Euphemia or The Secret Widow

by Catherine J. Bowness

This story is set during the outwardly charming and refined Regency in a small town in Sussex. It is a glorious summer of blazing sun and dazzling skies with the scent of roses wafting across well-tended gardens but, beneath this gentle veneer, passions rage and all is not quite as it seems. Euphemia, having reluctantly accepted an invitation to dinner, meets two people who overturn her quiet life. The first knows her secret, the second bears a name which causes her to faint even before dinner is served. She thinks she is the only one who is concealing something; she is not. Danger mounts until one afternoon, in grave peril, she discovers not only what really happened seven years ago but a good deal more besides. Written in an old-fashioned, sophisticated style lightly seasoned with ironic wit, this is a book which recreates its period whilst at the same time depicting the unchanging nature of human emotion. People, as always, behave in the way that Society demands but, beneath the carapace of early 19th century manners, they feel no differently to the way people do today.

Genres: Historical Romance

274 pages, Paperback

Published May 18, 2016

About the author

I began writing novels at school but was too shy to let anyone see them so I carried on making them up in my head. As a lonely child in boarding school, this was my drug of choice and I became quite addicted to it - as also to reading - always novels. I don't especially like films because I want to imagine the people and sets for myself not have them imposed on me by a director and producer. I believe this is the power of novels: the reader must work in concert with the writer to create the magic.

Reviews

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot and characters were good overall, but the possible pedophilia part was just too creepy for me. The part about Euphemia's brother comes out of the blue, and could have been left out with the main points of the plot remaining the same.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Round up to 3.5stars

Good story would I read it again, no. This covered dark issues of life not usually included in historical romance and author deserving credit for it. I found the ending abrupt , needed an epilogue.