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Cora Crane
From the highly acclaimed author of Infidelity comes a haunting novel based on the real-life romance between American author Stephen Crane and Cora Stewart, an exceptional woman of her time who made a profession out of love and deception.
By the time Cora meets Stephen Crane, she has begun a new life in Jacksonville, Florida, after a turbulent marriage spent in late-Victorian London from which her husband refuses to release her. She is owner-manager of the Hotel de Dream but, like Cora, the hotel isn't what it seems: it doubles up as a high-class brothel.
Back in England they live together as man and wife, but Crane is as fixated with war as he is with Cora. His wanderlust soon has him in Cuba, reporting from the front line, leaving his mistress abandoned in Surrey, desperately trying to survive in a world with rigid ideas of propriety, and terrified he may never return.
Meanwhile, stubborn Detective Inspector Fred Hooper is on her case and tries to unravel her past, all the time fighting the dangerous allure Cora holds for him and the truth she makes him realise about himself.
By the time Cora meets Stephen Crane, she has begun a new life in Jacksonville, Florida, after a turbulent marriage spent in late-Victorian London from which her husband refuses to release her. She is owner-manager of the Hotel de Dream but, like Cora, the hotel isn't what it seems: it doubles up as a high-class brothel.
Back in England they live together as man and wife, but Crane is as fixated with war as he is with Cora. His wanderlust soon has him in Cuba, reporting from the front line, leaving his mistress abandoned in Surrey, desperately trying to survive in a world with rigid ideas of propriety, and terrified he may never return.
Meanwhile, stubborn Detective Inspector Fred Hooper is on her case and tries to unravel her past, all the time fighting the dangerous allure Cora holds for him and the truth she makes him realise about himself.
295 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 2, 2012
It guts me to abandon books but sometimes it just has to be done.
This book was going nowhere - there was no tension, no drama and too many unmemorable characters that meant following the story was impossible.
Maybe, it was just coming off the back of a masterpiece.
As far as I got - Cora Crane is a member of 1890s society. He husband, Stevie, has gone to Cuba and she has a secret cause she was Cora Stewart.
She meets other members of the stewart clan - why, we dont know.
Her friend gets arrested by a policeman. Who investigates her circumstances. Again, why we dont know.
She goes to society dinners alone...... and I gave up. Rubbish.
This book was going nowhere - there was no tension, no drama and too many unmemorable characters that meant following the story was impossible.
Maybe, it was just coming off the back of a masterpiece.
As far as I got - Cora Crane is a member of 1890s society. He husband, Stevie, has gone to Cuba and she has a secret cause she was Cora Stewart.
She meets other members of the stewart clan - why, we dont know.
Her friend gets arrested by a policeman. Who investigates her circumstances. Again, why we dont know.
She goes to society dinners alone...... and I gave up. Rubbish.
Displaying 1 of 1 review