Whispering

Caterina Gomez #1

by Jane Aiken Hodge

When Caterina Gomez returns to her beloved home of Oporto, Portugal, her troubles have only just begun. The country is at war with France and, even though Oporto is no longer in French hands, it is a shadow of its former self. The scandalous cloud that Caterina left under is still not forgotten, and her cruel and distant father insists on a hasty marriage or the convent. Half English and half Portuguese, she must walk a fine line between both societies, which is all made near impossible considering her troubled past.Thankfully, her dear friend Miss Harriet Brown and cousin Jeremy Craddock have accompanied her from England. But Harriet can only offer comfort whilst sharing in her fate, and Jeremy, who is seeking treatment for his ill health, becomes distracted by his fair and pretty healer. Then Caterina's past resurfaces in a most confusing manner in the shape of Luiz, her childhood sweetheart, drawing her further into the tangles of political intrigue. Romantic as the adventure is, Caterina must try to keep a cool head in order to find out quickly those who can be trusted, and those who are not what they appear. For she has a secret, one that must be guarded at all costs... Whispering, first published in 1995, is another great historical romance from the master of the genre – Jane Aiken Hodge.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Romance, Regency, Fiction

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 20, 1995

About the author

Jane Aiken Hodge was born in the USA, brought up in the UK and read English at Oxford. She received a master's degree from Radcliffe College, Harvard University.

Before her books became her living she worked as a civil servant, journalist, publishers' reader and a reviewer.

She has written lives of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer as well as a book about women in the Regency period, PASSION AND PRINCIPLE. But her main output has been over twenty historical novels set in the eighteenth century, including POLONAISE, THE LOST GARDEN, and SAVANNAH PURCHASE, the beloved third volume of a trilogy set during and after the American War of Independence. More recently she has written novels for Severn House Publishers.

She enjoys the borderland between mystery and novel, is pleased to be classed as a feminist writer, and is glad that there is neither a glass ceiling nor a retiring age in the writers' world. She was the daughter of Conrad Aiken and sister of Joan Aiken.

Reviews

[Diane Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of the better books by Jane Aiken Hodge, but I liked it enough to eventually read the follow up Caterina. My favorite is still Savannah Purchase.

The writing seemed choppy.

The book blurb sets the story up well enough so I won't recap. Lots of spying! Takes place in Oporto, Portugal around 1810.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather limp noodle of a book.

[Elizabeth Scheller Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Internet Archive for having this book!