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Title: An Encounter With Venus by Elizabeth Mansfield ISBN: 0-451-20997-4 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Good; but could have been so much better
Comment: I was sorry that I did not enjoy this very last Mansfield novel as much as I should have. I have been a fan for so long and am only missing three of her books. Normally, I love Mansfield characters to distraction but not this time.
The premise is wonderful. An older lady and a young lord. George Frobisher carried a vision of a lovely young woman in his mind for ten years. He had caught a glimpse of Olivia Henshaw a beautiful 23 year old "Venus" as she stepped from her bath ten years earlier when he was 17. Circumstances delayed his ever meeting her face to face and now, ten years later he is given the chance. He is 27 and Olivia (Livy) at 35 is well past the marrying age. Their first meeting does not go well. His face was transparent as he viewed her in disappointment. Tired from her journey, Livy looks the old maid. The relationship goes downhill from there. That is what bothered me. We should have felt some empathy for Livy on why she had never married and why she looked so old for her age, but that understanding really didn't come. She was actually very nasty to George who tried in several instances to apologize to her. Yet, Livy dresses carefully for him and tries to appear animated, all the time believing he thinks her a "maiden aunt" and she talks abominably to him. I couldn't figure out why he continued to pursue her! An unexpected journey to Livy's uncle (Sir Andrew) in Scotland where George is forced to escort her gives us a little insight into her personality. I found Sir Andrew (Livy's uncle) the most interesting character if truth be told. Grumpy and horrible, at least he was true to himself! George gives Sir Andrew a proper set down and returns to London. So the "romance" is at an end ... or is it?
I shall leave the reader to find out the ending. Being a Regency, you know that Livy must somehow meet George again. How will it end? There is a secondary romance that deserved the spotlight. Bernard, George's friend, crippled in an accident many years before is pursued by a young lady (Harriet). Their romance is rocky also and I wished more time had been spent on that relationship than on George's! Anyway, I would not have missed reading this book, but it was lacking in many ways. It could have been so much better.
Rating: 1
Summary: disappointing
Comment: I had looked forward to reading this regency. Regencies about older women and younger men are not very common in the regency circle. But it was terrible. When George, Lord Chadleigh, first spies Livy, she is stepping out of her bath looking oh-so-gorgeous. George was 17 and she would have been 25; ten years later, he is 27 and she 35 and no longer looking like his dream venus. When he first meets her, he is shocked at how much she looks like a dried up spinster. The romance between them does not work. She not only is dried up, but is rude to him - and bossy. If she had a great personality and was not so sour, maybe, but what was there about her that would would peak his interest? Nothing!!!! Also, George had promised his friend Bernard that he would be back to London in time to take him to a ball sponsored by the family of the girl Bernard likes and she him. Bernard is in a wheel chair so meeting women (he is homely as well) had been difficult. So why in the world would George willingly escort Livy home to Scotland when he was supposed to go home to London to help George get the the ball? Livy's carriage was coming to get her the next day and that would have sufficied to get her home. The cover also make Livy more attractive than she is. This story was just a bore which is too bad - great subject and I hope some other regency writer tries it too but with a better story
Rating: 5
Summary: Ms Mansfield's Last Regency
Comment: Once again, Elizabeth Mansfield charms her readers with a romantic tale set in the Regency period. This will be her last new novel, as she passed away on December 21, 2003. More details can be found on the author's website, www.elizabethmansfield.com
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Title: The Wagered Heart by Rhonda Woodward ISBN: 0451210212 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: The Spinster and the Wastrel by Bergin. Louise ISBN: 0451210123 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: The Best Laid Plans by Laurie Bishop ISBN: 0451209958 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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Title: The Madcap Marriage by Allison Lane ISBN: 0451210956 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: A Perfect Scoundrel by Martha Kirkland ISBN: 0451210409 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
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