It Happened One Autumn
Title: It Happened One Autumn
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Series: The Wallflowers, Book 2 of 4
Publication Info: HarperCollins Publishers, September 2005
Genre: Victorian Romance
Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3
Lillian Bowman is one of my very favorite characters. Ever. I’m going to name my first child Lillian in the hopes that she will be imbued with her tenacious spirit and good humor. The second in The Wallflower Series, this book continues the tempestuous relationship between the spirited American Soap Heiress and the staid, arrogant Marcus, Earl of Westcliff, that started in Secrets of a Summer Night. The romance between Lillian and Marcus is very fine, though the story lacks some of the more interesting social commentary on the Victorian Era contained in Secrets and has a silly plot gizmo in the form of a supposedly “magic” perfume that makes the wearer irresistible. Such a level-headed, intelligent woman like Lillian would not be given to the fanciful idea of a magic perfume. Despite these setbacks, this was one of my favorite of the series.
Lillian is the daughter of a self-made man who earned a fortune in America as a soap manufacturer. The Bowmans unfortunately have failed to find husbands for their two daughters among the old puritan families in America, so they travel to England hoping that the girls’ impressive dowries will be an enticement to some impoverished landed aristocrat with a title. In London Lillian and Daisy find that even the promise “Marry Lillian, you’ll get a million” isn’t enough to overcome their American brass and unrefinement. Resined to the side of the ballroom through the season, the girls make friends with two other wallflowers and make a pack to help each other find husbands. Through her father’s business connections to the progressive Earl of Westcliff, Lillian finds herself a visitor to Stonycross Manor for a number of long house parties where her antics earn the ire of the strait-laced earl. Lillian and Marcus’ interactions are hilarious. Their mutual dislike and stubbornness finally flares in passion (betcha didn’t see that coming).
One thing made me slightly uncomfortable in this story – consent? I know I am nitpicking when there are so many romance novels out there with real rape scenes in them, but taking advantage of a drunk girl is not honorable. Westcliff goes from bickering with Lillian to finding her drunk and deciding, without asking her, that he can’t help himself and should just do it and marry her in the morning. Note the “not asking her” part – he doesn’t ask if she wants to marry him, but she has no choice after their little indiscretion. Of course she doesn’t say “no” and they fall in love in the end, but still, a man with the honor and impeccable self control of Marcus Westcliff should have some serious qualms about taking advantage of a drunk girl. The villain in this story threatens to rape Lillian when he abducts her, and that is a-o-kay because rape is a villainous thing to do. A hero should never even consider it.
Despite that, I really enjoyed this book, so much that I plan on rereading it this week. Lillian is awesome. I hope Kleypas writes her into further novels as a secondary character.
Tags: "romance novels", Book lovers & reviewers, Lisa Kleypas, Victorian England, Victorian romance novels
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October 25, 2007 at 11:57 am
I like this new format for the reviews – very easy to read and compare to others :)