"Mendelian Shop of Horrors combined with a Little Irish Magic"
Tracy Fobes continues to broaden the scope of romantic
fiction with this innovative new novel for the thinking
woman. Romantic entertainment that stimulates the mind?
Now there is as concept for the new millennium! This is in
no way the mind numbing brain-candy that non-romance
readers attribute to the genre. Of course I've always
subscribed to the opinion that romance readers are some of
the most passionate and intelligent people in the world. I will admit to having fallen for our hero from the minute
his eyes lit upon the heroine's scandalous undergarments.
With his curiosity more than piqued he remained a
gentleman, but I get ahead of myself. A little bit of background on the main characters appears
to be in order. The story takes place during the Victorian
era, 1860 AD. The heroine is Mrs. Anne Sherwood, a young
English widow who has been disappointed in both love and
life. She had married the man of her parent's choosing, an
older man who had learned of her ability to render
amazingly accurate sketches of plant life. The naive girl
had expected to be loved, but found her love life seriously
lacking. She fulfilled herself by assisting her husband
with his work instead. She had served as his secretary,
copier, and illustrator for his 'Encyclopedia
of Flowering Plants'. All her illusions are finally
destroyed as, upon publication, she finds that her husband
had taken sole credit for her work. Her hopes of
hobnobbing with the Charles Darwin and his colleagues were
dashed. After her husband dies, her cousin, Sir Richard, sent for
her offering her a position at Kew Garden's as an
illustrator. She assumed an austere appearance, drab
clothing and severe hairstyles, in order to be taken more
seriously. Though her work was rather spectacular, many
were of the opinion she was merely copying her late
husband's work. Opportunity knocks in the form of Lord Connock, a botanist
who invites her to Ireland to illustrate some new
and rare species of plants he's acquired. Lord Connock
travels in the very scientific circles that Anne wishes to
be a part of, so she accepts gladly. The hero is Mr. Michael McEvoy. Michael is Lord Connock's
naturalist. He had spent his younger years poor but happy
on a farm in Connaught, until the death of his parents. He
lost family and farm to the Irish potato famine. The lad
was sent to a workhouse, where not even his spirit was
fed. Michael runs away to live in the wild. Some years later,
stories of "the green man" reach Lord Connock. The
scientist lures the young man out of the forest by leaving
food for him. Lord Connock takes Michael in, gives him a
home and civility in exchange for his knowledge of plant
life. Michael has traveled the world bringing back new and
rare species of plant life for study and cultivation. In
his gratitude to the man who perhaps saved his life he
doesn't question the man's activities or observe them
closely. Anne and Michael meet in an inn not far from Lord Connock's
Glendale Hall. The coach Anne had traveled in had met with
a mishap and she'd walked a far distance to reach the inn.
At one point she is frightened by a rustling sound she
imagines is being made by a wild predator and loses it
completely when she is "grabbed" by the ankle by a strange
vine of ivy. Upon discovering the inn, she speaks to
Michael. She learns that he is the naturalist Lord Connock
has spoken of, and asks him to arrange lodging for her and
transportation to the Hall. Michael sees before him a most
serious woman, her manner and appearance not at all
attractive to his way of thinking. That's when the
commotion begins and the pair notices a group of men
gleefully ransacking a battered trunk. Oh my, the
scandalous undergarments! Red-faced, Anne admits to
Michael that they belong to her, and gentleman that he is
he recovers it for her but not before he gets an eyeful of
one scarlet corset. He speculates that there may be more
to Anne than meets the eye. The scandalous under-things are the least of Anne's
secrets. She is blessed with the gift of seeing plant
auras, sensing their needs through the various colors she
sees in her mind. White signifies a healthy specimen,
while black denotes death. Other colors may indicate a
lack of moisture etc. Red indicates major distress. She
senses great distress in all the plants living in Lord
Connock's forest. Michael is intrigued by her
perceptiveness, though she won't explain how she comes by
her knowledge. He is in tune with nature due to his
background but Anne is city bred. She is an appealing
mystery. As events unfold Michael becomes very protective
of Anne and more than a little attracted. He can't quite
get those vivid under-garments out of his mind and seeks to
draw out the real Anne. While drawing Lord Connock's supposed new species, Anne
observes that plant appears to be man made. The parts don't
fit together, nor do they make sense. Combine that with
strange encounters with very odd disappearing ivy,
mysterious animal deaths, and a number of locked green
houses the two become investigators as well. Just what is
Lord Connock hiding in that particularly malodorous one,
where strange light and terrifying sounds are emitted? Lord
Connock claims his experiments will create the ultimate
hybrid that will save the world from ever having to suffer
starvation again. He is most committed to the causing
having lost his own wife to the famine. Can the pair turn
a blind eye to the mysterious occurrences and be grateful
for their positions? How far is too far? When Anne is finally given an opportunity to mingle with
Darwin and company, everything goes awry. Anne flees in
tears and is followed by a sympathetic Michael and soon
Anne discovers a different sort of passion. Now she is
torn between two desires. Michael too must make a choice.
Anne has alerted him to the evil being wrought in the
forest. Can he betray the man he owes his life to? I have to admit that as a biologist, I may have a unique
insight into this particular story. Hybridization was
indeed one answer to the blight that cursed Ireland. Today
with the advent of gene-splicing, we are on the brink of
curing inherited diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis and yet
I've have always been keenly aware of the possibilities for
misuse of this capability. It is not unthinkable when
industries are secretly dumping harmful pollutants into the
environment that a person without conscience could misuse
technology for their own glory or for profit. This
Medelian Little Shop of Horrors of the Victorian era is not
so far fetched. Not to lose sight of the love story. It is a tender romance
involving too people who due to their pasts are afraid to
love. They are deeply attracted to each other but their
goals are incompatible. They know their parting is
inevitable, but their love just won't be denied. Will Anne
be able to trust Michael with her secret and if so, will he
scoff at her or give her the acceptance she craves? What
will the future hold for a woman who must live in London to
travel to achieve the recognition she craves and a man who
wants nothing more than to once again find a home on a
little farm in Connaught? Ah but then they say home is
where the heart is, perhaps it's true. A little Irish magic
goes a long way. A fascinating tale, a tender love story. This book was a
real page turner. Highly recommended. Copyright 2000
Reviewed by Leslie Tramposch
Posted October 8, 2001
|
