Customer Reviews

Instead of the Thorn

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I really loved this book, as it helped open a window on a period in history when morals and values were very different than they are now. The story is well written and enjoyable. Also, as always with a Heyer book, I found many of the characters very engaging.

Elizabeth, a young girl raised by an uncaring father and a quintessential old-maid aunt, sees marriage through romantic, rose-coloured glasses. Neither her father nor her aunt sees fit to tell her anything about the physical side of marriage, and when she discovers what it entails on her wedding night, she is horrified. Her huband is incredibly kind and forbearing, but she can't adjust. In addition, not having been in love when she married, she also can't handle any of the more prosaic adjustments entailed in living with a different person.

Eventually she moves out, with her husband's agreement, and tries to live on her own - a rather scandalous thing for that time. She discovers that living alone isn't all it's cracked up to be, and gets romantically involved with another man - which she also finds not to be too wonderful.

In the end, with the help of a wise friend of her father's, she starts to mature and to value what she had lost.

Heyer also gives quite a bit of amusing and perceptive insight into male-female relationships. Overall, I found it a very good read.

The main character, Elizabeth, was extremely unlikable. She had no redeeming qualities. You never root for her. In fact, I found myself wishing her to have the unhappy life she was bent upon choosing. Her romantic interest, Stephen, was not typical Heyer fare (in fact, he fell short). However, he was far too good for Elizabeth. I like some of Heyer's contemporary novels: both "Pastel" and "Barren Corn" were much better than this. Word of advice? Skip this one.