"Ghost Story with a Pygmalion Theme"
In Tudor times, a romance ended tragically, and now the
ghost of the young man supposedly haunts Fallingate. The
current inhabitant, Caroline Wainwright, finds herself in a
dilemma. If she doesn't marry before her 25th birthday, she
will lose her home and income to her pompous brother and
his overbearing and social climbing wife. The problem is
that Lord Hamilton's ghost keeps chasing away all her
suitors! Doctor Theodore Cavendish, physician, explorer and
family friend, decides to find her a husband -- at the
local jail. He selects one Lucas Davin, imprisoned for
horse theft and the best housebreaker in Seven Dials. He
convinced Luc that he wants to play Pygmalion and pass him
off as a gentleman to win a bet, then gets him drunk and
places him in Caroline's bed. Luc agrees to marry her to
save her reputation and her home, then leave forever.
First he has to pass muster with her brother, so the
Pygmalion experiment is underway in earnest. The trouble
is, Caroline the hopeful romantic, and Luc, the burglar
with a heart of gold, insist on falling in love with each
other. The paranormal elements in this novel are minimal --
whether the ghost is real or a figment of everyone's
imagination is up to the reader to decide. It is a frothy
romp with engaging characters and lots of humor. Caroline
is an engaging heroine, a bit naive but warm and sweet-
natured -- a 19th century version of Joanie in Romancing
the Stone. And Luc, for all his rough edges, is a gentleman
at heart, with a soft spot for orphans and ladies in
distress. The supporting cast are fun, too. The dialogue is
amusing, the Pygmalion theme well handled (I like Caroline
and Theodore much better than Henry Higgins and whoever),
and the sex is sweet and steamy at the same time. There are
not a lot of surprises here, but I don't think we read this
sort of story for the plot twists anyway. I'll definitely
look for other books by this author and I'll likely keep
it. Gil / September, 2000
Copyright © 2000 for PNR Reviews Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Posted November 10, 2001
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted November 12, 2006
|
