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The Wanton
They call her wanton, a woman of wild and independent spirit. But Trista Windham knows her heart -- and nothing can shatter her dreams.For love, in need, she surrenders her innocence beneath a radiant sky -- and binds her soul forever to Blaze Davenant, a dark and handsome man of dangerous secrets... and startling secret passions. Across perilous waters and through the ravaging fires of the Civil War, Trista must pursue a rapture that, once tasted, can never be forgotten and endure suffering only the strongest of hearts can bear in the cause of a love that comes but once in a lifetime.
324 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
9 people are currently reading
264 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Rogers
111 books421 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Rosemary Jansz Navaratnam Rogers Kadison
Rosemary Jansz was born on 7 December 1932 in Panadura, British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), she was the oldest child of Dutch-Portuguese settlers, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz. Her father was a wealthy educator who owned three posh private schools. She was raised in colonial splendor: dozens of servants, no work, summers at European spas, a chaperone everywhere she went. A dreamy child, she wrote her first novel at eight, and all through her teens scribbled madly romantic epics in imitation of her favorite writers: Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas and Rafael Sabatini.
At 17, Rosemary rebelled against a feudal upbringing and went to the University of Ceylon, where she studied three years. She horrified her family by taking a job as a reporter, and two years later marrying with Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese track star known as "the fastest man in Asia." The marriage had two daughters. Unhappily, he often sprinted after other women. Disappointed with her husband, in 1960, she moved with her two daughters and took off for London.
In Europe she met her future second husband, Leroy Rogers, an african-american. "He was the first man," she recalls, "who made me feel like a real woman." After getting a divorce from her first husband, she married Rogers in his home town, St. Louis, Missouri. They moved with her family to California, where she had two sons. Six years later, when that marriage broke up, Rosemary was left with four children to support on her $4,200 salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, in the face of a socialist takeover of Ceylon, her parents fled the island with only ?100, giving Rosemary two more dependents. At 37, the rich girl from Ceylon was on her uppers in Fairfield.
Every night for a year, Rogers worked to perfect a manuscript that she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When she was satisfied with her work, she sent the manuscript to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, ''Sweet Savage Love'', skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists, and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, ''Dark Fires'', sold two million copies in its first three months of release. Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, ''Wicked Loving Lies'' sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication. Rosemary Rogers became one of the legendaries "Avon Queens of Historical Romance". The difference between she and most of others romance writers is not the violence of her stories, it is the intensity. She says: "My heroines are me", and certainly her life could be one of her novels.
In September of 1984, Rosemary married a third time with Christopher Kadison, but it was a very brief marriage and they soon began to live apart. "I'd like to live with a man," she admits, "but I find men in real life don't come up to my fantasies. I want culture, spirit and sex all rolled up together."
Today single, Rosemary lives quietly in a small dramatic villa perched on a crag above the Pacific near Carmel. Her four children are now away from home and she continues to write.
Rosemary passed away at the age of 87 on November 12, 2019 in Carmel, California where she called home since the early 1970s.
Rosemary Jansz Navaratnam Rogers Kadison
Rosemary Jansz was born on 7 December 1932 in Panadura, British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), she was the oldest child of Dutch-Portuguese settlers, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz. Her father was a wealthy educator who owned three posh private schools. She was raised in colonial splendor: dozens of servants, no work, summers at European spas, a chaperone everywhere she went. A dreamy child, she wrote her first novel at eight, and all through her teens scribbled madly romantic epics in imitation of her favorite writers: Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas and Rafael Sabatini.
At 17, Rosemary rebelled against a feudal upbringing and went to the University of Ceylon, where she studied three years. She horrified her family by taking a job as a reporter, and two years later marrying with Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese track star known as "the fastest man in Asia." The marriage had two daughters. Unhappily, he often sprinted after other women. Disappointed with her husband, in 1960, she moved with her two daughters and took off for London.
In Europe she met her future second husband, Leroy Rogers, an african-american. "He was the first man," she recalls, "who made me feel like a real woman." After getting a divorce from her first husband, she married Rogers in his home town, St. Louis, Missouri. They moved with her family to California, where she had two sons. Six years later, when that marriage broke up, Rosemary was left with four children to support on her $4,200 salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, in the face of a socialist takeover of Ceylon, her parents fled the island with only ?100, giving Rosemary two more dependents. At 37, the rich girl from Ceylon was on her uppers in Fairfield.
Every night for a year, Rogers worked to perfect a manuscript that she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When she was satisfied with her work, she sent the manuscript to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, ''Sweet Savage Love'', skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists, and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, ''Dark Fires'', sold two million copies in its first three months of release. Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, ''Wicked Loving Lies'' sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication. Rosemary Rogers became one of the legendaries "Avon Queens of Historical Romance". The difference between she and most of others romance writers is not the violence of her stories, it is the intensity. She says: "My heroines are me", and certainly her life could be one of her novels.
In September of 1984, Rosemary married a third time with Christopher Kadison, but it was a very brief marriage and they soon began to live apart. "I'd like to live with a man," she admits, "but I find men in real life don't come up to my fantasies. I want culture, spirit and sex all rolled up together."
Today single, Rosemary lives quietly in a small dramatic villa perched on a crag above the Pacific near Carmel. Her four children are now away from home and she continues to write.
Rosemary passed away at the age of 87 on November 12, 2019 in Carmel, California where she called home since the early 1970s.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 28, 2011
There's a line, Rosemary Rogers -- and you crossed it! Bodice ripping I can deal with, okay. Even a little rougher than that sometimes. But when the heroine is drugged, committed to an asylum, gang-banged by a bunch of doctors . . . well, there's a line, Rosemary Rogers. And you crossed it!
June 15, 2020
The writing was disjointed and difficult to follow. It starts with the heroine's first-character pov and then switches the pov several times later in the story. I often found myself re-reading paragraphs to figure out what the heck was going on, but the bodice-ripper craziness kept me engaged.
Heroine: Trista is a naive 16-yr old interested in medicine and in the care of her stepfather since her mother ran off. After losing her virginity to the hero, the story skips to five years later after she has earned a medical degree in Paris and is returning home to visit her ailing stepfather.
Hero: Blaze is an artist, a Union spy, a quarter Native American (Apache), and 100% rake. On two occasions he drew lewd pictures of the heroine when she was not aware and later gives them to her.
Villain: Fernando (the stepbrother) was infatuated with and a lover to Trista's mother. He harbors tempestuous feelings for Trista, since she reminds him of her mother.
There is a bigamy theme throughout the story.
The ending of the story is rushed, with the hero being injured and battling the step-brother. The characters finally admit they love each other on the last page of the story.
Heroine: Trista is a naive 16-yr old interested in medicine and in the care of her stepfather since her mother ran off. After losing her virginity to the hero, the story skips to five years later after she has earned a medical degree in Paris and is returning home to visit her ailing stepfather.
Hero: Blaze is an artist, a Union spy, a quarter Native American (Apache), and 100% rake. On two occasions he drew lewd pictures of the heroine when she was not aware and later gives them to her.
Villain: Fernando (the stepbrother) was infatuated with and a lover to Trista's mother. He harbors tempestuous feelings for Trista, since she reminds him of her mother.
There is a bigamy theme throughout the story.
The ending of the story is rushed, with the hero being injured and battling the step-brother. The characters finally admit they love each other on the last page of the story.
January 14, 2024
Horrible, awful batshit insane.
July 16, 2017
I remember reading The Wanton as an early teen (13 maybe). I found it hidden in a bedside drawer and once I started reading I realized why. I thought it was crazy hot then and, at 37 I still think the same thing. I mean c'mon look at that cover. What early 90's teenager could resist reading this when their parents weren't home?
When it comes to stupid, there are times the main character, Trista, takes the cake, especially when it involves her stepbrother, Fernando. In her defense (and at the beginning), she was 16 years old and it was the 1800s. And, she'd been shit on a lot by her mother. She was a definite masochist and unreliable narrator. I couldn't tell if she enjoyed the non-consensual BDSM thing every guy in the book had going on for her, but I sure as hell thought it was hot.
Except for the whole brother thing. And, the whole "I will rule you" thing. I can't believe the father and aunt never realized what was going on with Trista and her brother, Fernando and I've never been able to understand her fascination with him.
The writing was difficult to follow most of the time. I often wondered if the characters and the writer was tripping on acid, that's how far out there the plot and writing seems. I've read other books by Rosemary Rogers, such as Love Play and Sweet, Savage Love, but none were quite as disjointed and just plain weird as The Wanton.
But, hot damn, Blaise Devenant!
December 3, 2013
Ok. I reread this book. I did finish it. I read the reviews also, and I think most of them are correct in their assessment. It is truly a hard book to follow. I'm not really sure the exact reasons why, but I'll try to give my thoughts. I was confused at the delivery I guess of the story. Each "scene" would start out, and you would think, where is this coming from, then at the end of that "scene" she would kind of explain it. For instance, when Fernando "kidnapped" her, the story read they were on their way to drop of the aunt, then all of a sudden Trista was at a friends house drinking tea,(why) then she felt drugged,(why) then she woke up in the crazy house,(why). It was like I said, very hard to follow the plot of this book. Only read it if given to you, you are extremely bored, or left with nothing better to do.
February 25, 2013
Pretty sure this came out before 1985, I'm thinking 1980 or late 70's, stole it from my mother and re-read it several times....WOW!!!!
February 3, 2014
This was the first "adult" novel I read. Sadly. I felt pretty violated, but my sadistic teenage curiosity won out and I finished it. A happy ending doesn't make up for everything else in the book.
August 4, 2023
Rosemary Rogers needs more prayer than I alone can provide. Woman is in need of an exorcism. This shit made me want to drink bleach neat. Genesis 6:6.
July 6, 2012
Do you enjoy rape? Stupid decisions? Being beaten into submission? Well, if you answered yes to those questions, this is the book for you! This book was so unbelievably dumb. It started with interesting potential... it had me invested and interested in the story... and then out of nowhere, Bam! The main character, Trista is propositioned by her horny stepbrother and almost raped. She meets a man she despises, and then later gives him her virginity. That's only the beginning of the madness that is this story. Later you have wonderful things to look forward to, such as stupid Trista trusting her step brother, the very one, that has at this point tried to rape her at least 3 times... and ends up getting drugged and hospitalized, beaten, and raped many times by her step brother, and at least once my her male nurse care taker. She finally escapes and well.... goes back to the lover she's had many times, that she gave her virginity to. Even though he threatens and almost goes through with raping her. They have this crazy-love-hate relationship all through the story... and surprise surprise! At the end of the story they discover they really love one another. Oh peaches and cream, now their screwed up lives will be fricken perfect. Only first the two lovers have to get over their injuries from being tortured and beaten by Trista's evil step brother.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2015
This was my first dub-con, non-con, YA, NA, kidnap, BDSM and taboo book ever and I loved it so much!!!
So utterly tame compared to lots of other fare, it was the subject matter that sparked my imagination, and I read it over, and over, and over again. I still have my original hard copy and still read it ever once in a while
This starts with a very young girl and her aunt's lover. They are the love story, but they go through so much, together and apart. It is a saga
A vicious stepbrother, who lusts after her, and doting stepfather, who of course dies and can't protect her, and priest of a stepbrother, who tries to save her. Of course, her lover keeps weaving in and out of her life, as do the rest of the cast of characters
Lots goes on, some good, some bad, some heartbreaking and some joyful, but all of it was so wonderfully smutty and taboo, especially for my younger self, that it will always be a classic for me
So utterly tame compared to lots of other fare, it was the subject matter that sparked my imagination, and I read it over, and over, and over again. I still have my original hard copy and still read it ever once in a while
This starts with a very young girl and her aunt's lover. They are the love story, but they go through so much, together and apart. It is a saga
A vicious stepbrother, who lusts after her, and doting stepfather, who of course dies and can't protect her, and priest of a stepbrother, who tries to save her. Of course, her lover keeps weaving in and out of her life, as do the rest of the cast of characters
Lots goes on, some good, some bad, some heartbreaking and some joyful, but all of it was so wonderfully smutty and taboo, especially for my younger self, that it will always be a classic for me
September 26, 2013
There was no continuity in plot.There was typical RR stuff like abuse,kidnapping.....but the bigamous relationships left me very confused.Isn't it a sin in that era????whatever,this is not for somebody who is expecting a good plot development.There were too many loose ends.
June 27, 2013
I would have really liked to see this book before her editor got it. It had to be a big hot mess. Even after it was really, really hard to follow.
August 21, 2022
Talk about wasted potential! This could have been such a good book, but it just got bogged down in stupidity. Also, going from first person narrative, to third person, to diary excerpts got really annoying. I also didn't appreciate having my intelligence insulted by being expected to believe that the h, Trista, went through medical school in Europe disguised as a man, and got away with it! (Ms. Rogers cleverly avoided writing about that time, having skipped those years and taken up the story where Trista's returning home aboard ship, still disguised, and is found out by the captain and the H, Blaze. They saw through her disguise, but her fellow med students never did, yeah, right! I'll bet Ms. Rogers thinks her readers will buy the Brooklyn Bridge, too.) While I don't mind the (oft used) girl-dressed-like-guy scenario when it lasts a short time, i draw the line at it lasting years. Please!!!)
BTW: there were women at that time (Civil War era) who studied medicine and didn't hide the fact that they were women, so that really was TSTL.
Having made Trista a qualified doctor, you'd think Ms. Rogers would have her practicing medicine and make a story out of that. No such luck! Instead, she has Trista kidnapped by her psychotic stepbrother, imprisoned, beaten, raped, and forced to be his whore. It was horrible, degrading, and totally unnecessary! It isn't until much later that she's given a chance to practice medicine (during the war), after a stint in the the world of gambling/saloons/brothels, though she remains aloof and doesn't sleep with anyone.
However, the H, Blaze (and with a H like him, who needs a villain?) thinks she's a whore, and keeps calling her one every chance he gets. Fromm the time they met, when she was a flirtatious teenager whose virginity he took, their relationship was a combo of sex and insults, usually ending up with Blaze seducing (or raping) her, Trista succumbing to his lovemaking skills, Blaze later hurling more insults (bitch, slut, whore, etc.) and Trista screaming how she hates, loathes, despises him, etc. It goes on ad nauseum, with Blaze assuming the worst about her and Trista having too much pride to tell him the truth, that he was the only man she ever willingly (and sometimes not so willingly) gave herself too, the other times were rape. Not that he would have listened!
I'd say more, but I think you get the idea. I recommend you forget this one, not worth it.
BTW: there were women at that time (Civil War era) who studied medicine and didn't hide the fact that they were women, so that really was TSTL.
Having made Trista a qualified doctor, you'd think Ms. Rogers would have her practicing medicine and make a story out of that. No such luck! Instead, she has Trista kidnapped by her psychotic stepbrother, imprisoned, beaten, raped, and forced to be his whore. It was horrible, degrading, and totally unnecessary! It isn't until much later that she's given a chance to practice medicine (during the war), after a stint in the the world of gambling/saloons/brothels, though she remains aloof and doesn't sleep with anyone.
However, the H, Blaze (and with a H like him, who needs a villain?) thinks she's a whore, and keeps calling her one every chance he gets. Fromm the time they met, when she was a flirtatious teenager whose virginity he took, their relationship was a combo of sex and insults, usually ending up with Blaze seducing (or raping) her, Trista succumbing to his lovemaking skills, Blaze later hurling more insults (bitch, slut, whore, etc.) and Trista screaming how she hates, loathes, despises him, etc. It goes on ad nauseum, with Blaze assuming the worst about her and Trista having too much pride to tell him the truth, that he was the only man she ever willingly (and sometimes not so willingly) gave herself too, the other times were rape. Not that he would have listened!
I'd say more, but I think you get the idea. I recommend you forget this one, not worth it.
September 1, 2018
I wanted to read this book to see how the Romance genre had changed over the years and boy, has it changed for the better. This book really felt like a 'how not to write' guide from the plot, structure, point of view and writing style. It felt like a first draft where the writer is trying to discover how they want to tell the story.
It could really have done with someone going through and striking out 3/4 of the adverbs and adjectives. The amounts of times -ly was added to an adjective to make an adverb was shocking. The words started to become meaningless.
The structure felt like the author couldn't decide what narrative voice she wanted to use, and it made the story feel very disjointed. When we went into third person narrative there was head hopping all over the place, at points I wasn't even sure who's point of view I was meant to be in. Incidental characters were giving a point of view which weren't needed and diluted down my connection with the main characters.
The female character does get raped by pretty much every man she meets and even the sex between her and the love interest reads like a graphic rape. I couldn't understand why she loves him when he treats her so badly (and not just the sex). The female character is treated so badly by everyone that it becomes hard to have any sympathy for her when these horrible things happen as you're so desensitised to it.
It could really have done with someone going through and striking out 3/4 of the adverbs and adjectives. The amounts of times -ly was added to an adjective to make an adverb was shocking. The words started to become meaningless.
The structure felt like the author couldn't decide what narrative voice she wanted to use, and it made the story feel very disjointed. When we went into third person narrative there was head hopping all over the place, at points I wasn't even sure who's point of view I was meant to be in. Incidental characters were giving a point of view which weren't needed and diluted down my connection with the main characters.
The female character does get raped by pretty much every man she meets and even the sex between her and the love interest reads like a graphic rape. I couldn't understand why she loves him when he treats her so badly (and not just the sex). The female character is treated so badly by everyone that it becomes hard to have any sympathy for her when these horrible things happen as you're so desensitised to it.
August 7, 2024
I was eager to see how the regency romance genre had evolved, but this book is an absolute horror show. The main character endures a relentless onslaught of abuse: degradation, humiliation, drugging, imprisonment, kidnapping, gang rape, and physical violence at the hands of virtually every character, including her own stepbrother. To romanticize such atrocities is beyond comprehension. This was a complete batshit, and I'm stunned that it was an American bestseller. How come we still don't have a zero-star rating on GRs?
April 29, 2020
A hard read. Based on the 1800's and the lifestyles of that time. An immature thinking young woman. Low confidence and low self esteem.
The hero only thought the worse and made many negative assumptions.
Long read. Many twists of fate. Rape & torture was hard to read.
I like how the story ended.
I got bored with hearing her constantly whine. Very immature throughout the entire story. So many things she did could have been avoided.
The hero only thought the worse and made many negative assumptions.
Long read. Many twists of fate. Rape & torture was hard to read.
I like how the story ended.
I got bored with hearing her constantly whine. Very immature throughout the entire story. So many things she did could have been avoided.
February 5, 2024
Unhinged and bonkers, can you really call this romance when the heroine has been put through hell and abuse by everyone in her life especially by the "hero." I wouldn't wish this book on anyone, not the disjointed writing or the sudden pov change from first person to third. I thought maybe it's a diary entry shift to the present with a time skip but no, it's just a fevered dream I paid £2.50 for.
July 9, 2019
This book is poorly written, the premise is...I don't know, extreme stupidity? It jumps around through events, points if view and everyone is a jerk and a liar, especially the main characters. Don't bother with this one. Rosemary was on mescaline or something.
October 3, 2022
Surprisingly did not care for it. Did read it all the way through and kept hoping it would get better, but didn't care for the abuse and sexual exploitation. And it didn't get better....
October 10, 2014
It was a difficult book to read, and the 3 stars are for the first half of the book. I don't mind bodice ripper element at all, but I felt that RR wrote this book in few different states of mind, and initially she gave detailed description to incidents but than she just hurried the story and forgot how to make it coherent.
December 11, 2012
Didn't enjoy this book. not my sort of read. I didn't finish it.
October 12, 2014
great read for its time dont think I would read it now
February 11, 2015
First romance novel I ever read. Loved it!
August 15, 2015
2 OF 2 LEAST FAVORITE OF HER BOOKS
March 18, 2019
Strong and passionate. Sometimes a little spice is needed. I recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews