Women of Fire Trilogy, No 1
Claire Lorrimer
Piatkus (Little, Brown)
19 August 2011 / ISBN 9780749954376
Historical Romance / 1779 – 1812 / Various Locations
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Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
Scarlett is the illegitimate daughter of unhappily married Sir John
Danesfield and his children’s governess. She grows up in obscurity
on a farm in rural Sussex until the age of eight when she meets
her father. After that she is tutored and then goes to live with
Sir John’s mistress in London. She is destined for many adventures
but will only truly love one man, the impoverished Vicomte Gerard
de Valle who must marry for money and to restore the name of his
family. This means that Scarlett is denied to him, but a love this
great will see the pair do anything to be reunited…
This is a big book of over six hundred pages but it does contain
a big story of the type often described as “sweeping”.
It could certainly stand quite a bit of editing, but manages to
be constantly entertaining as Scarlett gets caught up with smugglers,
highwaymen, French émigrés, Napoleon and finally his
retreat from Moscow. Originally published back in 1976 under the
title of Maureen, the name of the heroine has now been changed to
Scarlett and has been repackaged for a new generation of romance
readers. This is a world away from bodice rippers, and what sex
there is manages to take place while being described fairly vaguely
so if you like your romances to sizzle this one might not be a good
choice. If however you are more interested in story, historical
events and find a book more romantic if you actually get the know
the protagonists before they tumble into bed then this ought to
suit you well, as it did me who enjoyed it very much indeed. Ms.
Lorrimer has a good page-turning storyteller style and is adept
at describing places, people and events making this a better rounded
and satisfying read than your average romance as there is quite
a lot in it. The only other flaw apart from the wordiness is Scarlett’s
ability to be not only beautiful, but highly intelligent and good
at just about everything which makes her somewhat unreal. She is
however likeable, and thankfully not one of those heroines who waits
to be rescued (she tends to do the rescuing) or behaves like a brat.
I’ll be looking out for more books by this talented author.
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