Beyond Mr. Darcy: Romantic Historical Fiction discussion

Amid the mayhem of the Civil War, Virginia plantation wife Iris Dunleavy is put on trial and convicted of madness. It is the only reasonable explanation the court can see for her willful behavior, so she is sent away to Sanibel Asylum to be restored to a good, compliant woman. Iris knows, though, that her husband is the true criminal; she is no lunatic, only guilty of disagreeing with him on notions of justice, cruelty, and property.

On this remote Florida island, cut off by swamps and seas and military blockades, Iris meets a wonderful collection of residents--- some seemingly sane, some wrongly convinced they are crazy, some charmingly odd, some dangerously unstable. Which of these is Ambrose Weller, the war-haunted Confederate soldier whose memories terrorize him into wild fits that can only be calmed by the color blue, but whose gentleness and dark eyes beckon to Iris?

The institution calls itself modern, but Iris is skeptical of its methods, particularly the dreaded "water treatment." She must escape, but she has found new hope and love with Ambrose. Can she take him with her? If they make it out, will the war have left anything for them to make a life from, back home?

Blue Asylum is a vibrant, beautifully-imagined, absorbing story of the lines we all cross between sanity and madness. It is also the tale of a spirited woman, a wounded soldier, their impossible love, and the undeniable call of freedom.

I really enjoyed this book. I like Civil War era novels and I was a Psychology major in college so this was right up my alley. I liked that the characters felt realistic and the author presented mental illness in a heartbreaking but realistic way. I loved how Ambrose and Iris' relationship progressed. I feel like the main theme of the story was that you cannot always rescue the ones you love. It was a very good book.

My full review is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I also really like this book. I enjoyed the way the story was told. In that it was reviled in bits and pieces and you didn't know the whole story of either Ambrose and Iris' until the end of the book.

I enjoyed the unfolding as well. I usually don't like that in books, but I felt like it really worked in this story. I guessed at Ambrose's story, but Iris' was a surprise to me.

It was the opposite for me, I guessed Iris' story but Ambrose's was a surprise to me.

The beginning was too disturbing to me and I couldn't get past it. Hope to be able to participate more next month 8o)