Distant Images

by Audrey Howard

As they dazzle all the men at Queen Victoria's jubilee ball, Beth and Milly Goodwin seem to be mirror images of one beautiful, graceful and rich, they can take their pick of any man in St Helens. Only those who know them best realize that Milly's dark brown eyes hide a wild, untamed wantonness, while Beth's silvery-grey ones betray her idealism and kindness.



But the only man in the room either of them wants is the one who could destroy both their lives. Hugh, sixteenth Lord Thornley, is a rake who needs to marry an heiress to restore the fortune his father gambled away. Even a lowly daughter of a glass manufacturer will do - provided she is biddable and strong and willing to bear the son he needs.



Beth, he decides, will make him the perfect wife. But it is Milly who traps him into a loveless marriage - and sets in motion a chain of events that could destroy everything they hold dear.

Genres: Historical, Historical Romance, Fiction

480 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

About the author

Audrey Howard was born on 1929 in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, UK, and grew up in St Annes on Sea, Lancashire, where she lives in her childhood home.

Before she began to write she had a variety of jobs, among them hairdresser, model, shop assistant, cleaner and civil servant. In 1981, while living in Australia, she wrote the first of her bestselling novels published since 1984. In 1988, her novel The Juniper Bush won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Lainy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Hodder

Pages - 475

Blurb from Goodreads

As they dazzle all the men at Queen Victoria's jubilee ball, Beth and Milly Goodwin seem to be mirror images of one another—beautiful, graceful and rich. They can take their pick of any man in St. Helens, but the only man in the room either of them wants is the one who could destroy both their lives.


My Review

Beth & Milly Goodwin are twins, beautiful and from a wealthy working class family set in the later 1800s, around the time when Emily Pankhurst was active with the suffragette movement. The girls capture the eye of Captain Hugh Thornley, sixteenth baron in his family line of noble blood, at the jubilee ball. Beth is pure, innocent, thoughtful and sweet, Milly is flighty, manipulative, forthright & very aware of her body and the effect it has on men. Both ladies fall for Thornley, only one will capture him, little knowing the devastation, hurt and horror that catching such a prize will bring.

Oh what a story, I am not normally one to pick a tale set in the past however this really caught my interest. In a time period where women have little rights and are thought of as the property of their husbands, some of the brutality the woman suffer in this book is at times quite hard to read. Thornley is a brute who will go to any lengths to dish out revenge to anyone he sees as has slighted him, the Goodwins are beneath him in his eyes as they are mere working class, he is a man of title. But what Hugh wants he gets and soon makes his move on one of the sisters which kicks off the heartache and horrors that follow.

This book covers many subjects and whilst being a tale of fiction, there are factual happenings dottered throughout, the protests and movements of the suffragettes, inequalities women faced during that time period, the attitudes and views of the different classes. It covers prostitution, infidelity, family bonds, violence, relationships and there is a fair few sex scenes throughout although nothing in extreme detail. This is my first time reading this author and I would certainly read her again. The characters go through a roller coaster of emotions, relationships are tested to the hilt and when I was sure I knew what was coming next, the author went in a completely different direction, 4/5 for me this time!

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Distant images is the story of twin sisters Beth and Milly Goodwin. While they look alike, their personalities are very different. Milly is impulsive, loves to get her way and is always looking out for herself, while Beth is shy, caring and loving. As they are introduced to the society at balls and dances, they meet Hugh Thornley, a handsome but, as they come to find, a very dangerous man.

I gave this book 4 stars just because I couldn't help but compare it to Audrey Howard's other novels, all of which I have loved. Don't get me wrong, I loved this one as well, but it just didn't quite measure up to the other novels by this author that I have read.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely gutted....I was about half way through and left it at hospital. Such a shame as I was just getting a feel for the book and quite enjoying it.

[Nisha Kanwar · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was no protagonist, character building was very bad, unnecessary drama was there, from the very beginning i thought Beth would be the main character but her character went down real bad, then there was archie( a hopeless lover, who could do nothing good but to listen to his wife), i didn't understand how can beth marry archie when archie was adopted by her parents and was Beth's brother in some way, how can Milly marry hugh when he clearly was flirting with both the sisters, why didn't beth tell her the truth, this whole story started nowhere and ended nowhere, it made no sense ,simple waste of time.

[Gail Button · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good for a historical non-fictional novel. Lots of factual detail about women’s rights, FGM and the law at the time. Thoroughly enjoyed the storyline and couldn’t read the last chapter quickly enough.

[Sharon Keal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disgustingly devil Victorian era novel.