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A Rake's Reform
When Charles Trent, the Earl of Bythorne and Britain's premier rake, plummeted into Hester Blayne's life, he proved to be as wicked and arrogant, not to say breath-stoppingly handsome as expected. The man actually expected her to take his earnest ward under her wing and persuade the damsel to marry the man of his choice.
For his part, Trent found England's premier feminist firebrand absolutely infuriating. She was plain, dedicated to her philosophy, and completely unimpressed by his charm. It was not long, however, before Hester realized that beneath Trent's handsome exterior lay a man of sensitivity and warmth. Trent soon abandoned his prejudice against plain, dedicated firebrands and found himself drawn to Hester's wit, charm, and intelligence. And come to think of it, she really wasn't all that plain, was she? The battle of the sexes was about to claim two more victims, but who would be the first to concede defeat?
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1996
18 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Anne Barbour
25 books17 followersAnne Barbour developed an affection for the Regency period while living in England. She now lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, a retired lieutenant colonel. She is the mother of six children, all grown, and she loves to boast of her five grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 17, 2011
This book is a great traditional Regency. Spinster Hester Blayne is a radical who is content to write her treatises in her country cottage. It's not until Charles Trent, Earl of Bythorne (known to his intimates as Thorne), shows up on her doorstep that she realizes that the new "maid" whom she has hired is actually Thorne's wayward ward, Chloe. Quite the rakehell, Thorne has no idea how to deal with his ward. Since Thorne sees that Chloe will have nothing to do with his highhandedness and, in fact, appears to listen to the blistery Miss Blayne, Thorne determines that he must somehow bring Miss Blayne with them to London so that she may provide a guiding hand to young Chloe. Through a series of events, the three return to London, where Hester and Thorne have to navigate the waters of London society...and their feelings for one another.
There are a lot of secondary characters in this book that add to the story, and the secondary romances in particular tie into the story well. Thorne has arranged a match for Chloe, but she resists. John, her potential fiance, is in love with her, though, and their courtship flows throughout the book. One of Hester's "duties" as companion to Chloe is to tame Chloe enough to see the merits of a match with John. Also, Thorne has been casually courting a certain Lady Barbara for years. In the course of the Season, Hester also finds herself with a suitor. (Thorne can't stand it, and what is this...jealousy??) Little do they know, however, that Hester's new beau is Lady Barbara's erstwhile suitor.
I really like this book - it's one of my "keeper" traditional Regencies that I like to pull out every once in a while to read through my favorite parts. Thorne is a fairly typical rakish hero who doesn't quite know how to handle the firebrand who is Hester Blayne. Could he really have feelings for a 30-year-old radical? Hester is pretty wonderful. She's independent, has strong opinions, and she refuses to fall for "The Smile" whenever Thorne tries to pull it out and use it on her. The ending is really sweet and romantic, and it's also satisfying to see the secondary romances between Chloe and John and Robert and Barbara come to an amiable conclusion.
There are a lot of secondary characters in this book that add to the story, and the secondary romances in particular tie into the story well. Thorne has arranged a match for Chloe, but she resists. John, her potential fiance, is in love with her, though, and their courtship flows throughout the book. One of Hester's "duties" as companion to Chloe is to tame Chloe enough to see the merits of a match with John. Also, Thorne has been casually courting a certain Lady Barbara for years. In the course of the Season, Hester also finds herself with a suitor. (Thorne can't stand it, and what is this...jealousy??) Little do they know, however, that Hester's new beau is Lady Barbara's erstwhile suitor.
I really like this book - it's one of my "keeper" traditional Regencies that I like to pull out every once in a while to read through my favorite parts. Thorne is a fairly typical rakish hero who doesn't quite know how to handle the firebrand who is Hester Blayne. Could he really have feelings for a 30-year-old radical? Hester is pretty wonderful. She's independent, has strong opinions, and she refuses to fall for "The Smile" whenever Thorne tries to pull it out and use it on her. The ending is really sweet and romantic, and it's also satisfying to see the secondary romances between Chloe and John and Robert and Barbara come to an amiable conclusion.
September 9, 2016
This should have been pure escapism. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait to "escape" from this poorly written novel.
February 17, 2015
Charles Trent, Earl of Bythorne, is in a pickle. His young ward Chloe has run off to who knows where with whom. The clues point to Hester Blayne, a firebrand feminist writer and speaker who seems to have influenced Chloe into refusing the suit of the respectable man Thorne had picked out for her. Chloe wants nothing to do with marriage, wanting instead to devote herself to the cause of women's rights. After a fiery clash with Hester, Thorne sees reason and invites Hester into his home to take charge of Chloe and convince her to marry. Enter the home of the notorious rake The Earl of Bythorne - NEVER! Except that the sum he offers would solve a number of problems for Hester and allow her to participate in the intellectual circles in London. It's only for a short time after all and of course she need not have much to do with Thorne. Hester is forced into entering the world of the ton and into spending time with Thorne while he wishes to be in the bed of one of his inamoratas. Though his kisses set fire to her body, she knows it's just physical attraction and that a rake like Thorne would never marry for love. Some day soon he'll offer for his promised bride, Lady Barbara Freemantle in a marriage of convenience. Hester believes Barbara's feelings lie elsewhere and Hester feels sorry for the other woman. Thorne's aunt is busy playing matchmaker for Hester and Chole is busy being stubborn. Nothing is happening as it should and worse - Hester finds herself falling for the notorious rake.
I had a lot of problems with this story. I usually like a good reformed rake plot but not this one. The hero reforms too late and I don't believe he's sincere. The plot is very slow and I found myself falling asleep before I was halfway through. There's too much going on in the story to make it flow smoothly. I also objected to the use of the world feminist which did not exist yet in 1817. Hester sounded too modern to be believable for the time period and there are numerous typos in the Kindle edition.
I should have known better than to read about a rake after rereading Georgette Heyer's Venetia. Thorne is no Damarel. Though Hester sees Thorne as a damaged soul, he's a lazy, good for nothing rake. He enjoys spending time in a brothel and considers dallying with a fellow peer's wife. He thinks lecherous thoughts about Hester and has no problems kissing her passionately yet denying his true feelings. I found him disgusting and unlikable.
Hester is a much better character. Hester is not opposed to marriage but opposed to arranged marriages. She believes men and women can be equals. She is dedicated to helping women and helping lower class women make a better life for themselves. I liked the way she handled Chole but I felt with the others she meddled and tried to arrange everything to suit herself and that I didn't like, but mostly I admire her a lot. I did not at all buy into her relationship with Thorne. I didn't see why she loved him.
The secondary characters are pretty poor. There's Chloe who is a spoiled, pampered teenage girl who thinks she would prefer to devote herself to the feminist cause than marry. She comes across as shallow and insincere. Her reactions are immature and get tired quickly. One scene that happened off page and was related by another character shows a different side of her which would have been good to actually see. Her suitor is dull and respectable, therefore she hates him. His character development is unbelievable but I liked him. Aunt Lavinia is a stereotypical female with vapours and is unable to control Chloe. Gussie is a stereotypical Grande Dame type who commands and expects to be obeyed. None of them are memorable.
Though the story is kisses only, it's more sensual than the author usually writes and I didn't care for it. I am glad the library had this one for free.
I had a lot of problems with this story. I usually like a good reformed rake plot but not this one. The hero reforms too late and I don't believe he's sincere. The plot is very slow and I found myself falling asleep before I was halfway through. There's too much going on in the story to make it flow smoothly. I also objected to the use of the world feminist which did not exist yet in 1817. Hester sounded too modern to be believable for the time period and there are numerous typos in the Kindle edition.
I should have known better than to read about a rake after rereading Georgette Heyer's Venetia. Thorne is no Damarel. Though Hester sees Thorne as a damaged soul, he's a lazy, good for nothing rake. He enjoys spending time in a brothel and considers dallying with a fellow peer's wife. He thinks lecherous thoughts about Hester and has no problems kissing her passionately yet denying his true feelings. I found him disgusting and unlikable.
Hester is a much better character. Hester is not opposed to marriage but opposed to arranged marriages. She believes men and women can be equals. She is dedicated to helping women and helping lower class women make a better life for themselves. I liked the way she handled Chole but I felt with the others she meddled and tried to arrange everything to suit herself and that I didn't like, but mostly I admire her a lot. I did not at all buy into her relationship with Thorne. I didn't see why she loved him.
The secondary characters are pretty poor. There's Chloe who is a spoiled, pampered teenage girl who thinks she would prefer to devote herself to the feminist cause than marry. She comes across as shallow and insincere. Her reactions are immature and get tired quickly. One scene that happened off page and was related by another character shows a different side of her which would have been good to actually see. Her suitor is dull and respectable, therefore she hates him. His character development is unbelievable but I liked him. Aunt Lavinia is a stereotypical female with vapours and is unable to control Chloe. Gussie is a stereotypical Grande Dame type who commands and expects to be obeyed. None of them are memorable.
Though the story is kisses only, it's more sensual than the author usually writes and I didn't care for it. I am glad the library had this one for free.
January 23, 2014
I liked this one. Hester was likable, I liked that she stood up for what she believes in and was fighting for better treatment of women. I was also glad she wasn't totally anti-marriage, although she wasn't exactly pro-marriage either. I thought Thorne was okay. I've never been a fan of "rakes" I think they are creepy, but he wasn't too bad. Considering she spent her whole life and career in the belief that women should be treated better it is a little hard to believe she would fall so easily for a rake, who has NO respect for women. Sure he comes to view her differently, but if he still hates/disrespects all other women has he really changed? I liked his proposal at the end, really sweet. I guess I always wonder if they will remain faithful. After living such a free-love lifestyle it seems like it would be very hard for them to stay faithful to one woman. Overall, a cute read.
Content:
Romance: Clean. Mild talk of mistresses.
Language: Mild (lots of "G").
Content:
Romance: Clean. Mild talk of mistresses.
Language: Mild (lots of "G").
July 15, 2015
I enjoyed the fact it was set in the Regency Era! That said though I found it slow paced & lacking in spark! All the qualities of a traditional regency romance are present, but felt forced & I did not 'have to' read it from cover to cover in one sitting; completely engrossed in it like I usually do with a great book!! The fact it's about women's suffrage in the very early stages of history in England! Irritated at how the author (Anne Barbour) choose to close out the book with... "yes, my love,' said Miss Blayne meekly, lifting her face to his." This is like a slap in the face for the theme of equality towards BOTH genders! Wtf 'meekly' nothing meekly about standing up for women's rights!!!!!!
August 28, 2013
I can only praise the choice of subject: having a domineering nobleman, and a rake to boot, meet a militant feminist, and driving them through the canon of regency romance up (or down?) to the obligatory HEA requires some courage. This alone is worth an extra star IMO.
The execution is graciously done, if not thoroughly satisfying. It treads halfway between the comedy of manners à la Heyer and more serious accents, which the subject requires, so the characters result a bit underdeveloped, missing some depth. On the other hand, the style is light, without dramatic overtones or unfitting passional outbursts.
All in all, a pleasant, relaxing read, although not recommended for lovers of purple prose.
The execution is graciously done, if not thoroughly satisfying. It treads halfway between the comedy of manners à la Heyer and more serious accents, which the subject requires, so the characters result a bit underdeveloped, missing some depth. On the other hand, the style is light, without dramatic overtones or unfitting passional outbursts.
All in all, a pleasant, relaxing read, although not recommended for lovers of purple prose.
April 3, 2018
3.5 out of 5 stars
August 29, 2018
Boring
Long and convoluted story with enough head hopping to make a bunny dizzy. Thought I'd never get through it. Anne Barbour has written better stories.
Long and convoluted story with enough head hopping to make a bunny dizzy. Thought I'd never get through it. Anne Barbour has written better stories.
March 30, 2024
Perfectly pleasant semi-enemies-to-lovers regency romance about a ton member who never meant to fall in love and a feminist writer who believes in marrying for love. The drama in the story is mostly self-contained, as people make some silly decisions on the way to the right ending. A nice thing about this one is that there were several happy endings to be had, and no "bad guy". Sometimes people just need to get over themselves.
February 27, 2024
Traditional Regency Romance
Very engaging well written story about a lady reformer and the rake whose paths cross. His hedonistic way of life meets her fighting for the rights of women. Good dialogue and engaging characters.
Very engaging well written story about a lady reformer and the rake whose paths cross. His hedonistic way of life meets her fighting for the rights of women. Good dialogue and engaging characters.
January 6, 2019
A sweet Regency
with interesting complications but evidencing a thorough knowledge of the era, its follies, pastimes, double standard and burgeoning social conscience.
with interesting complications but evidencing a thorough knowledge of the era, its follies, pastimes, double standard and burgeoning social conscience.
April 16, 2014
Unrealistic, and a sad attempt to fuse feminism into a romantic tale
**I'll say this right off. It has been my experience that writing feminism into historical novels very rarely works out. The heroines almost always come off as shrewish and unlikable, and the scenarios unrealistic. This is why I tend to avoid this plot device at all costs.
When I started reading this novel, I was intrigued and thought it showed promise, but that quickly changed once I realized that I really, really did not like the heroine. She is presented as an intelligent, level headed feminist who seeks to right the wrongs of the world. In truth, she is a paranoid, unfair misandrist (yes, that is a word)whose deeply ingrained hatred of men makes her downright intolerable. One could accept this and even go with it if she had some appropriately dramatic back story to support it, but she doesn't. Was she raped? No. Forced into a bad marriage, or almost? No. Abusive father, brother? No. She seems to have been spurred to this by two young friends in the past who met unfortunate lives due to being female. One was forced to become a governess and the other died in childbrith in a marriage she didn't want. It just doesn't seem good enough to warrant her reaction.
To begin, she refers to men in general (in both inner dialogue and direct speech) as "the male animal", "the beast", or simply "the male". This is utterly dehumanizing and shows that she sees men as a whole as being nothing beyond the sum of their 'maleness'. She attributes to all of them the same motives, the same desires, the same prejudices, whether she has met them or not. She is just as bad as any misogynist.
Her complaints are also one sided. She complains that women are not able to seek their own fortune, yet thinks nothing of the social responsibility that men must carry to support every female relation that falls under them. She says that a poor woman should be allowed to make her own way, yet seems to have no problem with a rich woman living luxuriously off the labor or property of her male relations if she can. I see.... All the luxuries of being a man without any of the burden. Got it.
To further show the heroine's unfair views on the state of Patriarchy, she does not acknowledge even one thing about patriarchy that is bad for men (fighting duels, going to war, supporting hoards of unwed female relations, etc.). She has this ridiculous notion that every man is just this self-contained God doing whatever he wants when he wants. She might win more support if she showed how men suffer from patriarchy too. The final straw for men came when she turned her nose up at Trevor (a suitor) because he fled a burning building rather than stay behind and risk his life to save her and/or the dozens of other women who were there. Apparently, men are not allowed to be cowardly? Well, that's not fair, is it? For the heroine, women should come first. Always. Even to the detriment of men. She is utterly unlikable and I can't see how the reader is expected to believe that the hero falls for her.
In the end, this is a wishy-washy, unrealistic tale about a Alpha male being taken down a few notches, no doubt to the utter delight of hairbrained women who fantasize about "changing" men who don't precisely suit their ideal. Very unfortunate.
**I'll say this right off. It has been my experience that writing feminism into historical novels very rarely works out. The heroines almost always come off as shrewish and unlikable, and the scenarios unrealistic. This is why I tend to avoid this plot device at all costs.
When I started reading this novel, I was intrigued and thought it showed promise, but that quickly changed once I realized that I really, really did not like the heroine. She is presented as an intelligent, level headed feminist who seeks to right the wrongs of the world. In truth, she is a paranoid, unfair misandrist (yes, that is a word)whose deeply ingrained hatred of men makes her downright intolerable. One could accept this and even go with it if she had some appropriately dramatic back story to support it, but she doesn't. Was she raped? No. Forced into a bad marriage, or almost? No. Abusive father, brother? No. She seems to have been spurred to this by two young friends in the past who met unfortunate lives due to being female. One was forced to become a governess and the other died in childbrith in a marriage she didn't want. It just doesn't seem good enough to warrant her reaction.
To begin, she refers to men in general (in both inner dialogue and direct speech) as "the male animal", "the beast", or simply "the male". This is utterly dehumanizing and shows that she sees men as a whole as being nothing beyond the sum of their 'maleness'. She attributes to all of them the same motives, the same desires, the same prejudices, whether she has met them or not. She is just as bad as any misogynist.
Her complaints are also one sided. She complains that women are not able to seek their own fortune, yet thinks nothing of the social responsibility that men must carry to support every female relation that falls under them. She says that a poor woman should be allowed to make her own way, yet seems to have no problem with a rich woman living luxuriously off the labor or property of her male relations if she can. I see.... All the luxuries of being a man without any of the burden. Got it.
To further show the heroine's unfair views on the state of Patriarchy, she does not acknowledge even one thing about patriarchy that is bad for men (fighting duels, going to war, supporting hoards of unwed female relations, etc.). She has this ridiculous notion that every man is just this self-contained God doing whatever he wants when he wants. She might win more support if she showed how men suffer from patriarchy too. The final straw for men came when she turned her nose up at Trevor (a suitor) because he fled a burning building rather than stay behind and risk his life to save her and/or the dozens of other women who were there. Apparently, men are not allowed to be cowardly? Well, that's not fair, is it? For the heroine, women should come first. Always. Even to the detriment of men. She is utterly unlikable and I can't see how the reader is expected to believe that the hero falls for her.
In the end, this is a wishy-washy, unrealistic tale about a Alpha male being taken down a few notches, no doubt to the utter delight of hairbrained women who fantasize about "changing" men who don't precisely suit their ideal. Very unfortunate.
March 26, 2016
I like it! For a regency book which has very little to no steamy scene, this book is engaging. In my case, it usually means that the book has either: (a) good plot, (b) interesting characters, (c) a good relationship development between the two leads, or (d) all of the above. For this book, it's a (d).
The hero is surprisingly likable. To me, his relationship with his ward is cute. Somehow I can see that beneath his autocratic exterior he cares about his ward (in brotherly/paternal sort of way), so I found him endearing. I like that his relationship with the heroine is developed through their conversations and interaction rather than through the way his c*ck "twitched every time he saw her" - I swear to God, if I ever read THAT phrase again...ugh!
The heroine is quite original to me. I've encountered heroines that are too modern for her time and tend to not like them. Hester's state of mind, however, is making sense for that era. Now about the whole feminist thing. I know, maybe Hester wouldn't be cut out for a feminist martyr in that era, but hey, we're reading a romance novel here, okay? I realized that sometimes I found Hester's situation a bit unbelievable. I don't know much about feminist/suffragist movement during regency era, but I doubt that she would be accepted so easily by the ton. Maybe to have connection to one of the most respected name in the ton helps, but I find it strange that the hero's relatives are so readily accepting Hester into their circle. Well, maybe if I try to consider her as "eccentric", it would make sense?
Oh, one glaring flaw: a bit too Cinderella-ish.
The subplots help in keeping me engaged. You know, there's a point in the book where the misunderstanding seemed to have spiraled out of control and it was already 5 AM in the morning but GOD HELP I couldn't sleep before I see the misunderstanding resolved!
Lastly, about almost nonexistent explicit intimacy scene in this book? Well, honey, to me the whole book is an unresolved sexual tension.
The hero is surprisingly likable. To me, his relationship with his ward is cute. Somehow I can see that beneath his autocratic exterior he cares about his ward (in brotherly/paternal sort of way), so I found him endearing. I like that his relationship with the heroine is developed through their conversations and interaction rather than through the way his c*ck "twitched every time he saw her" - I swear to God, if I ever read THAT phrase again...ugh!
The heroine is quite original to me. I've encountered heroines that are too modern for her time and tend to not like them. Hester's state of mind, however, is making sense for that era. Now about the whole feminist thing. I know, maybe Hester wouldn't be cut out for a feminist martyr in that era, but hey, we're reading a romance novel here, okay? I realized that sometimes I found Hester's situation a bit unbelievable. I don't know much about feminist/suffragist movement during regency era, but I doubt that she would be accepted so easily by the ton. Maybe to have connection to one of the most respected name in the ton helps, but I find it strange that the hero's relatives are so readily accepting Hester into their circle. Well, maybe if I try to consider her as "eccentric", it would make sense?
Oh, one glaring flaw: a bit too Cinderella-ish.
The subplots help in keeping me engaged. You know, there's a point in the book where the misunderstanding seemed to have spiraled out of control and it was already 5 AM in the morning but GOD HELP I couldn't sleep before I see the misunderstanding resolved!
Lastly, about almost nonexistent explicit intimacy scene in this book? Well, honey, to me the whole book is an unresolved sexual tension.
April 28, 2014
A charming tale of three romances, between some unlikely but perfect lovers.
January 12, 2017
Couldn't even be bothered to finish. Too many big words I had to keep looking up and no chemistry between the hero and heroine.
October 10, 2007
A very tongue-and-cheek fictional novel, it's also sizzling.
April 22, 2017
L'e-book costava meno di un euro, e avevo letto qualcosa di accettabile di Anne Barbour; ma che razza di 'donna emancipata' è mai questa Miss Blayne, l'audace femminista che trema come una scolaretta all'idea di infrangere la più ridicola norma sociale? Chi ha letto 'Red Pottage' (1899!) di Mary Cholmondeley, e ha seguito con emozione l'impegnativa lotta per l'indipendenza personale e sociale delle due protagoniste, non potrà non trovare insulso, contraddittorio e addirittura irritante questo soi-disant 'romanzo storico'.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews