Recent reading
Apr. 2nd, 2020 05:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaMr Rowl, by D K Broster (1924)
About a French parole prisoner in Britain during the Napoleonic wars. This was quite enjoyable! Though I didn't fall in love with it like Flight of the Heron. D K Broster knows what she likes, and what she likes is: slash, hurt-comfort, situations where one character mistakenly thinks they are betrayed by the other, and complicated dilemmas involving personal honour. All these elements occur in both books. Otherwise, this was quite different, mainly in that the inevitable het romance (because of course Broster can't end it with the m/m romance her heart obviously desires) gets a lot more space and is better than in FotH. On the whole, I would say that this book is definitely less slashy, because the slash relationship is not central to the premise of the entire book, like in FotH.
The first half of the book is on track for being a het romance, and I actually quite like it. There's no love at first sight (which I usually am not that into), and Juliana Forrest has much more personality and agency than Alison Grant in FotH. In fact, about half of the misunderstandings and dilemmas over honour occur in the het relationship in this book.
And then, after half the book, our regularly scheduled het romance is interrupted for some slash. Captain Hervey Barrington is very obviously Not Interested in women--he's a bachelor who, on seeing the cross-dressed main character: a girl to whom his attention had subsequently been drawn--indifferent though he was to the sex--mainly because she seemed so desirous of attracting none. Ha. There are a couple of more remarks like that, too. And then we get seeming betrayal, rescue, hurt-comfort, feeelings, etc. It's quite slashy, but I read it as mostly one-sided on Captain Barrington's part, and then it ends with the het couple getting together at the end.
So anyway, I enjoyed it! It's a bit Heyer-esque, but slashier. And I wish I had Broster's talent for plotting characters in and out of trouble like that, because I will surely need it in my further fic-writing.
About a French parole prisoner in Britain during the Napoleonic wars. This was quite enjoyable! Though I didn't fall in love with it like Flight of the Heron. D K Broster knows what she likes, and what she likes is: slash, hurt-comfort, situations where one character mistakenly thinks they are betrayed by the other, and complicated dilemmas involving personal honour. All these elements occur in both books. Otherwise, this was quite different, mainly in that the inevitable het romance (because of course Broster can't end it with the m/m romance her heart obviously desires) gets a lot more space and is better than in FotH. On the whole, I would say that this book is definitely less slashy, because the slash relationship is not central to the premise of the entire book, like in FotH.
The first half of the book is on track for being a het romance, and I actually quite like it. There's no love at first sight (which I usually am not that into), and Juliana Forrest has much more personality and agency than Alison Grant in FotH. In fact, about half of the misunderstandings and dilemmas over honour occur in the het relationship in this book.
And then, after half the book, our regularly scheduled het romance is interrupted for some slash. Captain Hervey Barrington is very obviously Not Interested in women--he's a bachelor who, on seeing the cross-dressed main character: a girl to whom his attention had subsequently been drawn--indifferent though he was to the sex--mainly because she seemed so desirous of attracting none. Ha. There are a couple of more remarks like that, too. And then we get seeming betrayal, rescue, hurt-comfort, feeelings, etc. It's quite slashy, but I read it as mostly one-sided on Captain Barrington's part, and then it ends with the het couple getting together at the end.
So anyway, I enjoyed it! It's a bit Heyer-esque, but slashier. And I wish I had Broster's talent for plotting characters in and out of trouble like that, because I will surely need it in my further fic-writing.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-04-03 04:05 pm (UTC)You mean when his sister comes down and tells him Raoul is a man? I took his behavior there to be much more about feeling humiliated over being fooled by the cross-dressing, than motivated by duty to turn him in.
Broster herself mentions that she is indebted to the book Prisoners of War in Britain, 1756-1815 by Francis Abell.
I haven't read those Heyers, I think--for whatever reason, I read about one Heyer a year, so it'll take me a while to get through them. : ) My favorites so far are probably Cotillion and A Civil Contract.
(no subject)
Date: 2020-04-03 08:42 pm (UTC)Hm, I took the opposite viewpoint! He was humiliated, yes, but escaped prisoner" is what I picked up from it.
The Abell is the book I was thinking of, yes. I may even have a copy, packed in a box somewhere.
You have good taste as regards Heyer - those are two of the very best. My favourite tends to be whichever one I'm reading at the time. I keep thinking, "How did she do it??"
(no subject)
Date: 2020-04-03 09:16 pm (UTC)I mean, otherwise why would he feel ashamed about it afterwards, as he does? If he were motivated mainly by duty it wouldn't be anything to be ashamed about, though he might regret it as having hurt Raoul.
But his gradual change in attitude to Raoul is lovely, until quite soon it's 'oh, I must cradle him in my arms so he's not cold!' *g*
ETA: Also I'm glad he got another ship! Though I did see that coming, when that officer was looking for him...