"An Enjoyable Historical"

Lady Claudia Valemont has escaped the horrors of the French Revolution, and has traded the last of her jewels on the passage to Scotland in search of her father, the Earl of Aberdaire. Even though she is only the illegitimate daughter of a French courtesan, she hopes that her father will accept her in these difficult times, for she has nowhere else to turn. Stranded in the small village of Selkirk, without funds, she finds more than she can handle. She literally runs into Jack Campbell, and then tries to escape the unwanted attentions of Jack's vicious half-brother Callum McBride, from whom Jack steps in to protect her. She is then caught trying to steal a horse to continue on her journey. The judgement against her is hanging, but again Jack Campbell speaks out for her and offers to accept her as an indentured servant for six months to avoid a hanging.

Jack Campbell is the local executioner. As such he would have been called upon to hang Claudia for her crime. But he is attracted to her, and though she will only be a nuisance he cannot stand the idea of being her executioner. He is determined to make her work at the inn as payment for indenture, and she is just as determined to bide her time and ultimately escape from Jack and Selkirk. Each of them is trying to fight the unwanted, growing attraction that is drawing them closer together. Jack is sure that Claudia must hate his profession, and she sees his deliberate avoidance as a sure sign of his dislike.

Ms. Tarr has written a story filled with strong likeable characters. Claudia is spunky, strong and determined to let nothing stop her. It takes a little longer to get a good sense of Jack's character, but he is kind, loves animals, and is committed to doing right and helping the weak and defenseless. The villains in the piece (there are several) are also finely crafted characters with motives which make sense to them, and therefore to us. The plot is occasionally a bit intricate, but my interest was never lost, and I enjoyed all of the characters immensely. I do feel I should mention that the story did contain a few historical inaccuracies, such as showing the Scots as being Catholics. Irishisms are noticeably mixed in with the Scottish dialect.

Reviewed by Cynthia Meidinger
Posted May 14, 2002

Read an Excerpt

Read an interview with Hope

Summary

Sparks fly when pampered French beauty Claudia Valemont flees revolutionary France for Scotland in search of the Scottish father she has never known. Instead she meets Jack Campbell, a handsome half-English, half-Scottish outcast with a troubled past of his own.