by Karleen Koen
If You Like Your Romantic Novels to Have Love Triangles with Twists
Romanticism isn’t really my thing, but I do enjoy historic novels and if they occasionally come in the form of romance then okay. ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ is an odd title. Having read the book, I still don’t know what Koen meant besides some reference to not really knowing people you think you know. Overall, I think she needed to give the title name another go. ‘Glass’ was a ‘New York Times’ bestseller originally published in 1986, which is interesting because there is very much of a brokeback element to the book, minus the cowboys (the profession, but not the other thing).
As the formula for most of these types of books dictate, there is a heroine who not only is young and beautiful, but has a spirit. She is the type of character that a reader of this genre knows without any further descriptions. Is she singular in going after what she desires? Does she balance being a rebel with an uncanny business acumen that few women in the historic era in which she lives would ever be given the opportunity to express? Is she the favorite of the wise and good characters and the scorn of the evil and arrogant ones? Check, check, check.
For the first 100 pages or so, I was rooting for Barbara’s mother, Diana (a mother in name only) to smite her daughter into a lowly marriage in order to settle her gambling debts. This being early 18th century Great Britain, Diana has to use her charms (beauty, intelligence, and a willingness to bed whoever) and her daughter’s matrimonial eligibility to make it in the world after her husband backed the wrong dude for king (the Jacobite’s Stuart Pretender over King George I) and then left England for squalor in Paris.
Surprisingly, Barbara is delighted with her mother’s choice for her groom, which in true villainess form, irritates mommy dearest slightly. The first interesting aspect of this book was the examination of how Diana is plagued with her own mother/daughter issues. Her mother is a sixty something year old dowager Duchess (the Duke was a war hero and national figure) who is steadfast in her goodness and sharp tongue. Can you guess who her favorite grandchild is? Quite clever, you.
Barbara impending marriage contract is with one of her grandfather’s favorite aides who is very rich and in his forties (she is in her mid-teens). He agrees to the arrangement because he is interested in developing a track of land around London that is part of Barbara’s dowry. Thrown into the story mix is the new Duke of Tamworth, Barbara’s first cousin, who fancies her in an Appalachian sort of way. I should add that first cousin marriages historically were not frowned upon as they are today, (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins) but since we are living in the present, it is hard to root for a romantic entanglement when the potential lovers are two leaves on the same branch of the family oak. Other than the incest though, it is hard not to hope that the shy and noble Duke gets the girl in the end.
Speaking of which, I was surprised by the ending. There is a lot about this book that is surprising. It is a historic romance novel and follows certain before described ‘givens’ of character development, yet it takes the reader into unfamiliar ground. I can hardly imagine what a 1980’s reader made of it. I’m guessing that certain story elements would have been seen as more shocking than they are today, yet even by today’s standards such elements make for a gripping read. I can’t say I was compelled by the writing, but the story itself drew me in. At nearly 700 pages, it doesn’t feel as long.
If you have a penchant for a better than average historic novel that isn’t as predictable as you might think, then ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ might be a book worth checking out.
Review by Lisa Westerfield
As the formula for most of these types of books dictate, there is a heroine who not only is young and beautiful, but has a spirit. She is the type of character that a reader of this genre knows without any further descriptions. Is she singular in going after what she desires? Does she balance being a rebel with an uncanny business acumen that few women in the historic era in which she lives would ever be given the opportunity to express? Is she the favorite of the wise and good characters and the scorn of the evil and arrogant ones? Check, check, check.
For the first 100 pages or so, I was rooting for Barbara’s mother, Diana (a mother in name only) to smite her daughter into a lowly marriage in order to settle her gambling debts. This being early 18th century Great Britain, Diana has to use her charms (beauty, intelligence, and a willingness to bed whoever) and her daughter’s matrimonial eligibility to make it in the world after her husband backed the wrong dude for king (the Jacobite’s Stuart Pretender over King George I) and then left England for squalor in Paris.
Surprisingly, Barbara is delighted with her mother’s choice for her groom, which in true villainess form, irritates mommy dearest slightly. The first interesting aspect of this book was the examination of how Diana is plagued with her own mother/daughter issues. Her mother is a sixty something year old dowager Duchess (the Duke was a war hero and national figure) who is steadfast in her goodness and sharp tongue. Can you guess who her favorite grandchild is? Quite clever, you.
Barbara impending marriage contract is with one of her grandfather’s favorite aides who is very rich and in his forties (she is in her mid-teens). He agrees to the arrangement because he is interested in developing a track of land around London that is part of Barbara’s dowry. Thrown into the story mix is the new Duke of Tamworth, Barbara’s first cousin, who fancies her in an Appalachian sort of way. I should add that first cousin marriages historically were not frowned upon as they are today, (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins) but since we are living in the present, it is hard to root for a romantic entanglement when the potential lovers are two leaves on the same branch of the family oak. Other than the incest though, it is hard not to hope that the shy and noble Duke gets the girl in the end.
Speaking of which, I was surprised by the ending. There is a lot about this book that is surprising. It is a historic romance novel and follows certain before described ‘givens’ of character development, yet it takes the reader into unfamiliar ground. I can hardly imagine what a 1980’s reader made of it. I’m guessing that certain story elements would have been seen as more shocking than they are today, yet even by today’s standards such elements make for a gripping read. I can’t say I was compelled by the writing, but the story itself drew me in. At nearly 700 pages, it doesn’t feel as long.
If you have a penchant for a better than average historic novel that isn’t as predictable as you might think, then ‘Through a Glass Darkly’ might be a book worth checking out.
Review by Lisa Westerfield
No comments:
Post a Comment