by Martha Keyes
My rating: 4.9 of 5 stars
Such a nice surprise this reading was! I loved it !
Clean romance with a light plot, but the author manages to capture the reader's attention by describing so well the magic of a sweet love emerging between 2 young people belonging to 2 different social classes in the Regency era.
I was skeptical about this story by when I read the first 2 chapters but then I felt totally engaged in this story and I was no longer able to put down the book.
The historical part is also very interesting, I've learned something new, I'll explain better after the plot here below.
___THE PLOT__ Regency era , about 1816.
Reginald Sinclair works at the post office during the day, while at night he transforms into a gallant bandit who robs the carriages of aristocrats. He wears a mask and old-fashioned 18th century clothes, but what made him famous in society is the kiss he use to give to women in the robbed carriage.
Joanna is the most sensible daughter of an aristocratic family who has just arrived in Bath to meet the man who should become her future fiancé (or so her father hopes).
All this takes place against the backdrop of great social injustice, such as postal franking and the inability of the poor to pay and the privileges of the nobility who obviously not only use the postal service for free, but also take advantage of it for trivial reasons worsening the situation of poor people.
Inevitably the paths of the 2 young people cross and from that moment on, something is born: only a game at the beginning and something deeper later.
Challenges and courtship follow up to the point where things become dangerous, both due to the fact that they belong to different social classes, and due to other serious facts that emerge throughout the story.
___ MY IMPRESSIONS__ As I said after reading the first chapter I thought it was a bit silly and that the plot was copied from some old Hollywood costume film: a bandit with a mask, who robs carriages, poses as a gentleman and kisses women .
Reading the second chapter I thought that the protagonist was a bit too naive and the plot absurd, since he spoke to a little mouse (...like Snow White with the birds and other animals), BUT THEN LUCKILY the author got on the right track and with a little humor and the usual brilliant comedy squabbles a beautiful story began with a nice touch of romance.
Don't give up after the first few chapters.
It's a clean romance, so there are no sex scenes or overly racy thoughts, but I assure you that all the time it took to get to the first kiss was truly a suspense of desire and emotion.
The fun due to the protagonists' joking jokes and the pathos due to the tension created thanks to the attraction the two young feel for each other, the desire to spend time together, the shiver on the skin due to a touch of the hand , with lips so close that they tremble with desire but waiting for the right moment, the stomach in turmoil and the dizziness that one feels in the emotion of a first kiss... it is described so well that despite my 52 years and my experiences , I went back in time and relived every emotion I felt when I was young, when a new love was born and I couldn't think of anything else.
Once again I can see that it is not the type of scene reported in a book that makes it interesting, but the emotions that the author manages to unleash within you.
__ THE HISTORICAL PART I didn't expected __
A historical romance doesn't always offer historical notions and when it happens, I think it's an added value: entertainment + new knowledge.
---> One of the central themes of the novel is the gap between social classes and how the privileges of the nobles reflected negatively on the already difficult lives of the poor and workers.
---> In particular it talks about the postal system of that time.
During the Regency period, post was expensive. MPs were the only ones who had a "free" ride for mail delivery and until 1840, they could "frank" (free postage) their letters, but while this privilege should have been limited to Crown business, they took advantage of it also using it for private and superficial communications and giving letterheads to friends.
This weighed on the poor who instead had to pay to receive their letters. Yes ! At that time it was the recipient who paid, if one didn't have the money that person couldn't receive the letters, often important matters or messages from distant family members. In the book you will read why this is so serious and in the epilogue at the end the author explains many more things than I am anticipating and also the systems of closing the letters (the envelope was not used and also Reggie and Joanna, in the novel, are using particular systems to block their letters without using sealing wax).
The author tells also about the the subsequent birth of the private Penny post and the codes used by people to write their letters but saving on paper. It's really very interesting!
I hope I was able to convey my enthusiasm to you even in my incorrect English, I am Italian, so please be indulgent with my text.
Not available in Italian language.
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