TEST
The Merry Widow reminded me of a vaudeville act, a dozen plates kept spinning magically in the air when by rights, every one should crash and shatter on the ground. Again and again, I found myself thinking “This shouldn’t work, but it does.” A Greek chorus of Arctic explorers? Flowery, purplish prose? A hero who never says he’s sorry? Somehow, it all comes together into a very enjoyable read.
At the opening of the story, a lot of water has already passed under the bridge between the hero and heroine, as a bar full of Arctic explorers informs us. Publishing magnate Noel Magnus has been exploring the Arctic for years, searching for the remains of Lord Franklin and the mysterious black opal he carried with him. Magnus makes time with Rachel Howland, the proprietor of the Ice Maiden Saloon, whenever he swings by her neck of the tundra. Rachel has been stranded in the ice for years, and her greatest dream is to marry Magnus and return to New York with him to live in his palatial five-room cottage. But Magnus has made years of empty promises to Rachel, and she’s getting fed up. Reasoning that Magnus is presumed dead in New York and seems to prefer it that way, Rachel decides to make her way south and pose as his widow so she can live in the wonderful cottage.
Naturally, things don’t go quite as planned. No sooner has Rachel gotten off the boat than she’s robbed by two street urchins, with whom she forms an alliance. They make their way to Magnus’s cottage, only to find that the cottage is actually a six-story mansion. Before they can run, the die is cast and the kindly housekeeper has taken Rachel and the children under her wing. Meanwhile, Magnus returns to The Ice Maiden, wedding ring in hand, to find Rachel gone. He’s equal parts furious and terrified on her behalf, so he travels home to find her. Once he arrives, he declares that her punishment will be to live as his wife for six months before he will send her back home.
I adore Rachel, who is strong, self-confident, and practical. She never accepts Magnus’s abuse and is very clear-eyed about his failings and apparently empty promises. Though she’s a fish-out-of-water in New York, she’s never presented in an overly stereotyped cornpone way. Magnus is more difficult to warm to. He’s the product of a very tormented, abusive childhood, and shows it. We learn enough about Magnus that he becomes more sympathetic in our eyes, and in Rachel’s, but the understanding all seemed to be on her side. I think the intention is that Magnus’s actions speak louder than words, but I would have preferred to hear at least one well-articulated apology out of him. Even towards the end, there were flashes of inappropriate violence that made me wonder whether he could really heal enough to have a satisfying family life. And yet, although through the first half I kept thinking, “Oh, there better be some serious grovelin’ a-coming to make up for this,” and the hoped-for moment never arrived, by the end I was much more satisfied by Magnus than I would have expected. Perhaps it was because his attempts to push Rachel away really did seem grounded in concern for her safety, not from a selfish desire to lick his wounds.
There’s a superfluous villain whose plotline I could have done without, since Magnus and Rachel generate plenty of friction on their own, but overall this is a highly enjoyable story with familiar elements that never seem clichéd. We’ve seen the wild child in the big city, the explorer racing away from his past, the lovable urchins and benevolent family retainer before, and yet they all take on a freshness in the author’s assured hands. I’d recommend checking The Merry Widow out, if only to see all those plates spinning in the air.
Grade: B
Book Type: American Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 30/01/01
Publication Date: 2000
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.