Fara has a Mind of her Own, April 19, 2014
This review is from: Upon Your Return (Kindle Edition)
Fara’s Bellemont’s parents die when she is a
child and her uncle becomes her guardian. After school at Cluny Abbey,
she is of age to marry. Her uncle arranges a marriage, announcing it to
the public ─ and to her ─ at a dinner party. When her fiancĂ©, whom she
has just met, asks if she loves him, she of course must say no. He asks
her to meet him near the dock late one night. When she arrives she is
attacked by two men, presumably sent by her fiancé in an effort to
fabricate a reason to break their engagement. She is rescued by Grant
Hill. Grant is a sea captain, and he takes her aboard his ship, notifies
her uncle, and has his doctor see to her injuries. Fara and Grant fall
in love, but a sea captain is not a proper husband for someone of Fara’s
status, so her uncle will not consider him as a potential husband for
her.While it tells the story of Fara’s and Grant’s relationship, the book is much more than a simple love story. It is a story of the place of women, particularly upper class women, in France in the early nineteenth century. It also is a story of one woman’s response to her lot in life.
Fara’s life is controlled by her uncle until she marries and will be controlled by her husband afterwards. Fara, however, has a mind of her own and chafes under the restrictions imposed on her. People marry for power, position, and money. Fara, however, wants to marry only for love.
I fell in love with Fara from the first page. I found Grant to be infuriating. Fara did, too. How can a man not know his own mind? How can he not say what he feels?
The author does an excellent job, weaving the history of France and the social customs of the day into the account of Fara’s love for Grant and his for her. Readers who enjoy a Victorian romance will love this book.
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