I enjoyed this book, and I'm a bit surprised by all the really bad reviews. It may not be perfect but it is a fun read, which I believe is what the author intended.
DON'T expect Jane Austen or Baroness Orczy or Philippa Gregory. Lauren Willig's "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation" is not deep, destined-to-be-classic, impeccably accurate historical fiction--nor is it intended to be. The author says on her website that she wrote it for fun after passing some tough grad school exams, and her enjoyment of writing it comes across in the book.
Sure, Amy Balcourt isn't quite as prim and proper as your standard young lady of 1803. It would be difficult to feature in a romance novel if she were. Which, though it hurts my intellectual pride to admit it, this essentially is.
It is not, however, I hasten to add, a bodice-ripper Harlequin that's all sex and no substance with no plot, flat characters, and a lot of heaving bosoms. Um, well...there are a few heaving bosoms, but that isn't the *sole* focus of the plot.
On the contrary, the book is well-written and engaging. The plot may be insanely contrived at times, but that's what makes it a comedy! The writing is light and funny, the dialog is witty, the romance is...romantic, the plot is suspenseful and full of funny unexpected turns, and the characters are outstanding.
Rebellious, vivacious Amy Balcourt and dashing, mysterious Lord Richard Selwick are the main characters. Amy is a lively, intelligent young woman with big plans to help the mysterious Purple Gentian save England (though she wouldn't object if he fell in love with her in the process). She is appalled when she meets Richard--an Englishman on Bonaparte's payroll, which in Amy's eyes amounts to nothing short of treason. Richard, of course, has a secret: he *is* Amy's idol, the Purple Gentian--who does *not* welcome the aid (or the romantic distraction) of a meddlesome, saucy (though very attractive--and very determined) accomplice. Hilarity ensues.
Despite the comedy, the characters are sympathetic and realistic. Both have troubled pasts to overcome and ambitious (and often conflicting) dreams. The chemistry of their love/hate relationship is wonderful.
Amy and Richard lead a wonderful cast of memorable, often eccentric--bordering on outrageous--supporting characters. There's Miss Gwen, the prim, straight-laced chaperone with a penchant for prodding people with her parasol--up to and including Bonaparte himself! There's Lord Richard's delightful family--his constantly flirting parents and overeager little sister and his two best friends--quiet well-behaved Geoff (who tends to get forgotten amid Richard's boisterous family) and cheerful, irreverent Miles (who provides a large part of the boisterousness himself). There's Stiles, Richard's butler, an ex-actor who does all of his buttling in character as King Lear and who ends up as a pirate...
The setting in Napoleonic Paris is very well done, and we encounter not only the First Consul and his wife, but an assortment of their contemporaries--Napoleon's promiscuous sister Pauline, his hen-pecked brother-in-law Joachim Murat, and his evil minister of police, Fouché.
"The Pink Carnation" is by no means a deep and meaningful work of historical fiction, nor does it make any claims to be. It is essentially romantic comedy--with all the silliness, crazy plots, and exaggerated characters that entails. These shouldn't be considered as flaws, however--they make the book a joy to read. The humor will have you laughing, the romance will have you sighing, and the suspense will make it impossible to put down.
Don't overlook the "Pink Carnation" series just because it isn't deep and serious historical fiction. Someone on the historical fiction forums called it "light historical fiction," which is a perfect term for it. It is written for entertainment, not education--and in this it certainly succeeds.
