Rules for Heiresses
Antigua, West Indies, 1864. Lady Ravenna Huntley, unwed sister to the Duke of Embry, is in trouble. As usual. She is disguised as a man, but after she is threatened with jail for cheating at cards, the situation spins out of control, and she finds herself reluctantly engaged to a former fiancé. To complicate matters, Courtland Chase wants neither a wife nor the dukedom of Ashvale which he has just inherited.
The plot, which drifts towards melodrama, is filled with popular romance motifs: the coincidences are fortunate, the threats dire, the heroine adventurous and spirited, the hero muscular and wealthy, the villain elusive and predatory, the friends loyal, the stepmother cruel, the sexual encounters frequent, graphic, and prolonged. To carry it off, authors need to make readers care enough for the characters. Ravenna wins our admiration for her courage and enlightened attitudes; and, since he is of mixed race and the victim of prejudice and aristocratic snobbery which have undermined his self-confidence, Courtland deserves our sympathy. Insights into the psychological impact of childhood trauma and racist attitudes in the era are illuminating, but though well suited, the couple take a frustratingly long time to accept their good fortune. Uneven.
