Customer Reviews

The Bargain

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

According to her father's will, Lady Jocelyn Kendal must marry by age twenty-five if she is to receive her inheritance--if she does not, her home and her fortune will go to her aunt and uncle. With only four weeks left now until her birthday, Jocelyn has no suitors that she could stand being married to her whole life that she could bring up to scratch so quickly.

Major David Lancaster was gravely wounded at Waterloo--he is paralyzed from the waist down and is dying. His main concern is for his sister, a governess, who will be left all alone after his death.

When a friend of the family mentions Major Lancaster to Lady Jocelyn, a plan springs to mind--one that might benefit her as well as the Major...

For those of you who have read Mary Jo Putney's books before, I need only assure you that THE BARGAIN is well on par with the usual incredible no-one-else-does-it-like-Putney style that we love so much. For those of you who haven't read a Mary Jo Putney novel yet, this is the perfect one to start with. That Putney style includes sympathetic characters who are not without their foibles and wounds (both outside and in); a range of emotions that are realistic, never manipulated; and such smoothness in storytelling that one easily forgets she is reading, rather than right there in Regency England.

THE BARGAIN is an expansion and rewriting of the small traditional Regency THE WOULD-BE WIDOW, first published by Signet in 1989. I had not yet read the original--I was saving it for a rainy day when I needed a guaranteed great read--and to me, THE BARGAIN contains nothing superfluous, no obviously-tacked-on subplots, no detours from the relationship between Jocelyn and David. There is a sweet secondary romance--no, make that two secondary romances--but they serve to enhance the main attraction and nev er distract. I savored all 373 pages of delving deeply into these people's minds and hearts.

Ms. Putney should be applauded not only for being a marvelous writer and craftsman, but for all the happiness she brings to millions of readers worldwide. I thank you once again, Mary Jo, not only for a glorious evening, but for all the warmth and joy your characters, their stories, and their worlds give me long after I've closed the book with a happy sigh.

This is another winner from Mary Jo Putney, who is now without question my favourite Regency writer, even surpassing the excellent Balogh, Oliver and Kelly. I was a little dubious about ordering this book in the first place given the mixed reviews here, but decided to give it a chance; and I'm very glad I did.

I never read the original, shorter version of this book, but I cannot imagine wanting The Bargain to be any shorter than it is. The story flowed really well, and the characters - *all* the characters - were entertaining, well drawn, and a joy to meet. David and Jocelyn in particular were very sympathetic and their relationship was portrayed by Putney in a loving, humorous and sometimes heartwrenching manner. And we also got two other love stories on the side!

I can't see how anyone can say that there was no love developing between David and Jocelyn here. It literally flowed off the pages! It was there all along, from Jocelyn's unexpected sadness at what she'd thought was David's death, to her joy at his recovery, and then the time they spent in the country. It was blindingly obvious there that they were in love.

Another thing I enjoy about Putney's books is the use of recurring characters: in this book we meet Richard Dalton, for instance, who gets his own story in The Diabolical Baron, and also Rafe (Jocelyn's other less well-intentioned suitor) whose own story I can't wait to read.

I thoroughly recommend this book, as I've done for every other Putney I've read - and as I already did in respect of this one last week, but the review I submitted then never appeared.

If you're like me and a fan of Mary Jo Putney, be sure to grab a copy of The Bargain and devour it. The Would Be Widow released, The Bargain pays off handsomely.

In July 1815 Lady Jocelyn Kendal is in a pickle, she needs to marry within a few weeks but she has no husband she's willing to marry. Behold while visiting a friend at the hospital she is introduced to Major David Lancaster, a soldier dying from injuries he received at Waterloo. The perfect solution! Lady Jocely is in need of a husband and Major Lancaster would like to die in peace knowing his younger sister is taken care of financially. The two strike a bargain. The two marry and Lady Jocelyn will pay 500 pounds a year for life to his sister Sally. Perfect solution, except David doesn't die.

Now that Lady Jocelyn is strapped with a husband she never wanted she must find a way to get out of the marriage. Agreeing to an annulment, David must live with Jocelyn for a period of time, approximately six months. During the duration of time David falls in love with Jocelyn, but Jocelyn is afraid of loving and refuses to offer her love to him.

The Bargain was a charming story and I was thrilled to find characters from other books. Richard Dalton appears from The Diabolical Baron and one of my favorite characters Rafe, the Duke of Candover from Petals in the Storm is introduced as one of Lady Jocelyn's suitors.

If you're a lover of Regency romance, Mary Jo Putney has delivered another wonderful romance.

Lady Jocelyn Kendal was the only child of the fourth Earl of Cromarty. Upon his death, the earl left his daughter extremely well-provided for--with one caveat: Lady Jocelyn must be wed by her twenty-fifth birthday or the bulk of her inheritance would revert to the new earl, her uncle Willoughby.

With the deadline fast approaching, Jocelyn was still unwed. She was interested in the wealthy, urbane Duke of Candover, who also returned her interest, but not to the extent of marriage. Jocelyn decided she would enter into a marriage of convenience that would enable her to enjoy a liaison with the Duke. When visiting Richard Dalton, an old friend who had been wounded at Waterloo, Jocelyn learned of a fellow officer on his deathbed in the same army hospital as Richard was in. Jocelyn suggests marriage to the dying Major David Lancaster in order to fulfill the terms of her father's will. In return, Jocelyn will provide a lifelong income for David's sister, Sally.

The couple weds and all seems to be working according to plan until the fiercely loyal Sally intervenes. She has David moved to Jocelyn's residence, and then obtains the services of an unorthodox surgeon to treat David's injuries. Soon, David is well on the road to recovery, and Jocelyn's life has become complicated. Even as David and Jocelyn make plans to terminate their marriage, David realizes he is happy w/ the arrangement, loves Jocelyn, and is determined to woo and keep her.

David is a very attractive hero--brave, honorable, loyal, handsome. Although some of the events in his story are unrealistically serendipitous, readers are likely to overlook this as they are happy for his well-earned good fortune. Jocelyn is a little more complex, but she is also basically good, generous, and kind. Readers--and David--eventually learn of the reasons behind some of her more calculating behavior and her fixation on Candover.

Reader will also be drawn into the story of the prickly Sally. Her animosity towards Jocelyn is mostly amusing and her love for David is touching. When she sets her sights on Dr. Ian Kinlock, the surgeon who saved David, it is obvious that each is just what the other needs to complement their lives.

In addition to the wonderful love story (stories?), I was interested in the medical aspects of this story. The descriptions of the army hospital were grim enough, but I suspect were still a great deal more rosy than the actuality. Dr. Kinlock's work w/ wounded soldiers and the indigent, as well as his ideas about cleanliness, infection prevention, surgery, etc., were a change from the usual stories of ton life that most Regencies concentrate on.

Mary Jo Putney is a favorite writer of mine, so the bar is set pretty high for her books. Among the books I have read to date, she has yet to make a misstep. I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it without hesitation.

(NOTE: This book was initially published in shorter form as The Would-Be Widow in 1989. The copy of the book I have clearly notes this on the back cover, as well as in the Author's Note at the end of the book, so no one who has read/owns the earlier book should be caught by surprise. I, myself, was so interested in the story that I obtained a used copy of TWBW and hope to read it soon to make comparisons with the later, expanded story.)

I would recommend The Bargain, set in England 1815, to fans of the regencies and regency historicals of Mary Balogh and Jo Beverley, that is fans of well-written, historically based, intelligent, and well-plotted regencies. The Bargain is a rewrite of the regency, The Would Be Widow, so technically I suppose it is a regency historical but the regency flavour is still strongly present (for all those Georgette Heyer fans out there). There is only one or two intimate scenes in the novel which are very delicately and subtly handled. The focus is on the growth of the relationship and the plot instead.

Lady Jocelyn must marry before her 25th birthday or lose most of her inheritance. She believes herself to be attracted to another man, who however won't come up to scratch, and it is only a few weeks before her birthday. David Lancaster is dying in hospital, from wounds received in the Battle of Waterloo, and his sister will be left without any family or money. Thus the bargain - Lady Jocelyn will receive her inheritance by marrying David, and his sister will be provided for. There is nothing callous in Lady Jocelyn's actions - she accidentally meets an officer acquaintance in the hospital for survivors of Waterloo and knowing her situation and wanting to help his friend provide for his sister, he suggests this solution. Everybody believes David will die very shortly and it would make David happy to know his sister has financial security.

However, David doesn't die and the rest of the novel explores what happens when two strangers, both perfectly nice adult people, find themselves technically married to each other in an age when divorce was practically impossible.

Mary Jo Putney's characters always seem like real people, such is the depth of her writing and like Mary Balogh, she is not afraid to tackle difficult issues. If you want intelligent, well written and strongly plotted regencies I recommend The Bargain. Her two outstanding regencies in my opinion are The Bargain and the Rake (a rewrite of the regency The Rake and The Reformer). If you want to read that series in order - The Bargain, followed by the Diabolical Baron (about the officer who suggests the bargain to Lady Jocelyn), and the Rake (which is a sequel to The Diabolical Baron). A very minor character in The Rake, Lord Randolph, gets a short story in Sunshine at Christmas (in the Mary Jo Putney 2002 Christmas anthology).

Another sequel to The Bargain is Petals In The Storm (about the Duke of Candover), which forms the second book in Mary Jo Putney's Fallen Angels series of regency historicals.

I greatly enjoyed this pleasant story. But, as my title says be careful what you wish for. As the date of her impending birthday and her possible loss of her house (after already losing her beloved home to her Uncle the new Earl) approaches Jocelyn is looking for a way to keep what is hers. While she is visiting a friend in the hospital she finds that an opportunity to marry a critically wounded soldier (David) just might solve all of her problems. Or does it, what happens when he suddenly gets better and is walking within a week. This story also gives you a bit of background on the wonderful Scottish surgeon Ian that MJP uses in a few other of her books. The characters are fun to watch and see develop.

Mary Jo Putney can bring tears and laughter any time she "puts pen to paper!" I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially because I just finished her "Fallen Angels" series. Ms. Putney can pull the reader into the mind and heart of her characters, and make the reader feel all the emotions of that character. This is not easily done, and is handled beautifully by this skillful writer. Great plot! Great characters! Great romance! Perfect for Valentine's Day reading!

This was a satisfying story about a young lady (Jocelyn) who is forced to marry before her 25th birthday or risk losing her inheritance. She sets her heart on a local duke, but as the deadline approaches he does not seem eager to wed. Desperate, she proposes to a dying soldier (David) promising to care for his sister after he's gone, hence THE BARGAIN. Much to everyone's surprise, David recovers causing an unexpected complication to Lady Jocelyn's plans.

This is a smut-free romance with enjoyable characters, charming encounters, and a hero to remember. David was the the perfect gentleman. He was kind, romantic, sympathetic, charming and more! Read it, you won't be disappointed!

THE BARGAIN is a story of what happens when the heroine marries a soldier who is on death's door. Lady Jocelyn Kendal needs a husband, in name only, to fulfill the wishes of her father's will. Expected to die at any moment, Major David Lancaster wants to know that his younger sister will be taken care so he agrees to the arrangement. Unknown to either of them at the time, their future will change drastically.

THE BARGAIN starts out slowly. Taking place during the Regency times of Britain, Jocelyn hungers for a relationship with the Duke of Candover, a bachelor and rake. Naive with her feelings, she thinks that the Duke, Rafe, may eventually learn to love and possibly marry her. I became painfully aware of how these times molded women with both their manners and thoughts. I cannot see the younger generation appreciating this romance as much as someone over 35. I think both of my twenty-something daughters would tell me the romance isn't exciting enough.

I thought it was a sweet and gentle romance because of David. He made the story shine. A soldier, he has has nothing to offer Jocelyn except his love. Lady Kendal grew up with parents who despised each other. Explanations aren't given until the end of the book but her feelings about true love are jaded. David is aware that something is amiss so he take things slowly. His rapid turn-around from his brush with death to becoming healed will stretch the reader's imagination but it was necessary for the romance to progress. Also, the situation with David and his father's estate feels like an unavoidable piece of the puzzle added to make the story continue to flow.

There are pleasant secondary stories between David's sister Sally and a surgeon, and Lady Kendal's maid and Major Lancaster's valet. Not a keeper, THE BARGAIN was still a satisfying read. About fifteen pages too long, the romance rehashed Jocelyn's feelings toward the duke, something I was aware of but didn't need the author to constantly reminded me.

In case you don't read Ms. Putney's note at the end of the book THE BARGAIN was originally THE WOULD-BE WIDOW. The duke will have his own story in PETALS IN THE STORM aka THE CONTROVERSIAL COUNTESS. Richard Dalton, David's close friend, is the hero of THE DIABOLICAL BARON, which takes place a year later. Ian Kinlock, the surgeon, will have active roles in SHATTERED RAINBOWS and ONE PERFECT ROSE as well as appearing in the Regency CAROUSEL OF HEARTS. I have enjoyed the stories I have read by Ms. Putney in the past and will look forward to more.

I very much enjoyed this book. The author was able to make you feel as if you were living back in time. I have always been a fan of historical romance and thrillers and found this to be a well written story and easy to read. I look forward to reading more from the same author.