Almost a Gentleman

Rating:
Summary: []Beautifully Written Historical Romance
Review: "Almost a Gentleman" is Pam Rosenthal's debut novel, and if her subsequent efforts are half as good as this first work, she is bound for literary stardom. The story-line is unique and somewhat reminiscent of Gerogette Heyer's "The Masqueraders." Phoebe Browne thought she had left her old life as Lady Claringworth behind after a carriage accident killed her abusive husband, her toddler son and her unborn daughter. With the help of her best friend, Kate Beveridge, "Lady Claringworth" fakes her own death and is reborn as the cool, cynical arbiter of society known as Philip "Phizz" Marston. Marston is sought after by men and women alike for his male beauty, but when "he" encounters Lord David Hervey, Earl of Linseley, "he" has met his match. David is disturbed by his unnatural attraction to Marston, but when Marston's life is threatened by an enemy from "his" past, David comes to the rescue and is relieved to discover that Marston is really Phoebe in disguise. Phoebe and David embark upon a torrid affair, but the scars from Phoebe's sad past (including her inability to bear more children and David's desire for children) keep them apart until David is able to convince her that their love can be a healing balm. However, can even David's love save Phoebe from a mortal enemy bent upon revenge?

I loved the way that Phoebe as Marston was able to beat 19th Century London Society at its own game--to be a woman, and yet be strong, independent, and a maker of her own rules. David is an adorable hero, a genuinely "nice" guy but with plenty of sizzle when the lights go out. My only peeve about the book, and it is a small one, is that the ending seemed to come too quickly and too neatly, almost as if the author were in a rush to finish the story by a deadline. This is one novel that could have used another 30 pages of exposition. With that caveat, I recommend this book highly...

Rating:
Summary: Romance with a twist...
Review: ... the twist being a very fine, simplistic, poetic writing style rarely employed to tell stories of this type. While most romance authors spend paragraphs trying to explain to the reader how the hero or heroine are feeling, Rosenthal captures Phoebe and David's feelings with a comment or a gesture, and leaves the paragraphs to do what they're supposed to - tell the story.

For the first time in ages I found myself unable to skip through a book. There are no wasted words in this novel, and despite its description as an "erotic romance," it is decidedly more tame than many other erotic novels I've read.

Almost a Gentleman is an all-in-all good bet, a clear indication that something new can be done with the format of historical romance. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: A dazzling debut indeed!
Review: Elegantly written and ingeniously plotted, Almost A Gentleman is a pleasure from beginning to end.

Rosenthal is a gifted writer, and her novel sparkles with wit and fascinating characters.

I'm looking forward to more from this author.

Rating:
Summary: A sweet and spicy surprise.
Review: Elegantly written, tender and sexy. If you like Judith Ivory and Christina Dodd, give this new author a try. I was skeptical about the premise - How could an attractive, heterosexual woman live an active social life disguised as a man, without people suspecting that he is a she? But Rosenthal's poignant characterization of Marston makes "him" entirely believable. Abused by her late husband, traumatized by the death of their little son, and having learned that she can no longer conceive, Phoebe determines that she no longer has any social worth as a woman. So she creates an elaborate deception that allows her enjoy the social freedom of a man. The ruse is a success only as long as "his" friendships are limited to a shallow, catty, fashion-obsessed social set who share no real connection. It's a lonely life, but the isolation is exactly what Phoebe wants. Until David comes along...One of the most lovable romantic heros I've come across. Particularly charming is David's confusion and embarassment when he finds himself feeling a sexual attraction to "Mr. Marston." This situation could have been overplayed by another author, but it's sensitively handled here and you will quickly find yourself wanting these two lonely souls to find and heal each other. Some hot sex would be nice, too! And Rosenthal doesn't disappoint. Enjoy! I can't wait for her next book.

Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable well-written love story
Review: For ANY author, much less a new one, this was a wonderfully written and entertaining book. I read it non-stop because the hero and heroine's touching love story totally captivated me. This book has real depth. For the reader that complained it wasn't erotic enough, I guess they prefer their sex scenes to be more raw, explicit and unemotional. The sex scenes in this book are erotic love scenes because the author took the time to develop the characters and show us how they fell in love with each other. I have recently read a few of Thea Devine's books and they get pretty boring because the 'hero' and 'heroine' are one dimensional characters who actively dislike/hate each other and have sex anyway for page after page, then realize at the end of the book they really love each other when the Ms. Devine never showed us why or how they got to that point (other than banging each others' brains out!) Ms. Rosenthal takes the time to create a beautiful love story with sympathetic characters. I look forward to more from her - hopefully soon!

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite authors
Review: I came to read this book because I found out it was written by the author, under the pseudonym Molly Weatherfield, of Carrie's Story and its sequel, Safe Word, which are, without a doubt, the most perceptive, funny, literary and flat-out searingly hot erotica on my shelf. (Very s/m, but, unless you really hate that, so very, very good.) Those books seem on the surface to be very different from Almost A Gentleman, a Regency romance (albeit with some very good, non-kinky sex.) But I liked them all, and I do think they have things in common that really appealed to me, other than just the very skilled writing of the author.

One is that they all include characters (here, both Phoebe and David, which is nice), who, at the same time they manage to be extremely likeable, decent and easy to identify with, choose to follow what many people would consider thoroughly outrageous, socially unacceptable impulses (including, of course, sexual desire, or, as Carrie describes her motivation, "wall to wall, overwhelming, dizzying lust.") Charmingly, such recklessness turns out not to destroy, ruin or even damage them. In fact, ultimately, it seems to make them more capable of happiness. There seems to be a lesson here.

Another common feature is that, while the characters get themselves into situations that are somewhat fantastic, they and their relationships always seem so real. They hide things from each other for reasons you understand, not to just keep the plot moving along. They get confused and ambivalent for reasons you understand, as well. All of these books are most fundamentally about the relationships -- what these people mean to each other and how they act that out.

I really enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to The Bookseller's Daughter. Though I wish the author would write some new erotica, as well.

Rating:
Summary: Too much imagination required - very unrealistic story
Review: I have discovered that giving a negative review can be a very unpopular act. I have avoided writing these low rated reviews firstly because I take great care in choosing the books I will read. Therefore, I rarely read a book lower than a three star rating. Secondly, many negative reviews seem to be based on a reader's taste - not the actual writing itself. Acknowledging that there are a wide variety of tastes and preferences in romance writing, I usually decide not to make public my dislike of a book I have so carefully chosen. However, since Almost a Gentleman is so far removed from many of the standards that I believe comprise good romance writing, I am putting in words my negative contemplations concerning this disappointing story.

Mr. Philip "Phizz" Marston is the very unlikely heroine of Almost a Gentleman. Three years previously, her unfaithful and unkind husband, Lord Claringworth, had in a drunken state wrecked the family's carriage, killing himself, the three-year-old son, and the unborn daughter. Only Lady Claringworth survived the wreck and friends help her stage her own death. She wants nothing to do with her previous life or family and never again wants to be confined by society's restrictions placed upon women.

Phizz Marton, has come out of nowhere, with no noble background. However, he is a cynical member of society - widely accepted - and is held in high regard by both men and women for his male beauty. Phizz puts a lot of effort into his every day appearance with fake whiskers, short hair, bound breasts, and padded clothing. That he lives a lie, day in and day out, is supposed to be of little consequence to us as the readers. Even his best male friends, who he (she) spends a lot of time with, know nothing of this charade. Phizz is able to give a cut to his supposed piers that will be accepted unreservedly among London society. He is a sarcastic and mocking figure - certainly not someone I would want as a friend. Yet, we are expected to believe that this man, with no background, is so easily accepted by so many in this high-minded society. Phizz has no desire to ever live life as a woman again. Although, he (she) allows herself a dress on her scarce retreats from London, this is rare. She hires a gentleman of the night to come and fulfill her true sexual needs on a regular basis. That anyone could want to live the rest of his or her life as a member of the opposite sex is just plain weird to me. Oh, I could see if it were a temporary masquerade to accomplish an end. But there is nothing temporary about Phizz's preference of living. I was never able to accept this grossly dishonest character as the heroine. Certainly, thousands of other women have suffered much, much worse and still found some happiness in some other role and remained true to her sex. This was just too, too much of a stretch for me to believe even for the basis of a fictional story.

And then, when the hero is added to this highly unlikely story line, the book becomes even more far-fetched and we are expected to be enthralled by David, the very manly and mature hero, finding himself strangely attracted to Phizz. He has never been attracted to a man in the least. Well, most men would just consider this odd attraction a little too odd to pursue. But David follows Phizz - not understanding his intentions entirely. After some observance and background checks, David discovers that Phizz is actually a woman. Well, you would assume that the story would begin a turn after the discovery. Yes, David does finally admit to the heroine that he knows she is a woman. But, he has this very considerate heart that convinces him that he will assist her in her disguise. He knows he wants her as a woman but there is trouble afoot and David goes to great lengths to help Phizz out of a troublesome situation that seems to stem from her false identity. At this point, I could not find any sympathy for Phizz, who stubbornly refuses to give up his (her) life as a man even as her life is in jeopardy. The story only becomes more and more unlikely with every page. And David's attempt to aid Phizz only emasculates him further.

This entire story is very convoluted in my opinion. Some of the reviews refer to the sensual scenes as very sexual. I did not find these scenes as unusually sexy and rate them no higher than a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). Even in these scenes, Phizz pushes to take control. It seems that even her budding love for David cannot keep her from her need to dominate men.

Many of the aspects of this book could have been accepted and enjoyed singularly or possibly with two working together. But we are ask to place all realism aside. Even fairy tale romances are easier to believe than this. It will take a lot of research and convincing for me to purchase Rosenthal?s next book.

Rating:
Summary: Too much imagination required - very unrealistic story
Review: I have discovered that giving a negative review can be a very unpopular act. I have avoided writing these low rated reviews firstly because I take great care in choosing the books I will read. Therefore, I rarely read a book lower than a three star rating. Secondly, many negative reviews seem to be based on a reader's taste - not the actual writing itself. Acknowledging that there are a wide variety of tastes and preferences in romance writing, I usually decide not to make public my dislike of a book I have so carefully chosen. However, since Almost a Gentleman is so far removed from many of the standards that I believe comprise good romance writing, I am putting in words my negative contemplations concerning this disappointing story.

Mr. Philip "Phizz" Marston is the very unlikely heroine of Almost a Gentleman. Three years previously, her unfaithful and unkind husband, Lord Claringworth, had in a drunken state wrecked the family's carriage, killing himself, the three-year-old son, and the unborn daughter. Only Lady Claringworth survived the wreck and friends help her stage her own death. She wants nothing to do with her previous life or family and never again wants to be confined by society's restrictions placed upon women.

Phizz Marton, has come out of nowhere, with no noble background. However, he is a cynical member of society - widely accepted - and is held in high regard by both men and women for his male beauty. Phizz puts a lot of effort into his every day appearance with fake whiskers, short hair, bound breasts, and padded clothing. That he lives a lie, day in and day out, is supposed to be of little consequence to us as the readers. Even his best male friends, who he (she) spends a lot of time with, know nothing of this charade. Phizz is able to give a cut to his supposed piers that will be accepted unreservedly among London society. He is a sarcastic and mocking figure - certainly not someone I would want as a friend. Yet, we are expected to believe that this man, with no background, is so easily accepted by so many in this high-minded society. Phizz has no desire to ever live life as a woman again. Although, he (she) allows herself a dress on her scarce retreats from London, this is rare. She hires a gentleman of the night to come and fulfill her true sexual needs on a regular basis. That anyone could want to live the rest of his or her life as a member of the opposite sex is just plain weird to me. Oh, I could see if it were a temporary masquerade to accomplish an end. But there is nothing temporary about Phizz's preference of living. I was never able to accept this grossly dishonest character as the heroine. Certainly, thousands of other women have suffered much, much worse and still found some happiness in some other role and remained true to her sex. This was just too, too much of a stretch for me to believe even for the basis of a fictional story.

And then, when the hero is added to this highly unlikely story line, the book becomes even more far-fetched and we are expected to be enthralled by David, the very manly and mature hero, finding himself strangely attracted to Phizz. He has never been attracted to a man in the least. Well, most men would just consider this odd attraction a little too odd to pursue. But David follows Phizz - not understanding his intentions entirely. After some observance and background checks, David discovers that Phizz is actually a woman. Well, you would assume that the story would begin a turn after the discovery. Yes, David does finally admit to the heroine that he knows she is a woman. But, he has this very considerate heart that convinces him that he will assist her in her disguise. He knows he wants her as a woman but there is trouble afoot and David goes to great lengths to help Phizz out of a troublesome situation that seems to stem from her false identity. At this point, I could not find any sympathy for Phizz, who stubbornly refuses to give up his (her) life as a man even as her life is in jeopardy. The story only becomes more and more unlikely with every page. And David's attempt to aid Phizz only emasculates him further.

This entire story is very convoluted in my opinion. Some of the reviews refer to the sensual scenes as very sexual. I did not find these scenes as unusually sexy and rate them no higher than a 4.0 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). Even in these scenes, Phizz pushes to take control. It seems that even her budding love for David cannot keep her from her need to dominate men.

Many of the aspects of this book could have been accepted and enjoyed singularly or possibly with two working together. But we are ask to place all realism aside. Even fairy tale romances are easier to believe than this. It will take a lot of research and convincing for me to purchase Rosenthal?s next book.

Rating:
Summary: entertaining Regency romance
Review: In 1819, Lady Kate Beverredge consoles her distraught best friend Phoebe Claringworth over the death of her three-year-old son and unborn daughter. Phoebe is lucky to be alive though she might think otherwise as her husband was DUI causing the coach to crash killing him and their two children. Vowing she will never again be under the thumb of a male, Phoebe cuts off her hair.

Three years later, Mr. Philip "Phizz" Marston is considered the heir apparent to Brummell as the arbiter of style. When aristocratic farmer David Hervey sees Phizz for the first time ever, he wonders about himself, as he cannot keep his eyes off the man. When Mr. Marston leaves, David can't forget him. This somewhat disturbs David because he has always favored women and has a near adult son born out of wedlock. Soon David realizes why he is so attracted to a male, as Mr. Marston is actually a masquerading female. David begins to "court" Phoebe, disguised as Mr. Marston. Soon they fall in love, but he must persuade her that they belong together beyond just the pleasures of the flesh as she knows the tyranny of marriage.

This is an entertaining Regency romance starring a delightful lead protagonist and an intrepid heroine. The reactions of Mr. Marston and Lord David upon first seeing one another is priceless, especially that of the confused earl. Though his learning of a plot to harm her seems stretched, fans will appreciate this charming tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Just too boring...(Sorry)
Review: Like most of the reviewers of this novel below, I found this a delightful, charming book, a rewarding debut. Unlike some of the other reviewers I am not a great devourer of Romance novels. I am, however, a great devourer of historical fiction, namely of literary historical fiction, and I especially favor books about strong-willed women who, often through cross-dressing, manage to outwit and challege their contemporary society's rules. Some of these books include Patricia Duncker's confoundingly beautiful novel "The Doctor," and all three Victorian-Gothic novels by Sarah Waters.

But the true reason I loved this novel was not only because, as I said before, it has a heroine who is not afraid to brook social customs and rewrite her past through dressing and living as a man. The true reason I loved this novel is because it artfully plays with two literary conventions-- the Romance novel convention, and the late 18th, early 19th century novel of manners (perhaps Jane Austen is best known for these, but certainly the canon ought to include two earlier works by women, Charlotte Lenox's delightful and satirical "Female Quixote," and Elizabeth Inchbald's bitingly clever "A Simple Story"). Rosenthal's novel makes gentle nods to Austen numerous times, but it is in the series of misunderstandings and the emotional rapport that the brilliance of her writing illuminates her project.

Phoebe/Phizz and David, the heroine and hero, both lead lives that are lacking in one way or another. By becoming "Phizz" Marston, Phoebe shuts out any capacity for love and vulnerable emotions from her life. By assuming that women want only a strong (patriarchal, hegemonic) man to rescue them and marry them, David is handicapped with misogynism. Some readers below might find it difficult to believe that a Regency hero could be considered chauvinistic, or a Regency heroine who dresses as a man be realistic for the period (perhaps this reader is not familiar with the well known literary genre of cross-dressing women in 19th century lit-- Gautier's Mlle du Maupin, for instance, or George Sand herself), but in fact feminism had already begun to make its mark on English culture-- Mary Wollestonecraft's "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" had already gone through several printings, and her daughter Mary Godwin Shelley was making a name for herself as a novelist with "Valperga" and "Frankenstein." So yes, it is understandable that Phoebe would want more equality for women. What makes this novel such a delightful read is that its author is thoroughly aware that the dynamic of a romance/comedy of manners involves the education of both hero and heroine-- Elizabeth Bennett needs to learn that Darcy is a good person, and Darcy needs to learn to act more kindly to her. etc. etc. Likewise, Phoebe/"Phizz" needs to learn to allow love and uncertainty into her heart, and David needs to learn not to be so sexist. The sentimental education in this novel is both David teaching Phoebe to love, and Phoebe teaching David to respect women on their own terms. I found this both refreshing and believable.

I loved this book because it took great risks with the novel of manners and Romance novel conventions, but nevertheless managed to treat its readers gently. Somehow, perhaps because of the narrator's older, experienced and somewhat wry tone (channelling Austen, perhaps?), I knew that nothing horrible was going to happen to the characters, and that depiste the dangers they faced, everyone would end up happy in the end. But I still kept turning the pages, because I wanted to find out exactly *how* the characters did end up, because I developed a genuine affection for the characters. I loved that both Phoebe and David recognized the brilliance of the poet and printer William Blake long before any of his contemporaries did (that's the fun thing about historical fiction-- you can rewrite history!), and I felt like Phoebe's laconic but precocious son reminded me of other kids I knew, wise beyond their years, and especially so from adults' perspectives.

The only thing I missed was the frisson produced by cross-dressing. Why did Shakespearean audiences lie to see boys dressed as girls pretending to be boys? Because of the excitement of not knowing which was which. When David thinks he is falling for a boy for the first time (which *is* believable, and has been for time immemorial!), he struggles with his confusion, and is relieved to find out Phoebe is indeed a girl. Perhaps there are too many conservative, homophobic Romance readers out there who wouldn't appreciate erotic variety, but I know I would have liked to read more about David's assumed homosexual attraction-- maybe a David/Phizz kiss (rather than David/Phoebe) would have made this book even more exciting.

Can't wait for "The Bookseller's Daughter"!