Lady Isabella

HISTORICAL:  Isabella Stuart is the daughter of an Earl, with all the expectations associated with her rank forced down her throat by her parents. When she falls for the stable boy and becomes pregnant, her parents fear shame to the family name and send her away to France to have the child, then on to a finishing school in Switzerland to hush up the matter. Given barely a goodbye to her newborn daughter, Isabella never forgets or forgives, yet tries her best to move forward. Upon returning to England she meets the son of the family she stayed with in France and begins to fall in love again, but with her controlling parents wanting to marry her off to a Lord she fears happiness will never be hers.

The reader immediately feels as though the story is told in a narrative style with facts of the events rather than in a story form. That said, it does pick up as the reader progresses and begins to take shape with a wonderful story at its heart. Although what one expects to happen does, it still manages to pull in the reader, with Isabella charming her way through. The Earl and Lady Stuart and the Lord Edward Ridley are despicable characters that fuel hate and enforce sympathy towards Isabella. Reginald Spencer lacks something as the dashing hero yet manages to secure some likability. Overall the bones of a good story are evident and with a commitment to finish, it delights at the end.

Margaret Faria