Kit

by A.S. Harrington

James Chancellor, thirty-three, urbane and well-educated, an English diplomat for all of his adult life, is leaving Naples to return to England, where, upon his older brother's death, he has inherited an earldom and a host of unpleasant responsibilities. His mother, the redoubtable Dowager Countess of Stafford, has ordered him home and has instructed him to resign his diplomatic post, propose to a girl of good family whom she has chosen, and produce an heir. Although he resents her meddling, he realizes where his duty lies, and certainly he cannot fault her taste. He has agreed.

Tolbert Hutton, the English consul in Naples, asks James if he might not mind to do him a favor; on his way to England, would he mind very much collecting his eighteen-year-old daughter and her companion from Florence and accompanying them to London? "I should warn you about Kit," Tolbert confesses. "She's a bit-- well, headstrong." Having not an inkling of the trouble he about to cause himself, Chancellor agrees.

The eighteen-year-old daughter of his friend, Kit Hutton, dressed in the grey serge of the convent school, her black hair in braids, with eyes blue as sapphires, has lived just about everywhere except England, and the single visit she made there some three or four years ago was a disaster. She hated England; she hated the winter there, she hated her strict Auntie Crosley, and she hated the lack of music and art and poetry. In fact, she has come to believe that such a thing-- English poetry-- just doesn't exist. Forced into returning to England to be presented by her aunt, Kit also knows that she is expected to marry and settle down with some dreadful English squire who cares for nothing but his horses and his dogs. She will have none of it. She refuses to leave.

The first encounter of the unsuspecting James Chancellor and this rebellious young woman-- just a child, Chancellor imagines-- ends with the two of them and Kit's motherly companion Delly setting off across Europe in the middle of January 1817, in one of the worst winters of modern times. A shaky truce is called inside the carriage as James introduces Kit to the English poetry she hasn't yet discovered, that of Coleridge and Wordsworth. They are thrown together for weeks, culminating in their arrival at last in Vienna, where James is delivering a sensitive diplomatic packet and has decided they will spend a week before continuing their journey to England. He doesn't, however, expect the charming child he has been escorting across Europe to appear one evening suddenly transformed into a ravishing vision of young womanhood, and even less is he prepared for his completely objectionable attraction to her.

Kit knows that James Chancellor has a bride awaiting him in England, and she isn't certain why, but the idea offends her deeply. Older than her years, far more experienced than any young women her age, she realizes that she has fallen in love with a man who treats his desire for her as if he were ashamed of it. She tries to amuse herself in Vienna with a coterie of desperately handsome young men her own age and fails miserably; she tries to keep her growing attraction to the stern James Chancellor a secret.

And then, in one rash, impetuous act, the secret is revealed, and the consequences are shattering.

In the midst of discovering herself as a woman, indeed, as a modern, independent, well-educated Englishwoman, she must also learn how to deal with the discovery of a great love for a man almost twice her age.

Genres: Historical

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 20, 2014

About the author

A.S. Harrington, born in Texas, raised in West Africa, spent her childhood in a culture rich in the story-telling tradition. With a professional career that spanned everything from teaching piano to software engineering and owning and operating a helicopter charter service, her life experience has been great background for what she loves best: writing novels. Who knew that five years as a reference librarian would come in so handy!

In addition to historical fiction she has published as A.S. Harrington, she also writes modern romantic suspense as Sydney Harrington ("Ordinary Secrets" was published in 2017).

Harrington lives and writes in the Oakland Hills overlooking San Francisco Bay.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked but didn't *love* this book, my first read from a new-to-me author that was recced on a GR blog. The historical detail is impressively well-researched, and the settings, mainly in Naples, Vienna and London, are depicted in a fresh and appealing manner. The plot line was fine - an Englishman in Italy on a diplomatic mission escorts the daughter of a colleague home to England. Along the way, they fall in love. But.......

James is in his thirties (33, I think?), and Kit is only eighteen. And James sees that as a problem. Apart from her very immature behaviour at the start of the book, Kit is actually quite mature for her age - extremely well-read and educated in the arts, and very well-travelled too. But James feels he is far too old for her, and shuts away his lustful thoughts about a young lady he feels is still little more than a child.

When they arrive back in London, James is all but forced into marriage (by his manipulative mother) with a very eligible lady named Mercy. As it turns out, Mercy is actually lovely, and they would no doubt have made a great pair. If James wasn't already deeply in love with Kit, that is......

Despairing at the news of James' engagement, Kit allows herself to become engaged to a very eligible young man, for whom she feels very little.

The storyline proceeds from here, with various angsty moments as James, Kit, and Mercy all realise that they are making a big mistake. Sadly, Mercy has fallen in love a little with her fiancé James, but knows he loves someone else.

From this point on, I found the storyline dragged and was pretty frustrating. The MCs did behave in character for the period, putting 'duty' first etc, but I was left just feeling a bit cross with them all, and wanted to shake some sense into them!

Finally the web is untangled and James and Kit do have their HEA, which is quite nicely done in the end.

I enjoyed the frequent literary and poetic references throughout the book. There is one delightful set piece when James has some of the poets and other characters of the day spend a boozy evening at his house reciting their new poems and enjoying some Mozart. It felt very real and was a highlight of the book. If you are familiar with and enjoy literature, poetry, music and arts of this period, this is a pleasurable aspect of this book.

But overall the book didn't quite measure up for me. Although I liked both James and Kit, neither of them felt totally 'real' to me as a reader, and so I found it hard to get fully invested in their rocky romance. The language of the book felt a little stiff and old-fashioned at times as well. No doubt the author was striving for some period authenticity, but it sometimes felt a little stilted to me.

I think if I felt more connected with James and Kit I would have really loved this book. But as it is....... yeah, I liked it, but feel a little lukewarm towards it.

Overall this book is a 'clean' romance with little sex and not even much kissing. Lots of dreaming and sighing and quoting (lovely) poetry, though. I think I would have enjoyed it more with a bit more overt passion between our lovers.

I might try some of this writer's other books, but I'm thinking they'll be along a similar vein.

[Kathy Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diplomat James Chancellor has inherited an earldom; he is asked to escort the daughter of another diplomat home to England. Chancellor, who is 33, thinks Katherine Hutton is a child, but she is 18 and beautiful. During the trip home, from Naples to Vienna and Paris, they discover a mutual love of poetry, especially the Elizabethan poets, and he introduces her to the new poetry emerging in England--Byron, Wordsworth, Shelley, and Keats. He falls in love with her, but refuses to acknowledge it because of the difference in age. This book is very different from Harrington's others. It is set two years after Waterloo; there are a lot of poems recited throughout the story, and it is the most sexually explicit of all the author's books. There is no story going on behind the scenes as in other books. The extreme emotions exhibited by James and Katherine exemplify the Romantic movement of the early nineteenth century, not only in poetry but also in the music of Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and a young Rossini. My only complaint is the introduction of Katherine in the beginning of the story--she acts like an 8 year old rather than an 18 year old diplomat's daughter who has traveled throughout Europe.

[cheryl giles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

It is poetry come to life in the very literal sense of the word. She has integrated the poetry of the period into the story in such a way so that it interprets the poetry and makes the poetry of that time period very accessible. Normally it would be a bit difficult to slog through, but it is interwoven into the story in such a way as to not only enhance the storyline, but also I came away with a desire to go back to reading the poetry I have left behind 30 years ago. What an unexpected treasure. I wish I could give this book 6 stars. 5 for great writing and a bonus for wetting my appetite for a new genre of literature. I even have books of poetry on my shelves that I must go pull out immediately.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written book but I had trouble with the main couple, the age difference, their perfection in body and mind got to be annoying. After a while they became godlike , everyone else just mortals who couldn't compare. Truly I didn't want them to have a happy ever after, there is something off putting about perfection.