The Bar Sinister

Clanross #1

by Sheila Simonson

Captain Richard Falk's brusque manner nearly alienates Emily Foster on their first meeting. Only the realization that her young son needs companions convinces her to take in his two motherless children while he returns to the fight against Napoleon's armies. For the next two years, her only contact with Falk is through his letters, terse messages, but always accompanied by charming stories for the children. She slowly falls in love with the man behind the stories. When now-Major Falk returns for a brief visit before shipping out to North America, she sees nothing of the storyteller in the tired, short-spoken soldier. Concerned over the fate of his children if he should fall in battle, Falk sets up guardianships. An acquaintance, well-intentioned but misguided, mentions him to the half-sister he has not seen for twenty years. Falk is the son of the widowed Duchess of Newsham, but not of the late duke. Never having been declared illegitimate, Richard has some claim on the estate now held by his half-brother. There is ample evidence that attempts on his life have been made in the past, and now he fears for his children's safety. But he is a soldier, and Napoleon is once again loose in Europe, so all he can do is trust Emily, his friend Tom Conway, and his brother-in-law to protect the children. When Richard returns, wounded, from Waterloo, and speaks of emigrating to keep them safe, Emily knows she must speak her mind-and her heart-or lose him forever.

Genres: Romance, Regency, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Regency Romance, Fiction

307 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1986

About the author

Ms. Simonson writes mysteries and romantic fiction, and lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Megzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed the humor that I found and cherished in the other two books in the series but this book is perhaps the best one in the series. It reads like a classic literature and the writing fits the time and the plot perfectly. The relationships are more realistic.

[Corduroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quite surprising reading experience for me. This falls in a tiny subcategory of romance novels that I think are actually general fiction novels with a romance, verging on literary works.

The writing is splendid, the characters and their relationships (Richard Falk particularly - Sir Robert also, I thought) are extremely finely drawn. The sense of time and place is wonderful. As a book, I really, really enjoyed this. I was completely gripped by Richard Falk's struggles, and his storyline really read like a great novel, not a romance. Then there was the actual romance, which was so ephemeral I'd venture to say it doesn't really form a meaningful part of your reading experience. I also found the heroine's character, while skillfully done, kind of anemic next to other characters in the book. Falk and his friend Tom and Sir Robert are such complex, compassionate portraits of men, when men in romance novels tend to be convenient shirtless hunks with lots of cash, that Emily pales by comparison.

(Richard Falk is an all-time great hero! He's so grumpy because he's so sensitive! The silent, honorable, kind of unlikeable dignity! Swoon.)

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

After her husband and baby daughter die within days of each other, Emily Foster decides to take in other people's children, both to supplment her income and provide her son with company. The children she settles upon are Amy and Tommy Falk, whose mother has lately died and whose father is a career officer. Colonel Richard Falk is injured and exhausted when he first meets Emily, and they make poor first impressions on each other. However, she likes Amy and Tommy at first sight, and so agrees to take them on. Their acquaintance grows through his letters, filled with imaginative and funny stories, and Emily's letters back about his children. But there's a war on, and Richard's half-brothers seem to be trying to kill him, and so Richard and Emily meet only rarely, often when Richard is desperately ill.

This is a story that takes its time, covering three years of Emily's quiet domestic life and Richard's dangerous one. I enjoyed the length of it, but was annoyed at what seemed to me an uneven plot. The first third is all Emily, and then there are long stretches where she doesn't appear at all, or is mentioned off-handedly, as Ricard tries to survive the lurid melodramas his half-brothers and Napoleon are enacting. In fact, I was a little impatient that so much time was spent on the surrounding characters. We get whole chapters of Richard's friend Tom Conway (hero of Lady Elizabeth's Comet) or his sister Sarah and her husband. I like Sarah and Robert, but I'd have much rather had a few more conversations between Richard and Emily in place of them. As it was, Richard and Emily only talk in person a few times "on page", with the remainder of their relationship relegated to a summary of afternoons together and correspondence we never see. I didn't get much of a feel for what they knew about each other, or liked about each other.

Still, what I got, I liked. There's a good deal of plot here, although too much of it happens off-page (Richard is repeatedly attacked, but we never see it happen and only hear about his injuries afterward; an odd narrative choice). The dialog is natural, the characters understated but well-drawn. It's nowhere near as good as Simonson's first two books, but those were excellent, and this is just enjoyable.

[Luli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it and I read it in one sitting.

It reads more like a historical fiction than a romance, because the MCs hardly spent time together, but the story was lovely, the plot interesting - with all the family drama and the war- and the characters well fleshed out.

It's written in 3rd person from the POV of some of the characters. I missed the hero's one.

A gentle piece of historical fiction with a pint of romance at the end.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is the first book in a quietly entertaining, old-school Regency romance series first published in the 1980’s. The romances are low-key, almost an afterthought, with a lot of surrounding story and historical scenery. Fans of Georgette Heyer should enjoy these, although they are slightly more series and less madcap than Heyer’s work, and have far fewer exclamation points.

Young widow Emily Foster agrees to take charge of the two young children of an English army officer who has recently lost his Spanish wife. She raises them alongside her own son, while he is off fighting Napoleon. Emily is not initially impressed with his manners or his background, but then he writes such appealing letters and stories for his children.

Falk turns out to have a complicated past, and much of the plot revolves around the fact that his estranged family might be trying to kill him. He has a good friend in fellow officer Tom Conway, although Conway has just been injured in the war and is not expected to live long. Conway, whose romance is featured in the next book, is able to be of more assistance when he inherits the estate of a distant cousin.

The romance is not strong - Emily and Falk spend little time together - but I liked the characters, and their story is continued several years later, in the third book.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

A widow with a young son to raise, Emily Foster was determined to maintain some independence in the face of her well-meaning but rather controlling father, Sir Henry Mayne. When Captain Richard Falk, himself a widower with two children, responds to her advertisement offering to care for young children, she overcomes her distaste at his brusque manner. After all, not only will the added income be most welcome, but young Emilia (Amy) and infant Tommy will make the ideal companions for her own son, Matt.

As Capt. Falk heads back to the Peninsular Wars, Emily settles into a new routine, gradually coming to love her charges and - through the letters they exchange - their father. But a surprise visit from Lady Sarah Ffoulke-Wilson reveals that Richard is the illegitimate son of the dowager Duchess of Newsham, and Emily is soon caught up in the current Duke of Newsham's nefarious plots against his half-brother, and his children...

Although I enjoyed the reappearance of characters like Thomas Conway and Lord Bevis, first seen in Simonson's Lady Elizabeth's Comet , I found that overall I wasn't that impressed by The Bar Sinister. A number of characters felt rather like types - the bastard son of nobility, the diabolical duke, and so on - while some of the plot developments were improbable. I understand that Simonson had to find a way to bring the hero and heroine together, but I just wasn't convinced that a woman as comfortably situated as Emily, would need to take in other children. I was also disappointed that there was so little interaction between Emily and Richard, who spends most of the novel off at war, and wasn't really convinced by the romantic conclusion, which feels like nothing so much as a tacked on afterthought.

I'll probably still read Simonson's fourth and final Regency, Love and Folly - which completes the three-book story arc begun in Lady Elizabeth's Comet and continued here - but I have to say that this one was a disappointment.

[Laylah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bar Sinister is, I may call, a prequel to Lady Elizabeth's Comet. Some of the characters in the latter book are featured prominently in this book including Tom Conway, one of my beloved fictional heroes.

As for this book, in a nutshell -- Richard Falk, a British captain, left his two kids in Emily Foster's charge and went away to war. They corresponded. Tender feelings were developed on both sides. There are some sinister plots against Richard involving his parentage which I found only mildly exciting. The conclusion is too abrupt for my taste. FYI, the leading pair are kept apart almost 3/4 of the book so it's natural if I felt a little bit robbed after such long waiting. And although I love my hero stern and stoic, Richard is too reserved. I didn't get any glimpse of his affection toward Emily like AT ALL until he pronounced it out loud. So excuse me if I find his confession incredible.

With all that said I finished the book in one sitting, the writing is that good. There is no point to go around the fact that Sheila Simonson is a gem. She writes real people with their admirable qualities and flaws, the characterization distinct. The dialogues are witty without being pretentious. Those ingredients create genuine type of chemistry between her characters. I'm more thrilled with her hero and heroine's holding hands than all sex scenes in some erotica combined.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this book as well as I did the first in the series, Lady Elizabeth's Comet. And I have been unable to find the second in the series, which I believe is A Cousinly Connection, but I'm still looking. It was interesting how the author pulled the characters from the first book (and probably the second). I had a hard time feeling understanding of Richard's anger and hostility. He was so harsh to Bevis (who I love from the first book) because of his inadvertant words to Lady Sarah. I just felt that I didn't really understand all of Richard's motivations and so I was constantly surprised by his reactions to different situations. I also was very disappointed in how little time Emily and Richard actually spent together. I appreciated that Emily learned to care for him through his letters to the children, but we didn't ever experience Emily's words to Richard and that makes it difficult to see the draw on his side.

[MissKitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a very good novel.

I wouldn’t really classify it as a romance since, although the couple end up together in the end, they do not really have any romantic interludes throughout the book! That being said, as a reader, I was rooting for them to get together as they were so perfect for each other.

This is a truly charming story anyway. The heroine is a widow w a young son and she wants to make a little extra money while, at the same time providing her only child with some playmates.

The Hero is a widowed soldier who has no recourse but to find someone to take in his toddler daughter and an infant son, while he goes back to war. So he takes up the offer of the heroine.

This part brought me to tears! 😭 The Hero leaves his children w the heroine, the baby boy has a wet nurse, the toddler girl is around 2-3. The heroine was very taken with her, as she was lively and a quite talkative w her father. But a few days after the Hero leaves, she notices that the little girl is becoming less talkative, until she becomes completely silent. Finally, at one point, she breaks down and starts sobbing uncontrollably. The heroine doesn’t know what to do. The wet nurse says that the child and her father had a close relationship, and he was always making up stories for her about the “adventures of Doña Inez”. They also speculate that the child doest quite understand exactly what it meant when told that her father was going away. She had been told that her dead mother went away to God, and now her father has gone off as well.

The heroine, in a panic, writes to the Hero and asks that he tell her about these stories so she can continue them w the little girl. Thus starts a regular correspondence between the Hero and the heroine, and the whole family starts enjoying the Hero’s tales of Doña Inez, that the heroine reads out. It also strengthens the link of the little girl w her father, and reassures her that he will return.

However, the main focus and angst of this story is not between the couple. It is actually the Hero’s family.

Bar Sinister. Meaning, a bastard or illegitimate child. The Hero is actually an illegitimate son of a noble family, however, he is the son of the Duchess and not the Duke, but was raised together w his half siblings, the Duke’s children.

He knows his father hated him, but even now, when the old Duke has passed away, there seems to be someone bent on getting rid of him. He thinks, because the Duke had neglected to acknowledge him as a bastard, his siblings fear that he will make a claim to the estate. Despite his claims otherwise. So now he also fears that his children are at risk.

Will not spoiler more since its an interesting story with wonderful characters. I found myself rooting for the couple who are kept apart by circumstances for most of the book.

Im glad they finally get together in the end, they made the perfect family.

❤️

[Pauline Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series, but it was written after the second book (Lady Elizabeth’s Comet) as a sort of prequel, and to be honest, I’m glad I read Lady Elizabeth’s Comet first. If I’d come across this one first, I might never have read any further.

Here’s the premise: Captain Richard Falk needs a safe home for his two motherless children while he fights Napoleon. Widowed Emily Foster wants to take in children as company for her own son. She’s not impressed by Captain Falk, who’s brusque to the point of surliness, but she loves the children, and so they strike their bargain. Over the next two years, she finds herself enchanted by the absent soldier, who writes long, intricate stories for the children in his letters, but when he briefly returns for a visit, she’s again hard-pressed to find any civility in his manner. But then trouble arrives, in the well-meaning shape of Richard’s sister, Lady Sarah Ffouke, to see the children. Because it turns out that Richard is the son of the Duchess of Newsham (although not of the duke), and was brought up as Lord Richard Ffouke for the first twelve years of his life.

And here at once we have the biggest stumbling block in the book, for me. Buckle up, folks, this is going to be ranty. All the way through, Richard is described as a bastard, as illegitimate, as base-born… even the title, Bar Sinister, refers to his illegitimacy. Lady Sarah is always called his half-sister. Yet Richard is completely legitimate - in law, at any rate. In the Regency era, any child born within wedlock is presumed to be legitimate, unless the father repudiates the child, either before birth or shortly after. There’s a very narrow window within which to do this, and if it isn’t done, or if the father acknowledges the child in any way, then it’s perfectly legitimate.

In this case, the supposed father (the duke) didn’t repudiate Richard, and accepted him into his household for twelve years. Even though everyone knew that the duchess had had an affair and Richard was her lover’s child, he was legally a legitimate son of the duke and stood in line to inherit, if his two older brothers died or failed to produce heirs. And no, a sworn statement by the duchess of his true parentage wouldn’t have been enough to convince the House of Lords to set Richard aside, if he should ever claim the dukedom. It would take far stronger evidence than that, and for good reason. If every father could suddenly decide to disinherit a son who displeased him for whatever reason, the peerage would be in chaos. Apart from that very brief window, there is no getting rid of children, ever, where there are inherited titles and entailed estates at stake. Just can’t be done. Frankly, the duke was bonkers to accept Richard in the first place, knowing the likely consequences, but to turn round later and try to get rid of the inconvenient cuckoo in the nest is ridiculous.

A large part of the book concerns the efforts of the duke and later, his sons, to dispose of Richard, although whether they were more concerned with hushing up the old family scandal of his birth or taking him right out of the line of inheritance isn’t entirely clear. Some of their actions seemed designed to kill him, but most were just to persuade him to go away, on the principle of out of sight, out of mind. None of which makes a ha’p'orth of difference to the inheritance of the title. All of it is unbelievable, and I find it impossible to believe in a duke who is so dishonourable as to give his word and then break it, and so downright coarse in his behaviour towards his brother.

My other quibble is a relatively minor one. The author uses a number of words with old-fashioned spellings - sopha, gothick, publick and so on. These may be historically accurate (I wouldn’t know), but they grated rather, and my personal pet peeve was writ as the past tense of write. So Emily writ Richard, Richard writ the children, Tom Conway writ Richard and on and on, until I was grinding my teeth in frustration. Does it matter? Not much, but it was so, so annoying.

But having got all that off my chest, you will be astonished to hear that I actually enjoyed the book rather a lot. Nowhere near as much as Lady Elizabeth’s Comet, but well enough. I didn’t much like the morose and uncivil Richard, and couldn’t quite see what Emily saw in him, but Emily herself, dreaming away in her Hampshire backwater, was a delight, the children were lovely, the military-minded Aunt Fan was gloriously eccentric, and Emily’s papa, Sir Henry Mayne, Bt, was a big softy under that gruff exterior. I even loved McGrath and Mrs McGrath. And I absolutely adored Dona Inez and Dona Barbara and their adventures, although we only got little hints of them, but it was all deliciously funny. I laughed out loud a great deal, and I always approve of a book that makes me laugh.

Two characters of special note were the aforementioned Tom Conway and Lord Bevis, who are main characters in Lady Elizabeth’s Comet, but reduced to walk-on parts in this book. Bevis gets no opportunity to shine here, and is in fact rather an antagonist, but Tom Conway is lovely. He and Emily have some delightfully flirty exchanges which are perhaps the best part of the book, and if I’d been Emily I’d have abandoned surly Richard like a shot to have a go at the charming Tom. But sadly that wasn’t how it went.

I won’t bang on about the shenanigans with the ducal family, because the whole thing was pretty silly and unbelievable (see rant above). The duke and his brother were, not surprisingly, impossible to like. The duchess, Lady Sarah and her long-suffering husband Wilson were nicely drawn and very nuanced, even if I’m not sure I’d want to make friends with any of them. The romance is kind of weird, because the main couple spend very little time together. Emily falls in love with Richard-the-letter-writer and basically decides she’s going to marry him. And that’s it.

This isn’t the smoothest book ever written. There’s a lot of jumping about to places and people I didn’t much care about, where Emily and the children are somewhat forgotten, so the book feels rather lumpy. The plot, as I’ve already pointed out multiple times, has credibility issues. But the writing is elegant and witty, and the characters are (Richard excepted) lovely. If I could give it 3.5 stars I would, but since I can’t I’ll round up to four stars in deference to the sheer brilliance of Lady Elizabeth’s Comet. Which, sadly, is a much more interesting book than this one.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, dedicated to author Anne McCaffrey, is set in the Regency time period 1812-1815. Emily Foster, widow with a young son, decides to take on the care of two young children. Their father, Captain Richard Falk, turns out to be the baseborn son of a Duchess. This delightful Regency Romance is also full of intrigue as Richard, now a retired Colonel and earning his living as a writer of satirical novels, reconnects with his mother and a sister, yet must flee the murderous plots of his half-brothers with help from his close friend Tom Conway. The characters are charming, the setting colorful and interesting – from London to country village with frequent mention of the wars of the time period. (The military details are probably of more interest to those who are already knowledgeable about these historical facts.) A well-written and thoroughly pleasant read.

[Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I definitely agree that this one isn't as good as Lady Elizabeth's Comet, but, despite a rough start, I did enjoy it. The book's main issue is that, as a romance, its hero and heroine are separated for most of the time (although Emily falling in love with Captain Falk through the stories he writes for the children is adorable, I cannot lie). Also, the hero is a little too rude for me at times.

However, there's a lot going on besides the romance, so the story still never lost my attention. I probably tend to like my books better that way anyway (plot with a little romance vs romance with a little plot). And, like its sequel, The Bar Sinister contains some excellently drawn secondary characters who probably would have been pushed aside or one-dimensional in any other book. In the end, it still turns out to be a pretty solid four-star for me.

[Aelfwina · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off: using the 19th century spelling for sofa (sopha) and other such does not mean you're actually writing a la 19th century - it just means you're writing American-sounding (with a bit of a Southern twang to it at that) dialogue with pretentious grammar. As for the book itself: it was so disjointed, it felt like the author could not make up her mind about anything. The 2 stars are more like 1.5 - and even then only because the characters were marginally interesting and there was a semblance of a plot (and I was bored).

[Darien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting historical regency - almost like a 'slice of life' story infused with drama. Unlike many books in this genre the protagonists in this book are not in the uppermost classes and in this story those characters in the higher classes are the ones with the most flaws. The relationships and support networks are well drawn and true to the characters, and the world building feels authentic to the period. This novel clearly shows the cost of war, and how 'winning' still means many ruined lives. While this tale definitely has romantic elements it is not a romance per se.

[Ernestina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The classic trope of romance literature lives here: No matter how brooding the man is, if he is good with kids, he is a sure bet to win the leading lady. The writing reads almost as one of a classic author, but it's not heavy and doesn't impede the enjoyment of the story, it rather adds to the atmosphere.

[Stephanie C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough read. I found this earlier version of Tom Conway a bit odd (having just come from reading Lady Elizabeth's Comet). And ever since I read Francis Burney's journals about her experience during the Hundred Days, I have always enjoy a book that takes place (at least partially) during that time. The Bar Sinister covers a number of years from 1812 to 1815.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched but it's not really a romance. It's more like a mystery/family drama. Definitely a page turner though. A good vacation read.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

first-rate Regency, part of the Walker hardcover series

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great writer

This should be classified literature not just romance, story has substance, lead characters ,secondary all fleshed out, unique story told.

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheila Simonson's "The Bar Sinister'  
As with the other 2 Regency-set books by Sheila Simonson that I have read ("Lady Elizabeth's Comet" and "A Cousinly Connection"), this one also has a great feeling for the period, the way people spoke and dressed and behaved in that time. On the other hand, the characters and the story were lacking in certain respects, and the romance was practically non-existent.  
 
The story is about a young widow, Emily, who fosters the 2 very young children of the hero Richard Falk, whose Spanish wife has died and who is still working as an officer in the campaign to drive Napoleon from Portugal and Spain. Richard has a great deal of family trouble (certain members of his family are trying to kill him), so he can't leave the children with them.  But of course they find out where he and the children are, so a lot of complications and trouble ensue. In the end it didn't draw me in all that much and I wasn't passionately rooting for any of the good characters. The lack of any romance between the two main characters didn't help (they finally share a kiss on the last page of the book, but that's it, even though the story has gone on for more than 3 years and for almost 400 pages!)

[Gerrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a terrific book. But, it is not really a romance as we historical romance lovers are used to. Richard, the hero, and Emily, the heroine, probably don't spend more than the equivalent of a chapter or two together, although the ending certainly follows the romance conventions. But it is wonderful Regency fiction - engrossing, engaging, and with a feel so authentic you might guess it was written in the 19th century. That being said, both Richard and Emily were wonderful characters, depicted with great depth and complexity. Further, the secondary characters were equally well drawn. And, although the book has exciting action, with themes of family loss, betrayal, and attempted murder, it is basically a character driven story. Other readers have included the plot with their reviews, so I won't repeat it here. But, if you love Regency history and culture, and want to see it done right and pitch perfect, this book is for you. If you love a great story and a good thriller, with epic themes about family and betrayal, this book is for you. And for you romantics - like me - if you enjoy seeing two deserving people come together, this book is for you. Clearly, I highly recommend it.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heroine is the widow of a minor landowner with a small son. She takes the job of "baby minder," taking on the care of the infant son and small daughter of an army captain whose wife has died. He is the bastard son of a duchess who was raised with the other children of the household until he was 12, when the duke recalled his presence and did his best to beat him to death. He's been in the army since. The heroine comes to love the children, and through the letters and stories the captain, then major, writes to the children, slowly comes to love him as well. But there are lingering problems leftover from his status as the duchess's son, but not the duke's. This is an interesting story, not really that romantic, but a good read.

[Linda C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily Foster, a widow with a 3 year old son, has agreed to care for widower Captain Richard Falk’s 2 children to supplement her income while he is away in the war. Although it seems odd he has no family to do this and he is rather rude, Emily is practical and her heart goes out to the children. Over the course of the story covering 3 years, trust grows and the children become almost her own. Much of the time they communicate by letter and through stories that the Captain pens for his children. Eventually Richard’s family connections come out and their resultant threats endanger him and the children. This was a very different style of Regency romance from the common genre with a slow advancing story. Really enjoyed.

[CLM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simonson only wrote a handful of regencies but she is a worthy member of the ton. Here, her hero is illegitimate which makes him beyond the pale. Obviously, in that case, any woman who befriends him risks social ruin herself. Emily finds the man so rude and lacking in basic manners that she has no interest in pursuing interaction with him. Yet, she does care about his two motherless children, and one thing leads to another...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regency romance which gives an interesting point of view of what it may have been like for an aristocrat born on the wrong side of the blanket who is forced to make his own way in the world. I particularly enjoyed the book as it's written by an author who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest where I also live.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very loose prequel to Lady Elizabeth's Comet, in that one of the supporting characters is Tom Conway (who figures in LEC as the new Earl Clanross).
Otherwise, it's a nice, slow-paced Regency--well written, with engaging main characters.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tough read and you can't improve on a masterpiece (Pride & Prejudice).

[Lynn Calvin]

Fictionwise multiformat ebook

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read this several times. It was interesting to see the lead in to Lady Elizabeth's Comet, which was one of my late mother's favorites.

[Mary23nm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a romance, but well written. Lady Elizabeth's Comet was much better. 3.5/5 stars