Set somewhere in the Highlands in 1291, this is the story of Rhoslyn, a widowed countess, ordered by King Edward to marry Sir Talbot St. Claire (for her lands) and by her grandfather to marry Jacobus Auenel, Lord Melrose (to protect said lands). One was English and one was a Scot. Rhoslyn doesn’t wish to marry either of them.
Rhoslyn’s grandfather collects her from the convent where she has been mourning her dead husband to be delivered to Lord Melrose, but for some undisclosed reason the abbess colludes with Sir Talbot, enabling him to capture Rhoslyn on the road.
This is a well-written story and while I loved the history and the historical figures (King Edward tries to dominate Scotland and the Scots resist), there were a lot of characters, some better described than others.
There is much sparring between Rhoslyn and Talbot and the dialog quite good. The chase scene at the beginning was very exciting. I especially liked the part where the heroine stabbed the arrogant Sir Talbot, who by the way never seemed to do anything wrong, lose any battle or be defeated in any contest. But he was a great lover, so I guess we can excuse his being good at everything.
I would have liked to see more detailed descriptions of the characters. Some were just names and I had no idea what they looked like. And two things seemed a bit abrupt: Rhoslyn’s sudden love for Talbot; and the ending which left many questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment