Caroline

by Jane Morgan

Dearest Caroline
Had Caroline been born with status, her search for a wealthy suitor would not have been necessary. But she was poor - poor, beautiful, and impetuous. And Caroline was not about to settle for kitchen work for a few pence a day. Her future, she stubbornly believed, lay in becoming a consort to a man of position.

But then she met Geoffry, and her entire life changed. For Geoffry, though he loved her, sought more than the surface beauty of a mistress. He sought a lady. Humiliated by his accusations about her past, Caroline left London and Geoffry and set out to become that lady. But even after she had become a young woman of culture, could she ever truly escape her past?

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 4 out of 5]

So close to 5 stars for me! If you like Moll Flanders, Jane Morgan's Caroline reminds me of Daniel Defoe's winsome protagonist. It's not that Caroline is a picaresque novel where the titular heroine goes from one adventure to another without any trauma or grief, but because Caroline, like Moll Flanders, are plucky, practical heroines who have joie de vivre. Caroline is smart and she tells amusing tall tales, and it's really nice when heroines aren't always so mopey, dramatic or sensitive.

Caroline Dancer is a poor tradesman's daughter who ends up being a kept woman. Mind you, she isn't in the profession long but long enough that when she meets country gentry/banker Geoffrey Price that Geoffrey falls in love with her without A) realizing he is and B) not seeing her as marriage material. Caroline in turn also falls in love with him without realizing it too. However, she picks up on it earlier and when Geoffrey shows his true colours about what he thinks of her, Caroline decides to turn herself into a lady in order to avenge herself on Geoffrey.

I quite loved Caroline and Geoffrey's courtship and how they get to know each other. These domestic scenes were quite entertaining such as their first holiday together in Brighton, and their night out on Vauxhall Gardens where Geoffrey is drunk enough to sing and fool around in the carriage, or when Caroline goes to the bank to ask him what to do about her extra portion of lobster stew. Caroline's practical POV was incredibly refreshing. No handwringing about am I manipulating Geoffrey? but just realizing that she needs to be a necessity, not a luxury to Geoffrey in order to continue to be a kept woman.

However, I'm giving it 4 stars because the revenge seems a bit tame and we also don't see too much of Geoffrey with Caroline interacting together when Caroline turns herself into a lady. We also get sidelined into Couple B's love plotline. This is still all very entertaining but I did think the revenge could've been a bit more spicy.

Caroline has been making scenes, throwing things at her protectors during fights, but her revenge against Geoffrey is not being at home when he asks her if he can call on her the next morning, and during an intimate scene, I think she could've twisted the knife just a little bit more.

The ending is also abrupt. At first I thought I was missing some pages! I would have wished to have read Geoffrey's declaration of love.

I have a fondness for courtesan plotlines, and I particularly adored Caroline. If you can't tell, I loved Moll Flanders and when I read Nana I was sad that she died in the end. Caroline is plucky and charming while Geoffrey is a serious business man with hidden depths to be silly and very passionate. It was also interesting to read a Regency story focused not on high Ton but about the social strata a few levels below, and see how Geoffrey was proud of securing a membership at Brooke's.

I want to read more by Jane Morgan!

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

When this book was published no one was writing books in which the heroine was a fallen woman. Even more impressive, Caroline is no victim. She is joyful and self confident.