Customer Reviews

Perola

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This book is the first by Phyllis Ann Karr, that I have read. The cover (inspired by Renaissance painting, perhaps) is intriguing, but has relatively little to do with the story, apart from the beginning.

The story itself has its moments but is barely credible. Perola, the heroine, wants to revenge herself on a handsome peer for having seduced her older sister. This sister died before Perola was born, so Perola never knew her. Perola discovered the existence of the sister, and an illegitimate nephew raised by a cottager's widow, only when her father (a merchant) had died. Her nephew has had some education, and has learned to resent his father who abandoned his mother and never recognized him. So far, not bad.

The problem is what comes next. It is not just that the peer - the hero - never knew of the existence of his son, and that he had tried to marry Perola's sister when he came of age (their elopement being intercepted by both fathers). It is that Perola and her nephew's foster-mother (the cottager's wife) have the manners and education to be able to mix with gentry and the nobility. Well, I can believe that the daughter of a wealthy merchant might have the proper manners and the right accent, but that a cottager's wife could pass for a gentlewoman boggles my mind. So does the method by which Perola obtains her introduction to the hero - she pretends to be the daughter of a corporal whose life had been saved by a retired army officer who just happened to be the neighbor of the hero. A corporal, for your information, is counted as an enlisted man - one of the rank-and-file who usually came from the lower classes. Even allowing for the Major's delight in learning of this supposed rescue (that he cannot remember) it is hard to imagine that he would accept the daughter of an enlisted man as a gentlewoman and have her move amidst gentry.

And of course, Perola manages to attract the hero's attention in an unique way, and pretends not to know her own nephew (when he catches the eye of the hero's ward and prospective fiancee).

The nephew is quite something too. He fineagles his way into a romance with the ward, who proposes him as a secretary to her guardian based simply on the fact that he can read and write. And the nephew then barges his way into the hero's house (something of a crime, given that he assaults the footman when refused entry), and somehow convinces the peer to give him a job - as a librarian - when his qualifications are virtually non-existent.

Of course, Perola's "secret" conversations with her nephew are eventually noticed, and her duplicity comes to light. It turns out that the hero was guilty of no villainy, and that he did not know his old love (Perola's late sister) had given birth to a child. The hero forgives Perola quite easily, while her nephew has a slightly more difficult time with his love, the offended ward (who considers marrying one of two peers visiting the family).

This story had some potential, and a very decent hero. The romance of the younger couple was less credible, as was the hero's reaction to their romance (what were the younger couple planning to live upon?). The heroine got off very lightly given her duplicity, her sole alarm coming when her nephew disappears into a seedy part of London.

My recommendation? This is a light read, not one to read if you want any degree of credibility. It does touch upon a serious issue - the position of the illegitimate children of the aristocracy and gentry - but Arthur wins fortune and bride all too easily. This is not a good read if you want authenticity in manners and customs (not to mention social stratification), or if you want really deep thinking from your protagonists. There is little or no comedy (unless you count the rival peers vying for the ward's hand and attentions).

Rating = 1.8