An Arranged Marriage

Rating:
Summary: Good beginning of a great series
Review: I first read AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE when it was reissued by Zebra in 1993, and while for some indefinable reason I liked it less than the two other books of the Company of Rogues series that had been published up to that point--AN UNWILLING BRIDE and CHRISTMAS ANGEL--still thought it was a good book and hung on to my copy.

Nicholas and Eleanor are a wonderful hero and heroine, and I think that their actions are perfectly understandable. Agreeing to a marriage of convenience with the brother of the man who'd been tricked into ruining her was really the lesser of two evils for Eleanor (on page 33 she made a very convincing rationale for her decision). She did put up with her husband having a mistress, but so did many women of her class in Regency England. At least in her case her husband was only involved with another woman as part of a secret political mission, and took no pleasure in the affair (being the plaything of the depraved Therese Bellaire was no bed of roses!) To do Nicholas further credit, he agreed to undertake the mission before he met Eleanor, and he did everything in his power to prevent her from being hurt.

Rating:
Summary: This Book is a *10*.
Review: Like most women, I've read hundreds of romance novels. I will always remember Nicholas Delaney as one of the top five heros ever created. He's that intriging.

Rating:
Summary: I stayed up all night and read this book until I finished
Review: Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. I have not read one like it before - the heroine is raped and then marries the brother who carries on an affair with his mistress for over 6 months of their marriage (for his country ofcourse). Who would have thought I would have found this book - one that I could not put down? I sure didn't. But it turned out to be an incredible story. I am glad I was not thrown off by the 3 stars average on Amazon.

Rating:
Summary: Straining the boundaries of political correctness ...
Review: This is the first romance novel I have read where the hero spends at least 3/4 of the book sleeping with another woman.
Jo Beverley strains the boundaries of political correctness in AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE, her most controversial story I have read to date. There is no denying Ms. Beverley is a master storyteller and perhaps because of this political incorrectness she delivers a powerfully fresh stage for her story.

Eleanor Chivenham is drugged by her manipulative brother and raped by an equally drugged Lord Delaney. Lord Delaney hazed into the brutal act and not quite having his wits about him completes the deed but comes back the next day to find out exactly what happened. Upon meeting Eleanor planning to jump to her death, and understanding a child might come from this act, concocts a story that it was actually his twin brother Nicholas Delaney who stole her maidenhood. A marriage is arranged, and Eleanor and Nicholas are soon married.

She quickly discovers that it was not Nicholas who raped her, but his brother. Nicholas, a charming and handsome man is soon off spending time with his mistress. Serving his country, Nicholas is actually involved in a plot to foil the mistress who is involved in Napoleonic activities. Eleanor finds she is with child and also that she loves her dreadfully neglectful and cheating husband. Nicholas, knowing he will be gone most of the time, has surrounded her with his Company of Rogues, a group of handsome and dashing young men to act as her protectors and escorts.

The hero Nicholas is not one I liked much at all. His sleeping with this mistress for the greater good of the country and at the expense of his marriage is hard for any woman to swallow I think. The very idea that this romance began in a rape, although not by the "hero" is still distasteful and gives a dark shadow over the entire story. That said, the story is incredibly engaging and tightly woven from start to finish and is a very entertaining read. Jo Beverley once again takes us for a ride and doesn't let go until the end.

This is Book 1 in Jo Beverley's Company of Rogues Series.

Rating:
Summary: a definite keeper--worth more than 5 stars
Review: An Arranged Marriage is a wonderful book. The characters are well drawn and memorable;the story will hold your interest. Nicholas and Eleanor are two of my favorite characters--especially Nicholas! It is one of the best books I have ever read and is a story one can read again and again. The Regency setting is glittering and complex and Jo brings it to life brilliantly. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes strong, memorable characters, romance, intrigue and the Regency period. I

t is also the first book in the Company of Rogues series. Great job, Jo!

Rating:
Summary: Not Ms Beverley's Best!
Review: "An Arranged Marriage" is one of Ms Beverley's earlier works, being first published in 1991, and it is also the first in the "Company of Rogues" series, set in Regency England. There are two major problems with this work: the first is that it is almost entirely told from the point of view of the heroine, Eleanor Chivenham, who is pregnant and housebound during most of the book. The most exciting elements, the adventures of the hero Nicholas Delany, happen offstage and are related to the reader by Nicholas at the conclusion of the narrative. The second major problem is that the book opens with the rape of the virginal heroine by Nicholas' brother, who arranges for Nicholas to marry Eleanor, hence the title of the book. Eleanor's reaction to the rape is surprising: she displays about the same level of emotion as if her bottom had been pinched! Even though the author had Eleanor considering throwing herself in the river this reader at least never felt her distress. She is far too understanding and pragmatic, even given the time period and her unhappy family background.

I had a lesser problem with the fact that Nicholas kept up an affair after the marriage to Eleanor, as it made sense on several levels: Nicholas had been spying on the suspected Bonapartist for months before he wed Eleanor, his marriage was not a love match in the beginning, and, as another reviewer pointed out, it was not unusual for men of his station to keep a mistress after marriage. However, for some more traditionally minded romance readers this was a major concern, as it went against the conventions of romance writing -- for me that was a bonus, but I didn't feel it was handled as well as it could have been in this book. Again, I think it was a problem of things being related to us mostly after the fact.

I have read some of the Company of Rogues series out of order, and in my opinion "An Arranged Marriage" is one of the weaker books. While I believe that Ms Beverley is one of today's outstanding writers of Regency and Georgian romances, mysteries are not her strong suit, and the longer Regency novels seem to "require" that there be a mystery. However, her later books are much better as: 1)she alternates point of view and 2)does not merely relate the most exciting parts of the story but actually makes the reader into a participant. This book is a must-read if you are going to complete the entire Compnay of Rogue series, and while IMO it is flawed, it is still a good introduction to the other characters in the "Company."

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, thought-provoking and romantic
Review: This is a great book! It's sensitive and well-written and has vivid characters. The plot is a nice combination of romance and political intrigue. It's also a fairly realistic snapshot of what life must have been like for women in the regency era, and I think that's why some people haven't liked the book.

Eleanor is raped by a nobleman (who actually thinks she's willing). He catches her trying to commit suicide and tries to make amends by begging his twin brother, Nicholas, to marry her. Nicholas does so, but he's just become embroiled in an espionage assignment which involves pretending to establish a certain (beautiful) suspected Bonapartist as his mistress. The intrigue builds, as does the romance between Eleanor and Nicholas.

Eleanor's character is consistent with Regency culture. Married men had mistresses and wives were supposed to accept that. Moreover, Eleanor doesn't fight for Nicholas immediately NOT because she's a wimp but because she doesn't want to make demands on a new husband who married her solely for her own sake and not for his. She would have been ruined or an unwed mother or dead without him, and she's cognizant of that and only gradually coming into her own as a wife and mistress of her own establishment. He's married her sight unseen for no reason other than to save her, and she knows it. She's strong and sweet in subtle ways.

Nicholas is modeled on Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond character, for those who've read that incredible series. He's torn for many reasons and in numerous ways -- between a new wife, his espionage, a mistress he hates, censure from his "Company of Rogues," his ridiculous brother and her nasty brother. I love his ideals and sympathize with him for the pressures pummeling him.

The book has wonderful, witty conversation, and even the minor characters are well-drawn (Lucien, for example). The prose is beautiful at times and well-written always. I get really tired of reading the utterly inane (there is no other word) writing prevalent in some of these regencies. This is the first of a charming series of regency novels, and I recommend them all. But this one is actually my favorite. Do try it.

Rating:
Summary: What was Jo Beverley thinking?
Review: I so hate it when characters that have a great potential are used in a less than satisfactory plot! That's what happened with this novel.

I could have loved Nicholas. He is so warm and lighthearted and at the same time wise and responsible. He has one of the most magnetic and fascinating personalities I have encountered in romance novel heroes. He is a natural leader and the best friend one can hope for. But the way he acts in this story denies all that. That is why I was so frustrated with this book.

I understand the fact that he owed no loyalty to Eleanor, and he couldn't be expected to drop everything for her, since he only married her to save her from a difficult situation created by their brothers, but even so, I could not justify or understand his actions.

I think what bothered me most was his ambivalence. If he wasn't in love with his wife, I could have understood what he did. But to betray and hurt her "for his country", when he was desperately in love with her and despised his mistress is hard to digest, to say the least.

What is more, he betrayed more than his wife with his actions, he betrayed himself. He prostituted himself due to some misguided sense of duty, and that made me loose my respect for him. There had to be other ways for the government to obtain the information they were seeking. By the way, if he was so repulsed by his mistress, how could he keep sleeping with her? How could he even "perform"? This suggests the idea men are only animals, capable of getting aroused by a beautiful and skillful woman, even if they despise her. Maybe this is true for some men, but is not a trait I would like in a romance novel hero.

And to top it off, all his "efforts" were for nothing, because the treasonous plot he was trying to uncover turned out to be a hoax devised by Therese (his mistress) to swindle money out Napoleon sympathizers and to get back at him for rejecting her in the past.

One more thing, where is all that sexual skill this book mentions so often he posseses? The only two times he slept with his wife were rather boring, and one of those times he didn't even concern himself with giving her pleasure. Does that sound like a great lover to you?

This is the first romance novel I have read in which the villains win, and the hero is made to look like an idiot. Reading the next "Rogues" books, one finds that the villains get what they deserve, but I think one shouldn't have to read another book, to see the conclusion of a story started in this one....All in all, I think this novel was a great waste of great characters, and a waste of my time.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Novel!
Review: Beverley is a magnificent story teller and from all her books I found that this one was the best (even better than 'My Lady Notorious' which had me in tears!). I liked it the best probably because it was so well written. I adored Nicholas - he was great. So gallant, so understanding, so handsome, so brilliant! Suffering for a fallen cause! I adored that he hated his mistrees but was forced to 'satisfy' her for his country. Beverley conveyed both Nick's feeling and Eleanor's brilliantly. An amazing book - RECOMENDED!

Rating:
Summary: Straining the boundaries of political correctness...
Review: This is the first romance novel I have read where the hero spends at least 3/4 of the book sleeping with another woman.

Jo Beverley strains the boundaries of political correctness in AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE, her most controversial story I have read to date. There is no denying Ms. Beverley is a master storyteller and perhaps because of this political incorrectness she delivers a powerfully fresh stage for her story.

Eleanor Chivenham is drugged by her manipulative brother and raped by an equally drugged Lord Delaney. Lord Delaney hazed into the brutal act and not quite having his wits about him completes the deed but comes back the next day to find out exactly what happened. Upon meeting Eleanor planning to jump to her death, and understanding a child might come from this act, concocts a story that it was actually his twin brother Nicholas Delaney who stole her maidenhood. A marriage is arranged, and Eleanor and Nicholas are soon married.

She quickly discovers that it was not Nicholas who raped her, but his brother. Nicholas, a charming and handsome man is soon off spending time with his mistress. Serving his country, Nicholas is actually involved in a plot to foil the mistress who is involved in Napoleonic activities. Eleanor finds she is with child and also that she loves her dreadfully neglectful and cheating husband. Nicholas, knowing he will be gone most of the time, has surrounded her with his Company of Rogues, a group of handsome and dashing young men to act as her protectors and escorts.

The hero Nicholas is not one I liked much at all. His sleeping with this mistress for the greater good of the country and at the expense of his marriage is hard for any woman to swallow I think. The very idea that this romance began in a rape, although not by the "hero" is still distasteful and gives a dark shadow over the entire story. That said, the story is incredibly engaging and tightly woven from start to finish and is a very entertaining read. Jo Beverley once again takes us for a ride and doesn't let go until the end.

This is Book 1 in Jo Beverley's Company of Rogues Series.