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Forever After
Forced to flee London in terror, street orphan Camilla Brent finds herself under the protection of the magnetically handsome Philip Audley, Earl of Wescott, a man who, to Camilla's dismay, is about to wed London's reigning beauty. Original.
488 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1993
95 people are currently reading
196 people want to read
About the author
Jill Gregory
62 books200 followersNew York Times and USA Today best-selling author Jill Gregory is the award-winning author of more than thirty novels. Jill has been awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence and her novels NEVER LOVE A COWBOY and COLD NIGHT, WARM STRANGER were honored with back-to-back Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice awards for Best Western Historical Romance.
Jill Gregory's novels have been translated and published in Japan, Russia, Norway, France, Taiwan, Sweden, Italy, and Germany. Jill grew up in Chicago and received her bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Illinois. She currently resides in Michigan with her husband.
Jill Gregory's novels have been translated and published in Japan, Russia, Norway, France, Taiwan, Sweden, Italy, and Germany. Jill grew up in Chicago and received her bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Illinois. She currently resides in Michigan with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 9, 2024
I thought reading one of the oldies (my first, and last, Jill Gregory) would rescue me from all that cacophony of terrible anachronisms, the shrillness of contemporary language, all the mores, gender and social relations, and interminable, tedious Cosmo-authorised psycho-bubble and 'relationships advice' that today passes for 'historical romance' writing (to the thundering applause of its ' do nothing but police my safe-zone' readership) but I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! This one is not only full of silly and irritating linguistic anachronisms like, 'he will bite my head off', 'he's kidding me', 'ok', or American 20th c. names like, 'Brittany' and 'Jared', it also manages to turn its titanically improbable premise into a risibly impossible one and without the benefit of a touching and passionate romance.
As if the ridiculous implausibility at the heart of this story was not enough to try any willingness to suspend disbelief, along comes the writer's habit of plodding from complacently silly scene to complacently silly scene with the dogged determination of a pub bore to squander whatever 'suspension of disbelief' capital one was investing on this book. For the unwavering aim of this story is not to build out of an improbable premise an interesting (or even mildly tolerable and skilfully written) romance, but to end each scene with a declarative about the greatness of the heroine's demeanour, beauty, character, qualities and wisdom, and, through the affirmation of this cardboard (anti)character affirm, without further ado, every current cliche about relationships.
A heroine who is 19-20 years old, and who's lived in a workhouse since the age of 8 (the age she was orphaned and left destitute), one who has spent the past three years (prior to meeting the hero) as a serving maid in a tavern in the slums of East London (where, naturally, she had been holding her own against armies of drunken sailors and cutthroats, since the age of 16), and managing spectacularly well to keep her virtues, her dignity, her dreams, her spirit and her little flower intact! Well, this heroine who speaks with that posh accent she acquired in her childhood and carried unaffected through her many years in the slums; this heroine who's untouched by the many years of humiliating, violent poverty and abjection, untouched by the brutality of her experience and the many dangers she's been constantly exposed to, is not only full of kindness and understanding, replete with an innate soft glow and in possession of a cultivated and well-mannered nature, she also learns the ways of the ton in three days max! She is presented at a ball as the hero's intended (he is a rich as the earl of Croesus) and not only can she pick the right fork and knife and wear her gown and jewellery well (which can be learned fast), but she can sit, move, dance, flirt and make polite conversation( she supposedly had an education at the workhouse where she was taken at the age of 8, an age by which all her qualities and character were fully formed, apparently. Who would have thought of the spikes as universities of social etiquette!!!). She is, in short, naturally and effortlessly fluent in the thousand secret conventions and protocols governing every gesture, every look and every choice of words in the higher echelons of rigid social hierarchies (a nomenclature through which these echelons preserve and perpetuate themselves in power and keep all others out). Writers like Jill Gregory think there's no difference between a social hierarchy based on disposable income (as it is the case in consumer societies) and the social hierarchy of early 19th c. Britain. She does everything to eliminate even the slightest whiff of social awareness, of what it would mean to live in a society as hierarchical as 19th c. Britain was (and in many respects still is -look at the lists of our 10 richest persons, 9 have inherited their wealth, and all those Eaton educated, Bullingdon club PMs and MPs). Once you eliminate all signs of concrete reality from your silly abstractions, then all that is left is the ridiculous spectacle of a destitute tavern maid lecturing the toffs on every subject imaginable.
Camilla, the heroine, not only speaks and behaves like a duchess but, more crucially, she is able to fool a duchess into mistaking her for a member of her own social species. She is 'delightful and impulsive' but never loses her regal air. Even when she is covered in mud and manure everyone senses a 'natural' nobility about her (we, of course, have guessed that she is a French duke's illegitimate daughter, so we can breathe a sigh of relief, for the ideological crap that dictates nobility to be a matter of DNA is reaffirmed). The hero, the hero's family,friends and acquaintances all come to drink from the fountain that is the heroine's loveliness, goodness and wisdom. They all adore, indulge and wish to protect her, most of all, they all die to be lectured by her. This girl of the slums and spikes not only talks posh, she also talks as if she has a degree in family/marital/grief counselling (or at least what Jill Gregory thinks such counselling sounds like). So, little Camilla never misses an opportunity or a tableau-vivant to spout her 20th c. cliches on what should the correct dynamic among family members, friends, men and women, noble and pauper be. She takes on the earl's family and turns what was dysfunctional into rainbow-farting functional. Everything reads and sounds as if our Camilla has an exclamation mark following her like a cursor. One wonders why anyone, even a love-struck fool, would give Brittany, who is, of course, a b*tch, a second look!
And before I forget, because all these parading tableaux dedicated to the heroine's greatness grew tedious even the writer herself, she went and threw into the mixture some 'murder mystery' plot point to spice things up. However, since neither writer nor reader could ever care about such things in the midst of such a book, one soon comes to forget that it is there.
Moreover, in the first 65% of this mess of a book, the hero is or thinks he is in love with 'the other woman', she that goes by the name of Brittany. I wonder what was the motivation behind stretching this conceit over such a vast expanse of the wasteland this book's narrative is. It was certainly not for the sake of exploring the native confusions of desire, or the complexity of feelings. The sole reason for the excruciating prolongation is , I think, so that the writer can write more and more scenes of comparison between the heroine (the paragon of everything good, wise and beautiful) and the other woman, that flirty, spoilt, selfish, narcissus. Pity the ow is not the heroine of the story, for in the beginning (before she quickly faded into a caricature bitch in the background) she showed some promise as a bad-but-good girl who shared an amazing frisson with the hero and had a healthy degree of awareness of what was going on.
If you like your HRs full of declarative scenes worshipping the vagueness and abstraction that is the heroine, and if you, like the writer, don't give a rat's arse about the conveying of an atmosphere, place, relationship and sentiment that could recall a past world then 'Forever After' is tailor-made for you. This book will never hew close to whatever interesting anxiety is generated by letting go of carefully policed contemporary projections upon a past that is treated as tabula rasa (but in funny costumes). As for moi, I only hope all memory of this pile of tosh is swiftly wiped out of 'the table of my memory', and its foul smell doth not linger within the book and volume of my brain.
As if the ridiculous implausibility at the heart of this story was not enough to try any willingness to suspend disbelief, along comes the writer's habit of plodding from complacently silly scene to complacently silly scene with the dogged determination of a pub bore to squander whatever 'suspension of disbelief' capital one was investing on this book. For the unwavering aim of this story is not to build out of an improbable premise an interesting (or even mildly tolerable and skilfully written) romance, but to end each scene with a declarative about the greatness of the heroine's demeanour, beauty, character, qualities and wisdom, and, through the affirmation of this cardboard (anti)character affirm, without further ado, every current cliche about relationships.
A heroine who is 19-20 years old, and who's lived in a workhouse since the age of 8 (the age she was orphaned and left destitute), one who has spent the past three years (prior to meeting the hero) as a serving maid in a tavern in the slums of East London (where, naturally, she had been holding her own against armies of drunken sailors and cutthroats, since the age of 16), and managing spectacularly well to keep her virtues, her dignity, her dreams, her spirit and her little flower intact! Well, this heroine who speaks with that posh accent she acquired in her childhood and carried unaffected through her many years in the slums; this heroine who's untouched by the many years of humiliating, violent poverty and abjection, untouched by the brutality of her experience and the many dangers she's been constantly exposed to, is not only full of kindness and understanding, replete with an innate soft glow and in possession of a cultivated and well-mannered nature, she also learns the ways of the ton in three days max! She is presented at a ball as the hero's intended (he is a rich as the earl of Croesus) and not only can she pick the right fork and knife and wear her gown and jewellery well (which can be learned fast), but she can sit, move, dance, flirt and make polite conversation( she supposedly had an education at the workhouse where she was taken at the age of 8, an age by which all her qualities and character were fully formed, apparently. Who would have thought of the spikes as universities of social etiquette!!!). She is, in short, naturally and effortlessly fluent in the thousand secret conventions and protocols governing every gesture, every look and every choice of words in the higher echelons of rigid social hierarchies (a nomenclature through which these echelons preserve and perpetuate themselves in power and keep all others out). Writers like Jill Gregory think there's no difference between a social hierarchy based on disposable income (as it is the case in consumer societies) and the social hierarchy of early 19th c. Britain. She does everything to eliminate even the slightest whiff of social awareness, of what it would mean to live in a society as hierarchical as 19th c. Britain was (and in many respects still is -look at the lists of our 10 richest persons, 9 have inherited their wealth, and all those Eaton educated, Bullingdon club PMs and MPs). Once you eliminate all signs of concrete reality from your silly abstractions, then all that is left is the ridiculous spectacle of a destitute tavern maid lecturing the toffs on every subject imaginable.
Camilla, the heroine, not only speaks and behaves like a duchess but, more crucially, she is able to fool a duchess into mistaking her for a member of her own social species. She is 'delightful and impulsive' but never loses her regal air. Even when she is covered in mud and manure everyone senses a 'natural' nobility about her (we, of course, have guessed that she is a French duke's illegitimate daughter, so we can breathe a sigh of relief, for the ideological crap that dictates nobility to be a matter of DNA is reaffirmed). The hero, the hero's family,friends and acquaintances all come to drink from the fountain that is the heroine's loveliness, goodness and wisdom. They all adore, indulge and wish to protect her, most of all, they all die to be lectured by her. This girl of the slums and spikes not only talks posh, she also talks as if she has a degree in family/marital/grief counselling (or at least what Jill Gregory thinks such counselling sounds like). So, little Camilla never misses an opportunity or a tableau-vivant to spout her 20th c. cliches on what should the correct dynamic among family members, friends, men and women, noble and pauper be. She takes on the earl's family and turns what was dysfunctional into rainbow-farting functional. Everything reads and sounds as if our Camilla has an exclamation mark following her like a cursor. One wonders why anyone, even a love-struck fool, would give Brittany, who is, of course, a b*tch, a second look!
And before I forget, because all these parading tableaux dedicated to the heroine's greatness grew tedious even the writer herself, she went and threw into the mixture some 'murder mystery' plot point to spice things up. However, since neither writer nor reader could ever care about such things in the midst of such a book, one soon comes to forget that it is there.
Moreover, in the first 65% of this mess of a book, the hero is or thinks he is in love with 'the other woman', she that goes by the name of Brittany. I wonder what was the motivation behind stretching this conceit over such a vast expanse of the wasteland this book's narrative is. It was certainly not for the sake of exploring the native confusions of desire, or the complexity of feelings. The sole reason for the excruciating prolongation is , I think, so that the writer can write more and more scenes of comparison between the heroine (the paragon of everything good, wise and beautiful) and the other woman, that flirty, spoilt, selfish, narcissus. Pity the ow is not the heroine of the story, for in the beginning (before she quickly faded into a caricature bitch in the background) she showed some promise as a bad-but-good girl who shared an amazing frisson with the hero and had a healthy degree of awareness of what was going on.
If you like your HRs full of declarative scenes worshipping the vagueness and abstraction that is the heroine, and if you, like the writer, don't give a rat's arse about the conveying of an atmosphere, place, relationship and sentiment that could recall a past world then 'Forever After' is tailor-made for you. This book will never hew close to whatever interesting anxiety is generated by letting go of carefully policed contemporary projections upon a past that is treated as tabula rasa (but in funny costumes). As for moi, I only hope all memory of this pile of tosh is swiftly wiped out of 'the table of my memory', and its foul smell doth not linger within the book and volume of my brain.
October 7, 2022
THIS STORY COULD HAVE ENDED IN HALF THE TIME I NEEDED TO FINISH READING 400+ PAGES. I wasn't impressed by the male lead. There are those who can get away with the crime of bad behavior, but not Phillip. I never thought I'd use these words to describe a character, but he seemed manipulative, self-serving and all too blinded by what he wanted, and not what he needed, not to mention sometimes seemed dishonorable.
That being said...
Forever After is a cliché historical romance without much intrigue. Frankly, a few years back when I was easier to please, this would have been an automatic 4-5 stars and I'd be gushing about it. Now? I just thought the heroine deserved someone better, and she could at least throw a tantrum or two and not be led around by Phillip.
OVERALL I won't go into details about the plot, other that it's quite an average one. All my opinions are centered on how "stupid" Phillip was to use Camilla to make another woman jealous. Usually I LOVE this kind of troupes, but I failed to see the chemistry and relationship between Camilla and Phillip building naturally enough to appreciate it. Till the end, I don't really see why Camilla would fall for Phillip. He wasn't bad in certain terms, he certainly loved his family and a past traumatic death of a loved one turned him into a "tyrant" who wouldn't be disobeyed. Everything about this story points to things that I do love but, I can't help but feel that it was poorly executed for my taste. I still can't get over the fact of how blind Phillip was to Camilla's charm and beauty, and all the while he was chasing after a superficial dream. That...was tough to chew down.
That being said...
Forever After is a cliché historical romance without much intrigue. Frankly, a few years back when I was easier to please, this would have been an automatic 4-5 stars and I'd be gushing about it. Now? I just thought the heroine deserved someone better, and she could at least throw a tantrum or two and not be led around by Phillip.
OVERALL I won't go into details about the plot, other that it's quite an average one. All my opinions are centered on how "stupid" Phillip was to use Camilla to make another woman jealous. Usually I LOVE this kind of troupes, but I failed to see the chemistry and relationship between Camilla and Phillip building naturally enough to appreciate it. Till the end, I don't really see why Camilla would fall for Phillip. He wasn't bad in certain terms, he certainly loved his family and a past traumatic death of a loved one turned him into a "tyrant" who wouldn't be disobeyed. Everything about this story points to things that I do love but, I can't help but feel that it was poorly executed for my taste. I still can't get over the fact of how blind Phillip was to Camilla's charm and beauty, and all the while he was chasing after a superficial dream. That...was tough to chew down.
July 16, 2017
Encantadora historia de una Cenicienta valiente que logra hacerse un sitio muy merecido en la alta sociedad y en el corazón de Philip.
La historia es sencilla, sin pretensiones e incluso el asesino es obvio a kilómetros pero el libro entretiene.
Lo mejor, sin duda, Philip: su educación y generosidad, su obsesión por conquistar a la bella Brittany sin saber ver con claridad lo que tiene delante (Camilla). Sus emociones progresan de manera natural y aunque a veces, de manera obtusa, se obsesiona con ganar una apuesta que sólo puede llevarle hacia el desastre, es entendible y sinceramente, adorable.
La historia es sencilla, sin pretensiones e incluso el asesino es obvio a kilómetros pero el libro entretiene.
Lo mejor, sin duda, Philip: su educación y generosidad, su obsesión por conquistar a la bella Brittany sin saber ver con claridad lo que tiene delante (Camilla). Sus emociones progresan de manera natural y aunque a veces, de manera obtusa, se obsesiona con ganar una apuesta que sólo puede llevarle hacia el desastre, es entendible y sinceramente, adorable.
August 15, 2022
I loved this book
I thought the author did a fantastic job with the the story of romance with plots and murder. This book is one I will keep forever and probably reread over and over! I would recommend this book to everyone it has it all and you’ll not want to put it down I loved it.
I thought the author did a fantastic job with the the story of romance with plots and murder. This book is one I will keep forever and probably reread over and over! I would recommend this book to everyone it has it all and you’ll not want to put it down I loved it.
June 22, 2021
Forever After really grabs your attention in the first few chapters. Then it keeps you interested. I really liked the characters and easily enjoyed reading their stories. Mystery, intrigue, love and more. Definitely recommend
March 24, 2015
'Forever After' is yet another of Jill Gregory's novels that I loved reading. For a long time, I've only read her contemporary romances, so it's been a while since I've thrown myself into one of her historical ones. I hadn't forgotten what they were like, but I can say that I really missed reading them.
The love story between Camilla Brent and Philip Audley is developed well, as the characters transform themselves from who people think they are (or should be) to the people they are meant to be, individually and together. I read Gregory's books for the love story and the beautiful passion she evokes between her main characters. It is also wonderful to read about secondary characters and feel connected with them as well through her fantastic descriptions. Her plot and characters in 'Forever After' are vivid and strong, and it makes it all the more worth reading and going out to find more of her work.
Gregory's novels always have some sort of mystery or danger embedded into the story, and this one is no different. A night of violence drives Camilla away from London, and she finds herself in a world unlike what she has known - the world of high society. As she becomes more enthralled with not only the more luxurious life she now leads, but the man who is in it, that violent night that started Camilla's journey into Philip's arms may just be their undoing, if the people she is running from have anything to say about it.
The love story between Camilla Brent and Philip Audley is developed well, as the characters transform themselves from who people think they are (or should be) to the people they are meant to be, individually and together. I read Gregory's books for the love story and the beautiful passion she evokes between her main characters. It is also wonderful to read about secondary characters and feel connected with them as well through her fantastic descriptions. Her plot and characters in 'Forever After' are vivid and strong, and it makes it all the more worth reading and going out to find more of her work.
Gregory's novels always have some sort of mystery or danger embedded into the story, and this one is no different. A night of violence drives Camilla away from London, and she finds herself in a world unlike what she has known - the world of high society. As she becomes more enthralled with not only the more luxurious life she now leads, but the man who is in it, that violent night that started Camilla's journey into Philip's arms may just be their undoing, if the people she is running from have anything to say about it.
April 2, 2016
After a hellish night, Camille gets run over by an earl. Which might just have been the best thing ever happening to her.
At his residence, she makes friends with his little sister and soon realizes that there seems to be a lot of bad blood in the family.
The earl is not on good speaking terms with his brother James, James’ wife Charlotte. But what happened between them? And why is no one allowed to talk about Marguerite?
Camille is intelligent, she knows how to express herself and how to treat a little girl. She also knows that she will never be asked to stay with the earl. And yet, he acts so civil toward her, just a simple girl who worked at a tavern days before.
Together they embark on a journey.
Writing style: beautiful
Characters: amazing
Plot: good
As you can see, I really liked the characters, not just the Earl and beautiful and headstrong Camille but also all the others, James, wonderful Charlotte, brave Jared and sweet Dori.
I just had my problems with the plot 'cause seriously, there were a lot of coincidences. But it was very well told and I had no idea who was behind all of the terrible things that happened.
I think, however, that a lot could have been revealed and prevented earlier since Camille had all the cards in her hand.
Anyways, very good read!
At his residence, she makes friends with his little sister and soon realizes that there seems to be a lot of bad blood in the family.
The earl is not on good speaking terms with his brother James, James’ wife Charlotte. But what happened between them? And why is no one allowed to talk about Marguerite?
Camille is intelligent, she knows how to express herself and how to treat a little girl. She also knows that she will never be asked to stay with the earl. And yet, he acts so civil toward her, just a simple girl who worked at a tavern days before.
Together they embark on a journey.
Writing style: beautiful
Characters: amazing
Plot: good
As you can see, I really liked the characters, not just the Earl and beautiful and headstrong Camille but also all the others, James, wonderful Charlotte, brave Jared and sweet Dori.
I just had my problems with the plot 'cause seriously, there were a lot of coincidences. But it was very well told and I had no idea who was behind all of the terrible things that happened.
I think, however, that a lot could have been revealed and prevented earlier since Camille had all the cards in her hand.
Anyways, very good read!
April 5, 2016
In this historical romance, street orphan Camilla Brent is fleeing London after witnessing a brutal murder. She meets Phillip, the Earl of Wescott when his carriage runs her down. They enter into a business proposition, designed to win Phillip the hand of the tons most sought after beauty. Of course, a mutual attraction develops, complicating the business deal.
Sounds pretty typical! Fortunately, this book is anything but. The characters are much better drawn than most. Camilla is not only street smart, but she has retained a sweet and lovely disposition despite living under the poorest of circumstances. Phillip has aspects of the typical dark, brooding lord, but he also has a kinder, more compassionate side. Phillip's family members are interesting and add color to the story. This story is more about the interaction between the characters and less about details of one glittery ball after another. The murder mystery adds even more interest, although it's not that difficult to figure out.
This is the first Jill Gregory book I've read, but it won't be the last.
Sounds pretty typical! Fortunately, this book is anything but. The characters are much better drawn than most. Camilla is not only street smart, but she has retained a sweet and lovely disposition despite living under the poorest of circumstances. Phillip has aspects of the typical dark, brooding lord, but he also has a kinder, more compassionate side. Phillip's family members are interesting and add color to the story. This story is more about the interaction between the characters and less about details of one glittery ball after another. The murder mystery adds even more interest, although it's not that difficult to figure out.
This is the first Jill Gregory book I've read, but it won't be the last.
August 20, 2015
A wonderfully enchanting fairy tale of a story, taking the reader on an adventurous and thrilling ride of countless twists and turns of beautifully written prose. Jill will capture your heart with the loveliness of this spellbinding tale set in the dark, cobble-stoned streets of London, the distant shores of France and the lush, idyllic English countryside of the year 1806. A timeless tale of aristocratic society, captivating misadventures, stubborn wills, kind hearts and passionate love ~ now one of my all-time favorite stories ~ enjoy! ♡ :) Mark
July 12, 2016
Warning: there are two sex scenes. Not super detailed and easy to skip over.
Overall I really liked this book. Camilla Brent is one of my favorite characters. She is bold and not always kind, a nice change from most heroines. I also enjoyed that I didn't know the murderer until close to the end, which is refreshing.
Overall I really liked this book. Camilla Brent is one of my favorite characters. She is bold and not always kind, a nice change from most heroines. I also enjoyed that I didn't know the murderer until close to the end, which is refreshing.
dnf
March 23, 2015I am going to just mark this as DNF'd. I started reading in Nov 2014, set it aside for shinier things and have not picked it up since. I haven't even touched it except to move it out of the way. Time to give up.
April 15, 2016
Forever After
She Ian an excellent writer of romance and mystery...I given this book five stars. Passionate, mysterious and it kept. You guessing right up until the end...Loved it!!
She Ian an excellent writer of romance and mystery...I given this book five stars. Passionate, mysterious and it kept. You guessing right up until the end...Loved it!!
April 20, 2016
How old was the author?
I started the book because I thought I knew the author but I can't believe it was the same Jill Gregory. This book was absurd, with no character development and ridiculous plot devices. Had it been written by a 12 year old I might have given it a C.
I started the book because I thought I knew the author but I can't believe it was the same Jill Gregory. This book was absurd, with no character development and ridiculous plot devices. Had it been written by a 12 year old I might have given it a C.
October 16, 2016
Regency romance like the old days
This book was like the books I read when I was younger. It is a sweet love story. You know everything will work out in the end, but it's fun getting there. This was a relaxing read.
This book was like the books I read when I was younger. It is a sweet love story. You know everything will work out in the end, but it's fun getting there. This was a relaxing read.
May 10, 2012
A sweet simple romance. Not much action, just a nice story.
December 22, 2015
Hard to put down Jill Gregory's books!
March 12, 2015
3.5 stars. I liked all of the characters, and the story, while somewhat predictable, was interesting.
April 20, 2015
There were several moments I wish not be written at all, however, in general, not bad. Enjoyed reading.
August 25, 2015
Better than some, not as good as others as far as romance novels go. I liked the mystery but it seemed so long. And a little predictable.
April 11, 2016
Good story. Even knowing the probable ending, it was a true Cinderella story. I enjoyed the high jinx.
January 14, 2018
It was a really sweet story and great characters. I just couldn't believe in some of Philip's character aspects from the beginning of the story.
December 28, 2016
wonderful read. worth a second read. loved camilla and philip
October 7, 2024
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews