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4.0 out of 5 stars
First in the "Bluestocking Brides" trilogy of romantic intrigues, December 20, 2009
"The Notorious Lord" is the first of three romances set in Suffolk in 1803, which was a time when Napoleon had an army ready to invade England at any opportunity and Britain was very exercised with the question of how to repel any such attack.
The three books in the trilogy and their main romantic protagonists are
1) "The Notorious Lord", Rachel Odell and Lord Cory Newlyn
2) "
One Night Of Scandal (Harlequin Historical Series)," Deborah Stratton and Lord Richard Kestrel
3) "
The Rake's Mistress (Harlequin Historical Series)," Rebecca Raleigh and Lord Lucas Kestrel
The whole of the trilogy is slightly greater than the sum of the parts as the espionage story and a couple of additional romantic sub-plots build through the three books.
(I am told that there are two more stories in the saga of the Kestrel family and their friends: "The Pirate's Kiss" which is a short story in the collection "
Christmas Wedding Belles: The Pirate's Kiss\A Smuggler's Tale\The Sailor's Bride (Harlequin Historical Series)" and "
The Last Rake In London (Harlequin Historical Series)).")
The British government believes that Napoleon has a spy operating in the "Midwinter villages" area of the Suffolk Coast who is sending details of local defence arrangements to France. They believe that the spy may be a woman, but do not know her identity.
It is never explained how the government knows this: the reader is left to guess that perhaps a British agent in France has learned that Napoleon's invasion planners have an intelligence source in Suffolk and has reported back to London. The espionage elements of all three books in the trilogy are rather contrived and implausible, but this does not matter too much because the stories are largely romances and the spycatching aspect is mostly there to provide an initial excuse for the heroes to be interested in the heroines.
The government ask Justin, Duke of Kestrel, whose family seat at Kestrel Court, is in the area where the spy is operating, to investigate. (First major boo-boo in the background reserch - Ducal titles are NEVER taken from family names, both Royal and non-Royal Dukes in Britain invariably take the title of a county or county town.) The Duke ropes in his brothers, Lord Richard Kestrel and Lord Lucas Kestrel, and his friend Lord Cory Newlyn to help him investigate.
The Duke believes that the spy may be one of the literary circle run by his tenant and old flame, Lady Sally Saltire, so he encourages his friend and brothers to court the ladies of this circle and, while so doing, keep their eyes and ears open for anything unusual which might lead them to anyone who is selling secrets to Napoleon.
The "Notorious Lord" of the book's title, Cory Newlyn, has a passionate involvement in archaology. (This time a plus point: this was one of the very few occupations outside the armed forces which was socially acceptable for members of the ton.) His old friends, Sir Arthur and Lady Lavinia Odell, who have the same interest and conducting an excavation of an old Barrow in the Midwinter area. They are delighted to accept his assistance with the excavation, which apart from being interesting to him in its' own right gives Cory the perfect excuse to be in Midwinter.
It also brings him back into contact with Rachel Odell, the daughter of Sir Arthur and Lady Lavinia, who he has known since he was a teenager and she a little girl. Up to this point, Cory has thought of Rachel like a little sister and she of him like a big brother. These attitudes do not survive an embarrassing incident at the start of the book, when Cory has gone for an early morning swim in the stream between the excavation site and the property Rachel's parents are renting, not expecting anyone else to be up and about. However, Rachel is an early riser and is most embarrassed to be confronted with Lord Newlyn in his naked glory ...
Both Cory and Rachel have grown up, and both are unable to control or hide their new-found attraction for each other. But Rachel is clever enough to realise that something else is going on: and if she thinks that Cory is courting her, not for love, but because of some secret agenda she may be very badly hurt ...
Period research in these novels is very much a curate's egg throughout the series as hinted above. Some very good nuggets and some rather embarrassing howlers. However, the characterisation and buildup of romantic tension is quite well done: from a male perspective the description of Cory's reactions captures more accurately than most female authors manage what a man feels when he begins to experience strong desire for a woman whom he had hitherto considered a friend.
Reasonably entertaining if you like period romances and are not too bothered by the lack of meticulous historical accuracy.
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