The Scent of Lilacs (Regency Sognet Romance)

Rating:
Summary: a good old fashioned gothic romance
Review: "The Scent of Lilacs" by Barbara Hazard possesses all the ingredients of a gothic romance -- Edwin Whittingham receives unexpected news that he has inherited his dead great-uncle's wealth and home in the coastal town of Lechton. And so, happy at the prospect of no longer being penniless, Edwin and his younger sister, Katherine, make for Bryce House. There is however one small condition to this inheritance: Edwin must stay at Bryce House for a whole month, nights included, or else forfeit the inheritance. And when Edwin and Katherine finally reach Bryce House, they discover the reason behind this strange condition: apparently Bryce House is haunted by a gentleman ghost, and a weeping lady. Edwin and Katherine must prove their mettle by sticking it out for an entire month.

Of course neither sibling believes in ghosts. But their belief suffers a few knocks when first they realise that all the servants refuse to spend the nights at the house, and when they themselves begin to hear and see the ghosts. However it is only to Katherine that the weeping lady appears before, leaving behind her a scent of lilacs... Strong minded and practical, Katherine, however refuses to allow a couple of ghosts to faze her -- finally she has a home of her own, and money to be able to indulge in new clothes and a horse. She even finds romance with a dashing and enigmatic neighbour, Luke Tremaine. But as the deadline for month's stay at Bryce House draws to a close, things begin to fall apart for Katherine. Edwin disapproves of her romance with Luke, and the ghosts seems to have become nosier and more sinister, and seem to have decided to concentrate on haunting only her. Katherine is beginning to fear that the ghosts are driving her to madness. Could she be right?

"The Scent of Lilacs" is mainly a gothic romance because while the romance between Katherine and Luke does figure into this novel quite a bit, it comes of as being a little incidental. I, for one, was totally caught up in the haunting and the fact that halfway through the novel, only Katherine was singled out as the beneficiary of all that ghostly dos. It is rather obvious what is going on and who is behind all the incidents, but Barbara Hazard does a masterly job of making you wonder if Katherine would indeed be frightened into madness or if she would be saved. Katherine is a rather unique heroine in that not only is she beautiful, intelligent and practical minded, but that she also suffers from bouts of depression, thus giving credence to Katherine's own fear that she may be losing her mind. However, I did find it a little galling that given that Hazard had painted Katherine as a clever and sensible young woman, that she did not allow for Katherine to suspect what was really going on, even when she had the evidence before her very eyes. It was a little irksome (for me anyway) that Katherine had to be rescued, though I'll admit that this did add to the "fearful" atmosphere of the novel, as you wondered if Katherine would be rescued in time or not.

If you're in the mood for a gothic romance very much along the lines of a Victoria Holt-like novel, then "The Scent of Lilacs" will more than satisfy you. The romance bit is almost completely sidelined, but the ghostly goings-on will more than make up for that lack! "The Scent of Lilacs" is something quite different form the usual Regency romance novels, but is nonetheless still quite a fun read

Rating:
Summary: a good old fashioned gothic romance
Review: "The Scent of Lilacs" by Barbara Hazard possesses all the ingredients of a gothic romance -- Edwin Whittingham receives unexpected news that he has inherited his dead great-uncle's wealth and home in the coastal town of Lechton. And so, happy at the prospect of no longer being penniless, Edwin and his younger sister, Katherine, make for Bryce House. There is however one small condition to this inheritance: Edwin must stay at Bryce House for a whole month, nights included, or else forfeit the inheritance. And when Edwin and Katherine finally reach Bryce House, they discover the reason behind this strange condition: apparently Bryce House is haunted by a gentleman ghost, and a weeping lady. Edwin and Katherine must prove their mettle by sticking it out for an entire month.

Of course neither sibling believes in ghosts. But their belief suffers a few knocks when first they realise that all the servants refuse to spend the nights at the house, and when they themselves begin to hear and see the ghosts. However it is only to Katherine that the weeping lady appears before, leaving behind her a scent of lilacs... Strong minded and practical, Katherine, however refuses to allow a couple of ghosts to faze her -- finally she has a home of her own, and money to be able to indulge in new clothes and a horse. She even finds romance with a dashing and enigmatic neighbour, Luke Tremaine. But as the deadline for month's stay at Bryce House draws to a close, things begin to fall apart for Katherine. Edwin disapproves of her romance with Luke, and the ghosts seems to have become nosier and more sinister, and seem to have decided to concentrate on haunting only her. Katherine is beginning to fear that the ghosts are driving her to madness. Could she be right?

"The Scent of Lilacs" is mainly a gothic romance because while the romance between Katherine and Luke does figure into this novel quite a bit, it comes of as being a little incidental. I, for one, was totally caught up in the haunting and the fact that halfway through the novel, only Katherine was singled out as the beneficiary of all that ghostly dos. It is rather obvious what is going on and who is behind all the incidents, but Barbara Hazard does a masterly job of making you wonder if Katherine would indeed be frightened into madness or if she would be saved. Katherine is a rather unique heroine in that not only is she beautiful, intelligent and practical minded, but that she also suffers from bouts of depression, thus giving credence to Katherine's own fear that she may be losing her mind. However, I did find it a little galling that given that Hazard had painted Katherine as a clever and sensible young woman, that she did not allow for Katherine to suspect what was really going on, even when she had the evidence before her very eyes. It was a little irksome (for me anyway) that Katherine had to be rescued, though I'll admit that this did add to the "fearful" atmosphere of the novel, as you wondered if Katherine would be rescued in time or not.

If you're in the mood for a gothic romance very much along the lines of a Victoria Holt-like novel, then "The Scent of Lilacs" will more than satisfy you. The romance bit is almost completely sidelined, but the ghostly goings-on will more than make up for that lack! "The Scent of Lilacs" is something quite different form the usual Regency romance novels, but is nonetheless still quite a fun read

Rating:
Summary: It was readable
Review: I will start off by saying that the book did have some interesting elements and at times can be kind of spooky. I might have given the book 3 stars if it had not been marketed as a romance novel. As an avid reader of romance I expected the relationship between the two characters to be the main focus of the story. The story centered more on the ghosts and the relationship between the two siblings. Furthermore the romance between Kate and Luke wasn't really developed and it happened suddenly. I felt that it should have occurred more slowly and realistically. I also was not satisfied with the ending, it didn't provide a lot of closure in my opinion. Overally, I would say that the book is readable, but not as good as it could have been.

Rating:
Summary: WARNING!!!! FIRST PERSON!!!!
Review: If you don't like first person, you will not enjoy this book, even if you enjoy Barbara Hazard. The previous review is correct. It's a great gothic if you enjoy gothic. I don't. I also don't enjoy "first person" writing. Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories are an exception. You get to know all the characters through the eyes of Archie. (If you want to stick with regency era, Joan Wolf also does great first person.) Not in this book. Barbara Hazard has always been a sure read for me. This book so disappointed me I was unable to get past page 10. I went through the book randomly trying to get the book to catch my interest since it's Barbara Hazard, I still couldn't. When I read the last 20 to 30 pages of the book randomly, I'm glad I didn't waste my time. As I said before, I enjoy Barbara Hazard, and if you usually enjoy Barbara Hazard, try the book with the above warnings in your mind. You might enjoy the book, but probably not.

Rating:
Summary: WARNING!!!! FIRST PERSON!!!!
Review: If you don't like first person, you will not enjoy this book, even if you enjoy Barbara Hazard. The previous review is correct. It's a great gothic if you enjoy gothic. I don't. I also don't enjoy "first person" writing. Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories are an exception. You get to know all the characters through the eyes of Archie. (If you want to stick with regency era, Joan Wolf also does great first person.) Not in this book. Barbara Hazard has always been a sure read for me. This book so disappointed me I was unable to get past page 10. I went through the book randomly trying to get the book to catch my interest since it's Barbara Hazard, I still couldn't. When I read the last 20 to 30 pages of the book randomly, I'm glad I didn't waste my time. As I said before, I enjoy Barbara Hazard, and if you usually enjoy Barbara Hazard, try the book with the above warnings in your mind. You might enjoy the book, but probably not.

Rating:
Summary: Melodrama with insufficient romance
Review: Kate is the sister of Edwin Whittingham, who has just inherited their great-uncle's house and fortune. There is a condition to the will, however: they must spend every night of the entire month of October in Bryce House, Edwin's inheritance, and only then will the fortune be his. When they get to the house, they discover that it is haunted, and so bad are the ghostly apparitions that the servants will not remain in the house after dusk.

There are two ghosts: a 'gentleman' who wears Cavalier-era clothing and carries a dagger, and who tends to pace up and down and throw furniture about, and a 'lady' who always smells of lilacs and looks sad. Sceptical at first, on her first night in the house Kate is terrified. Both ghosts appear, and she also finds an ice-cold stretch of corridor which makes her sense something of danger.

However, she also meets, and falls in love with, their neighbour, the Earl of Bryce - yes, he is linked to Bryce House, but it's a long story and not essential to the plot. So even if she thought of leaving, there is a reason to stay. But will the ghosts drive her away - or even worse, drive her insane?

To like this book, I suppose you'd have to be a fan of both Gothic novels and first-person narratives. I don't mind first-person - and after all, one of the best romance novels of all time is both first-person and Gothic: Jane Eyre. Having said that, Barbara Hazard, though not bad, is no Charlotte Bronte.

As another reviewer commented, the romance element was very much part of the background, and that's simply not good enough for me. At first, Bryce seems cynical and unwelcoming, and later he behaves as if he wouldn't be averse to a casual flirtation with Kate. It's a very sudden step from there to his proposal, which actually happens very early in the book: after he kisses Kate, I did expect him to act as if it was nothing serious.

The main plot is not the romance, but the truth about the ghosts and what's really going on at Bryce House. That wouldn't have interested me as much in any case, but I also felt in the end that the solution was too improbable. Unlike another reviewer, I hadn't seen through the plot at an early stage, and to me the dénouement was insufficiently foreshadowed so as to make it incredible - and also left too many questions in my mind.

Ultimately, therefore, I found the book unsatisfying, and now I need to go and find a proper *romance* to read instead.