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The Regency Jewel #1
Emerald
Book by Ashfield, Helen
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1983
10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 11, 2023
Emily “Emerald” Tregellan is a poor fisherman’s daughter with aspirations to become a famous dressmaker. When she sees Nicholas Roman, Viscount Asterly, near her small Cornish village, it’s love at first sight for the both of them. Over the next ten years their fates come together an apart until they end up happily ever after.
I was pleasantly surprised at this book. I bought it for the cover, not knowing what to expect. While it has that old-school-spanning-years perspective, rather than the brief 2-week timeline of many modern historicals, I didn’t mind so much time passing in only 180 pages. It’s packed with a lot of drama in just ten chapters but engaging and tries to cover a lot of intriguing ground. I’m not usually impressed with stories simply because of their novelty, but I feel this had both interesting conflicts and executed them/their resolutions well.
*Spoilers* First there’s an Insta-Love/Fated Mates thing going on, and later some Secret Baby, which are contentious tropes I enjoy. Warning for on-page sexual assault of the heroine (not by the hero). There’s also a brief foray into sex work. The heroine is Beautiful and Special, so some things come easily to her, but she also comes from poverty and takes a lot of knocks throughout the book. Despite setbacks she’s ambitious and determined to become a famous dress maker to the most elite members of London society. She achieves it through hard work, charm, and savvy partnerships (and that Luck of the Beautiful).
What most surprised me was when the heroine becomes pregnant and gets an abortion! I don’t think I’ve ever read that in a historical (maybe I’m forgetting) and was amazed to see it in a book from 1983 (not that I’m an expert on ‘80s category romances). They never use the word abortion (just “miscarriage” or other euphemisms), and it and her other sexual history later become problematic to the hero for a time (God forbid women have a sexual history), but she’s supported by her fellow servant friends and doesn’t regret the decision. While she knows others will judge her for it, I didn’t read it as a moral failing in her mind and there was no religious guilt or shaming. Overall I count it as a win for abortion story representation.
As with all romances I could have used more time with them being a happy couple in love, but it was a short book so I understand. I think I’ll try to read the others in this series and see if they take on any other interesting issues.
I was pleasantly surprised at this book. I bought it for the cover, not knowing what to expect. While it has that old-school-spanning-years perspective, rather than the brief 2-week timeline of many modern historicals, I didn’t mind so much time passing in only 180 pages. It’s packed with a lot of drama in just ten chapters but engaging and tries to cover a lot of intriguing ground. I’m not usually impressed with stories simply because of their novelty, but I feel this had both interesting conflicts and executed them/their resolutions well.
*Spoilers* First there’s an Insta-Love/Fated Mates thing going on, and later some Secret Baby, which are contentious tropes I enjoy. Warning for on-page sexual assault of the heroine (not by the hero). There’s also a brief foray into sex work. The heroine is Beautiful and Special, so some things come easily to her, but she also comes from poverty and takes a lot of knocks throughout the book. Despite setbacks she’s ambitious and determined to become a famous dress maker to the most elite members of London society. She achieves it through hard work, charm, and savvy partnerships (and that Luck of the Beautiful).
What most surprised me was when the heroine becomes pregnant and gets an abortion! I don’t think I’ve ever read that in a historical (maybe I’m forgetting) and was amazed to see it in a book from 1983 (not that I’m an expert on ‘80s category romances). They never use the word abortion (just “miscarriage” or other euphemisms), and it and her other sexual history later become problematic to the hero for a time (God forbid women have a sexual history), but she’s supported by her fellow servant friends and doesn’t regret the decision. While she knows others will judge her for it, I didn’t read it as a moral failing in her mind and there was no religious guilt or shaming. Overall I count it as a win for abortion story representation.
As with all romances I could have used more time with them being a happy couple in love, but it was a short book so I understand. I think I’ll try to read the others in this series and see if they take on any other interesting issues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2011
I found this book among my great aunt's shelves while visiting her one summer. I'm not exactly sure why I loved it so much, and still do, but it was the first romance book I ever read and I've kept it through multiple moves and resulting purges of my bookshelves. Parts are upsetting - there are misogynistic and cruel men who hurt our protagonist, including an awful scene where she is hurt by someone she loves. Yet, Em's character is truly a strong female, who is determined to get what she wants. She doesn't derail her life and plans for a man, or maybe she does a little... I don't know what to say here. I haven't read much romance before this past year, and within that broad genre have only been interested in paranormal romance. I am very picky about characters, their connections, the attraction believability factor... and Emerald succeeds where many romances fail in these aspects. It makes me want the main character to have everything she wants, including her man, simply because she wants it and deserves it. It doesn't make me question her deeply as character, to the point where I lose respect for her due to how important her love interest remains throughout the book. Does that make sense? Being in love doesn't detract from everything else she is. She is simply fiery and passionate in all her desires, including the desire to be loved well by the "right" man. So I can go there with her. I also like the development and description of the supporting characters very much. Oonagh and Harry especially. It's a nice balance of the harsh reality for a girl growing up in abject poverty in that time and location, and the warmth of the people who cross our paths and make our personal suffering bearable. I think I will always consider this book one of my favorites.
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