A Gentleman's Daughter (A Zebra Regency Romance)

Rating:
Summary: The Literary Times
Review: Nominated as Best Romantic Debut Novel for l995 by the Literary Times

Rating:
Summary: Villains To Over the Top & Depraved
Review: The book was rather an enjoyable read with the opening scene a nice gathering at Almacks.....until I noticed the sexual depravity of John Whyte's elder brother, Lord St. Clare and his sister-in-law, Lady St. Clare twords the end of the 1st chapter. It went on from that there with Lady St. Clare trying out various ways to hurt or injure the heroine, Pamela Stone (for no reason I could tell since Lady St. Clare was wife of the heir, there was really nothing to gain by harming the heroine, Pamela Stone). Twords the later part of the book Lord and Lady St. Clare succeed in trapping Pamela Stone & her cousin Victorine in a gothic sinister tower room on Lord St. Clare's estate. Although the abuse is not mentioned graphically but is discussed (Victorine is raped by St. Clare in the "secret" room), it would have been a much more enjoyable read if the villains were not so peverse. I guess I just didn't understand the reason behind the perversity. Even John Whyte's father, who lived on the family estate did not seem to care what St. Clare was doing and even approved of the tower room doings and seemed to infer that he had also done the same in his "salad days" when he was confronted by his son trying to rescue his love and her cousin from his evil brother.

However, I did like the hero and heroine but would be better in a different situation. (That's the only reason why it has 2 stars VS 1)

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but slightly far-fetched...
Review: This is apparently Isabel Linton's debut novel, and the plot is certainly unique (and has been described in the editorial review).

The heroine is appealing, the hero is in an untenable position but is completely honourable. The absence of money and connections becomes a major issue in the story, as it was in real life. The debauchery of some members of the aristocracy is also fully exposed here, to a point that may be hard to take for some readers.

What I found hard to take (apart from the rape and other forms of abuse) was the almost caricature-like portrayals of the three villains in the book. Insanity was suggested by the hero's friend as the reason for the way they behaved, but I felt that to be too simplistic. I was also astounded that the hero had no idea that they were likely to behave in that manner, considering how close he was to them.

I have to agree that Victoria was the perfect victim, empty-headed, gullible, malleable and with no father and no healthy male relations to protect her; her mother was also totally hopeless, making the wrong decision at virtually every moment. I was slightly astonished that the heroine would be chosen as the victim, considering her greater strength and presence of mind; I can only suppose that she was considered a challenge, doubly or triply so.

I do have one or two caveats. Some of the settings for the more revealing conversations are far-fetched; it is unlikely that the Viscount would be openly talking about his plans at Almack's for one. There was at times too much conversation, which did not really reveal much apart from how good or how bad certain characters were. The embezzlement of the hero's fortune was slightly far-fetched, given that his father's access to the fortune (if not the income) would have been limited. [Embezzlements therefore commonly happened when the trustees or the actual professionals handling the money were dishonest; marriage settlements were set up precisely to prevent the situation described from happening].

Finally, regarding a crucial dismissal of one of the girl's maids, it is hard to imagine that any house servant would dare to take such action summarily, without recourse to the employer. A servant could not be dismissed by the servants of another noble household; she might well be accused of thievery, immoral behavior, and so forth, but the dismissal could come only from the employer. These were some minor points that seemed to be errors.

While I do not care generally for such melodramatic situations, I found the hero and heroine very appealing, and just wished that they could have been situated somewhat differently. I hope that Miss Linton can create such appealing characters in somewhat less melodramatic settings. On the other hand, her ability to create ordinary and decent people and place them in highly unusual families and settings might go down better with other readers.