Beauty in Black (Sinclair Family Saga) [Paperback]

Nicole Byrd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Young widow Marianne Hughes is to chaperone the even younger Louisa Crookshanks to London for her come-out. But, in a most awkward happenstance, it turns out that the one gentleman Louisa has set her sights on only has eyes for the darker, more demure beauty of Mrs. Hughes. Soon this Marquess of Gillingham finds himself entangled in a web of desire and deception--and begins to understand that Hell hath no fury like a debutante scorned.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The social whirl of Britain's Regency era springs to vivid life in a story that revolves around not one but two beings in black: the titular Beauty, widow Marianne Hughes, and the "Beast of Gillingham," John Sinclair. In need of a wife, the reclusive Marquess of Gillingham, who wears drab attire to draw attention away from his smallpox-scarred face, reluctantly tries to negotiate London's marriage mart. Equally reluctantly, Marianne agrees to chaperon her impetuous niece-in-law Louisa, who immediately targets John. But Louisa seems to be targeted by someone seeking something more sinister than marriage—her life. John, meanwhile, realizes he's less drawn to his new fiancée than to her guardian. Further complications arise when John comes into contact with his estranged brother Gabriel, Gabriel's wife Psyche and her perceptive younger sister Circe, auld acquaintances from Byrd's two previous books, Dear Imposter and Lady in Waiting. This charming, character-driven novel links Byrd's Sinclair series and her newer Merry Widow series, but readers new to Byrd (who's actually the mother/daughter team Cheryl Zach and Michelle Nicole Place) should have no trouble untangling the family relationships. Despite its complexity, the story's disparate plot elements mesh seamlessly.
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From School Library Journal

Adult/High School–A historical romance with a dash of mystery and a pinch of adventure. Reclusive and scarred by smallpox, John, the marquess of Gillingham, goes to London in 1817 to choose a wife to provide an heir to his estate. Meanwhile, Louisa, a wealthy orphan, travels to London to be brought out into Society under the auspices of her widowed aunt. Having heard of the marquess, she wants him, and they do become engaged, but are they right for one another? The entertaining plot moves forward quickly and easily with unusual twists: someone is trying to kill Louisa, John must ask his estranged brother for help, and the habits of John's father, though long dead, play a part. The details of daily life provide an excellent look at the mores of regency England.–Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425196836
• ISBN-13: 978-0425196830
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #664,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beauty and the Beast Theme, June 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Beauty in Black (Sinclair Family Saga) (Paperback)

John Sinclair, the Marquess of Gillingham, has decided he must marry in order to provide an heir. He has been a recluse for years, following a bout with small pox in his youth which left him badly scarred. His father has recently died and John does not want his younger brother to inherit the title as they have been bitter enemies most of their lives. John reluctantly goes to London to seek a wife.

Young Louisa Crookshank is anxious to go to London for the purpose of finding a suitable spouse, preferably one with an impressive title. Her beautiful widowed aunt Marianne Hughes has been persuaded to accompany her. Louisa is beautiful and spoiled and has been told by her former suitor that she is shallow. She decides she wants to marry the "Beast of Gillingham," not only because of his title, but to prove that she is not shallow - that she can look beyond the man's scars.

Louisa may be spoiled and shallow, but she's a delightful character. Her aunt is nearly perfect, but in a subtle, believable way. And you want the Marquess to have the love of a good woman; certainly Marianne is that woman. John is gruff and wary of people because of his scars and treatment he has received from his family as well as outsiders. Yet, we quickly see that he is a kind-hearted, lonely man. He has a dog named Runt he rescued, and who seems to be his only trusted friend.
Because John inadvertently proposed to Louisa, he could not show his true feelings for Marianne nor she for him. It was rewarding to see the "Beauty in Black" bring happiness to "the beast" through her accepting love for this vulnerable, good man.

The characters were believable and sympathetic, particularly John, and the mystery was a nice addition. It was easy to read and the writing was both lyrical and graceful. I also enjoyed the occasional bits of humor which kept it from ever being morose or despairing. In addition, it has a classy cover. This is a keeper!

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, June 16, 2004

By 

Strngvoice "strngvoice" (OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beauty in Black (Sinclair Family Saga) (Paperback)

I have loved the other Nicole Byrd books I have read and have been waiting for this one to come out since I read a preview of it in Widow in Scarlet (which by the way I totally recomend) However I was disappointed with this one. I enjoyed the main characters, but several of the secondary characters drove me nuts and I felt held to much of the story time. I was also bored. I kept waiting for the story to start.

I understand now why so many period romances have fake or forced betrothals and marriages because otherwise authors seem to have to choose between being totally unrealistic or allowing the proprieties and proticals of the time to keep their characters to a very limited interaction. I was thursty for these two great characters to spend more intimate (and I don't mean just phsyically) moments together.

I recomend this book if you are reading the series (Dear Imposter, Lady in Waiting) or you might feel like you missed something about the characters of this series. Otherwise I am sad to say I don't recomend this one. I wish I could. I was very excited about a new book by this author team and I was looking forward to the interesting concept of the book. I think I feel cheated because I expected so much.

I just didn't feel like this book lived up to it's potential.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Proposing to the wrong woman, May 2, 2005

By 

Shimmertje (Muscat, Oman) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beauty in Black (Sinclair Family Saga) (Paperback)

Louisa Crookshank, self-centred miss, has her heart set on marrying above her station at her first season. She has the looks and the money, and she absolutely has to show that her friend Lucas' rejection of her means nothing.

Marianne Hughes, widow, takes on the role of chaperon for Louisa when her sister-in-law gets pregnant and is unable to look after Louisa in London. How bad can it be, after all?

John Sinclair, marquess of Gillingham, decides that he needs to visit London to get himself a wife. He is believed to be horribly disfigured by smallpox, and has kept out of the public eye for ages - but he is not getting any younger.

The stage is set for three-way romance when Louisa decides she will be civil to John to show Lucas how selfless she can be; John figures Louisa is as good a potential wife as any; and Marianne and John feel the passion flare between them every time he visits to pay court to Louisa. Things become complicated when he carelessly says something that Louisa takes to be a marriage proposal to her, just as he is beginning to realise that he really wants Marianne, not Louisa.

Just to make the mix more interesting, Lord John and Marianne foil some attempts on Louisa's life (they think) while he tries to make peace with Lord Gabriel Sinclair, John's estranged brother..

This is my first story by Nicole Byrd, and it whetted my appetite for her other books. I would love to find out more about Gabriel and Psyche, and Psyche's sister Circe as well. I didn't like Louisa or Lucas very much though - Louisa seemed too spoilt and self-centred to have taken so much of the book, though she clearly loves Lucas. Perhaps it was because she didn't seem to have learned very much by the end of the story.

A preview of the next book, Vision in Blue, shows that Louisa will have a part to play there, and perhaps she's changed by then.