than right there in Regency England.THE BARGAIN is an expansion and rewriting of the small traditional Regency THE WOULD-BE WIDOW, first published by Signet in 1989. I had not yet read the original--I was saving it for a rainy day when I needed a guaranteed great read--and to me, THE BARGAIN contains nothing superfluous, no obviously-tacked-on subplots, no detours from the relationship between Jocelyn and David. There is a sweet secondary romance--no, make that two secondary romances--but they serve to enhance the main attraction and nev er distract. I savored all 373 pages of delving deeply into these people's minds and hearts.Ms. Putney should be applauded not only for being a marvelous writer and craftsman, but for all the happiness she brings to millions of readers worldwide. I thank you once again, Mary Jo, not only for a glorious evening, but for all the warmth and joy your characters, their stories, and their worlds give me long after I've closed the book with a happy sigh.

I would recommend The Bargain, set in England 1815, to fans of the regencies and regency historicals of Mary Balogh and Jo Beverley, that is fans of well-written, historically based, intelligent, and well-plotted regencies. The Bargain is a rewrite of the regency, The Would Be Widow, so technically I suppose it is a regency historical but the regency flavour is still strongly present (for all those Georgette Heyer fans out there). There is only one or two intimate scenes in the novel which are very delicately and subtly handled. The focus is on the growth of the relationship and the plot instead. Lady Jocelyn must marry before her 25th birthday or lose most of her inheritance. She believes herself to be attracted to another man, who however won't come up to scratch, and it is only a few weeks before her birthday. David Lancaster is dying in hospital, from wounds received in the Battle of Waterloo, and his sister will be left without any family or money. Thus the bargain - Lady Jocelyn will receive her inheritance by marrying David, and his sister will be provided for. There is nothing callous in Lady Jocelyn's actions - she accidentally meets an officer acquaintance in the hospital for survivors of Waterloo and knowing her situation and wanting to help his friend provide for his sister, he suggests this solution. Everybody believes David will die very shortly and it would make David happy to know his sister has financial security.However, David doesn't die and the rest of the novel explores what happens when two strangers, both perfectly nice adult people, find themselves technically married to each other in an age when divorce was practically impossible. Mary Jo Putney's characters always seem like real people, such is the depth of her writing and like Mary Balogh, she is not afraid to tackle difficult issues. If you want intelligent, well written and strongly plotted regencies I recommend The Bargain. Her two outstanding regencies in my opinion are The Bargain and the Rake (a rewrite of the regency The Rake and The Reformer). If you want to read that series in order - The Bargain, followed by the Diabolical Baron (about the officer who suggests the bargain to Lady Jocelyn), and the Rake (which is a sequel to The Diabolical Baron). A very minor character in The Rake, Lord Randolph, gets a short story in Sunshine at Christmas (in the Mary Jo Putney 2002 Christmas anthology).Another sequel to The Bargain is Petals In The Storm (about the Duke of Candover), which forms the second book in Mary Jo Putney's Fallen Angels series of regency historicals.

This is another winner from Mary Jo Putney, who is now without question my favourite Regency writer, even surpassing the excellent Balogh, Oliver and Kelly. I was a little dubious about ordering this book in the first place given the mixed reviews here, but decided to give it a chance; and I'm very glad I did.I never read the original, shorter version of this book, but I cannot imagine wanting The Bargain to be any shorter than it is. The story flowed really well, and the characters - *all* the characters - were entertaining, well drawn, and a joy to meet. David and Jocelyn in particular were very sympathetic and their relationship was portrayed by Putney in a loving, humorous and sometimes heartwrenching manner. And we also got two other love stories on the side!I can't see how anyone can say that there was no love developing between David and Jocelyn here. It literally flowed off the pages! It was there all along, from Jocelyn's unexpected sadness at what she'd thought was David's death, to her joy at his recovery, and then the time they spent in the country. It was blindingly obvious there that they were in love.Another thing I enjoy about Putney's books is the use of recurring characters: in this book we meet Richard Dalton, for instance, who gets his own story in The Diabolical Baron, and also Rafe (Jocelyn's other less well-intentioned suitor) whose own story I can't wait to read. I thoroughly recommend this book, as I've done for every other Putney I've read - and as I already did in respect of this one last week, but the review I submitted then never appeared.

Mary Jo Putney can bring tears and laughter any time she "puts pen to paper!" I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially because I just finished her "Fallen Angels" series. Ms. Putney can pull the reader into the mind and heart of her characters, and make the reader feel all the emotions of that character. This is not easily done, and is handled beautifully by this skillful writer. Great plot! Great characters! Great romance! Perfect for Valentine's Day reading!

If you're like me and a fan of Mary Jo Putney, be sure to grab a copy of The Bargain and devour it. The Would Be Widow released, The Bargain pays off handsomely.In July 1815 Lady Jocelyn Kendal is in a pickle, she needs to marry within a few weeks but she has no husband she's willing to marry. Behold while visiting a friend at the hospital she is introduced to Major David Lancaster, a soldier dying from injuries he received at Waterloo. The perfect solution! Lady Jocely is in need of a husband and Major Lancaster would like to die in peace knowing his younger sister is taken care of financially. The two strike a bargain. The two marry and Lady Jocelyn will pay 500 pounds a year for life to his sister Sally. Perfect solution, except David doesn't die.Now that Lady Jocelyn is strapped with a husband she never wanted she must find a way to get out of the marriage. Agreeing to an annulment, David must live with Jocelyn for a period of time, approximately six months. During the duration of time David falls in love with Jocelyn, but Jocelyn is afraid of loving and refuses to offer her love to him.The Bargain was a charming story and I was thrilled to find characters from other books. Richard Dalton appears from The Diabolical Baron and one of my favorite characters Rafe, the Duke of Candover from Petals in the Storm is introduced as one of Lady Jocelyn's suitors.If you're a lover of Regency romance, Mary Jo Putney has delivered another wonderful romance.