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Whitney, My Love

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1 star:		(66)

 

 

Judith McNaught has created a story of an abusive relationship that could have been taken from a psychology textbook (minus the sometimes romanticism).
Whitney , an attractive teenager feels like an ugly duckling although she simply is not fully developed, and her aunt who has come to England to take Whitney to Paris sees her possibilities at once. Brought up by a cold and unfeeling father who had wanted a son, Whitney was never able to fulfil his expectations. She therefore developed a deep minority complex. Consequently she falls in love with Paul who has never showed any interest in her and only sees her deficits -
exactly like her father. That sets up the pattern of her future relationships. Whitney unconsciously thinks herself unworthy to be loved, yet like every human being yearns to be loved. When she comes to Paris, blossoming in to a sophisticated and witty young lady, she meets Nicolas DuVille who would be the love of her life in a real romance. He has all the attributes of a regency hero. He is handsome, aristocratic, rich, urbane and sophisticated. Furthermore he is warm-hearted and caring. When Whitney has her debut, he sees that she gets a good start, and provides her with dancers by asking his friends for a favour. He deeply falls in love with Whitney, but never presses his love on her. He patiently waits for years, and offers her friendship instead of the love he would like to give her. But Whitney is unable to respond to true love which comes without abuse. Finally she finds her true match (although not her true love) in Clayton, Duke of Westmoreland. Just like her he thinks himself unworthy of love (although the book never gives a reason for that). Unable to approach Whitney openly for fear of being rejected by her ( a fear that never bothered the far more self-confident and mature Nicolas)he makes his first move at a masquerade (!) where he doesn't have to show his face or reveal his identity to her. The first encounter is a fiasco. The insecure duke therefore prefers to gain Whitney in an underhanded scheme buying her like a horse from her father. He approaches Whitney again, still hiding behind an emotional mask, not giving away his identity, and not revealing the business-like way he acquired her. The way he makes advances to her is typical. Emotionally to insecure to show his feelings for her, he prefers to sexually harass her. But this is exactly the sort of treatment Whitney is able to respond to. She fights her feelings in the beginning, but she fights an already lost battle. In one of her early encounters with the duke, he beats her up after a quarrel (in an earlier and far more consequent version of the book) and makes amorous advances to her after that.. Her destiny is now sealed. This is the ongoing tune of their relationship: The carrot or the stick. The abusive and dominating behaviour of the duke slowly destroys the spunk and feistiness of Whitney which signified her in the beginning. The hurting culminates when the duke who is mad with jealousy hauls away Whitney from a party to brutally rape her, then stops at last, but only to emotionally blackmail her to submitting to violent and painful sex which he uses as a means to punish her (which is even worse then ordinary rape). He shows all the traces of a borderline personality. Othello must have been one of his ancestors. But it doesn't need a cunning Iago to put Clayton into a cruel fit of rage. The grossest lie delivered by an archenemy of Whitney (something Clayton was fully aware of) will do nicely. After that he eases his bad conscience by sending a cheque and breaking of the engagement, unable to really face his behaviour. That's the coward's way out, but nobody seems to notice that, least of all the duke himself. After an arranged meeting Whitney doesn't believe the duke's declaration of love, and he doesn't show any patience with her plight (not accepting it as a part of his richly deserved comeuppance), but treats her with cold indifference instead. He doesn't need much time to come to terms with himself and detracts himself by pursuing another woman, only a few weeks after that fateful night. When Whitney learns about that, she practically throws herself at his feet. This is one of the saddest scenes in the book because it shows the full impact of the damage that his been done to Whitney in her childhood. Again having refused the faithful and loving Nicolas (he hasn't devoted himself to another woman in the meantime!), she loves the duke even more dearly for what he has done to her. But his is not the end of Whitney's self-inflicted torment. After they have married, they don't live happily ever after. The whole hurting and abuse starts all over again after Whitney has got pregnant. Due to a relatively harmless incident the duke concludes at once that Whitney has betrayed him shortly after he had brutally deprived her of her virginity (!). He makes plans to cruelly revenge himself on her by letting her love her child for one year and then take away the child from her. This sadism left me speechless. After a while he sees the errors of his ways, but is unable to reflect his real problem which remains still unsolved. He comes back to Whitney who awaits him with open arms. This is the end of this depressingly real sadomasochistic story which holds all the fascination of a bloody train accident. And this book is considered to be a romantic classic. A lot of women seem to be stuck in similar abusive patterns which I find quite alarming. As a dark tale of subjugation and emotional and physical abuse I would give it a five-stars review. As a romantic love story I can only give but one star.

Judith McNaught utterly shines in this spectacular debut novel that launched her career. WHITNEY, MY LOVE was a delight from start to finish. Never having read the original version of this book, I read the glorious 708 page extended version without ever taking a break. Emerging my self from a blurry-eyed dream that is this novel, I'm pleased to say this classic lives up to it's reputation.

Whitney Stone, a young and impetuous girl believes herself in love with Paul, the recipient of all her youthful feelings and dreams. Her disapproving father deems her behavior inappropriate and she finds herself sent to France with her beloved Aunt and Uncle. These she is allowed to bloom into the beautiful, unique women she is. She finds herself groomed into a lady and becomes the toast of Paris. As she perfects her arts as a lady she deems it time to return home to win the heart of Paul, her childhood sweetheart. Unbeknownst to her, her father has betrothed her to Clayton Westmoreland, the Duke of Claymore. Her father's uncontrollable debts have wiped out her inheritance and her dowry and the Duke is the answer to his financial difficult.

Whitney, however, wants nothing to do with the Clayton and pursues Paul and finally wins his heart. From there, you'll have to read the story yourself!

There is a disturbing scene in this book that is often times discussed. I'll leave the reader to draw his or her own conclusions and opinions on it. I, however, found this to be a powerful story and enjoyed it immensely. I'm certain I will not forget the names Whitney or Clayton Westmoreland and they will continue to burn in my mind as one of the more stormy and passionate couples I have ever read about it.

One might draw parallels to GONE WITH THE WIND and this novel, However where Scarlet O'Hara does not realize her love for Rhett Butler until it is much too late, Whitney is not so foolish.

Enjoy reading this classic romance! ...

I've read a lot of reviews written by people who try to excuse Clayton's heinous behavior towards Whitney as being "realistic in the eighteen hundreds." While it is true that women were not liberated during this era, I have serious doubts that his actions were the norm during this time. Rape is never appropriate during any time period or in any context. Clayton did not "rape" Whitney (as so many people are inclined to write), he RAPED her. Rape is when someone forces sex on another person who is not willing, which was the case in this novel. They were NOT married, which is the only way the "realistic in the eighteen hundreds" arguement would even be remotely valid (which is still questionable in my opinion). Was behavior like this acceptable in England, a country who prided itself on the civility and delicate manners of its aristocracy? I doubt it. And while we're on the subject of realism, how realistic is it for a woman to fall deeply in love with a man who verbally abuses her, whips her like a dog, rapes her, and then accuses her of carrying another man's child? The worst part of all, was the fact that she had to practically grovel at his feet like some pathetic weakling in order for HIM to take HER back. Instead of being realistic, this book was utterly ridiculous. I feel truly sorry (but at the same time disgusted) for those who consider this kind of relationship the epitomy of what "perfect" love should be and for those who dream of a man as controlling and violent as Clayton. I despised him from almost his first appearance in the book. My feelings about the character of Whitney are not much better. I just could not comprehend how she kept going back to him and giving in to him after everything he did. It made me ill, and by the time the book was half finished, I hated her too. How I ever read this entire infuriating book is beyond me. It is NOT realistic and it is NOT romantic. The conflict between the two main characters was over the top. As it is obvious from my extremely negative review, I do not recommend this book.

Judith McNaught is a talented storyteller, there's no denying that. Perhaps that is the reason that I was so disappointed by this book, for which I had such high hopes. There were many aspects of the book that I liked very much, but there were others that left me feeling very disturbed and unsatisfied.

The unusual breadth and depth of this book surprised me. The characters are very amiable, and I was gratified by the unique rendering of Whitney's character. Like many other heroines of romance novels, she is strong-willed and a little bit of an outcast. But she is not perfect in every way (at least not in the beginning) and those who she sets her heart upon do not always requite her emotions. The story-line was full of suspense, and I kept wondering how Whitney could possibly end up with Clayton, even though the synopsis makes the outcome very obvious. I admired the twisting plot McNaught used to deal with Whitney's conflicting feelings over her childhood crush on Paul versus her betrothal to Clayton, a situation that I found most unusual.

Although I found most of the story to be a refreshing change in a genre often typified by predictability, I had some rather significant qualms about the development (or lack thereof) of certain characters. One Example is Whitney's father: a central character both to the story and to Whitney's character, he virtually disappears after his purpose as a plot device to bring Clayton and Whitney together is served. He appears when it is convenient, but Whitney never really seems to dwell on him in her thoughts, even though many of her earlier actions in the book were highly influenced by her relationship with him. Likewise, the character of Nicki appears and then disappears with equal rapidity, an injustice to such well-drawn figure. These instances, however, are not nearly so grave as the flawed character of Clayton.

McNaught did a fabulous job of making the reader dislike Clayton. Unfortunately, her failure to win the reader over to his side in the latter part of the book is a major obstacle to the story's success. My bias most certainly comes from my views of his abuse of Whitney - not once in the book did he ever really confront what he had done. I realize the historical context in which the story is placed has some influence, but at the same time I couldn't help but doubt Whitney's character after the way she responded - she was far too easily won by his physical overtures, without promise of real reform. However, putting aside that rather distasteful incident, my real problem lies in the development of his character thereafter. Assuming that everyone makes mistakes and he was truly sorry, perhaps one could believe in Whitney's love for him to the extent that the reader could forgive him as she did. But Clayton never really undergoes any real penance for his crime, or any true reform in the end - rather, I was astonished to find that he was often depicted as the victim when the only real victim was Whitney, time after time. There lacks a balance of power between the two characters which would proclaim the partnership which Whitney declared early on would be the only kind of marriage in which she would participate, leaving only a relationship in which the male dominates the female. A far superior example of the convincing repentance of a man for a similar crime based upon lack of faith is depicted in Teresa Medeiros's Fairest of Them All. I was hugely disappointed at the end to see no real change in Clayton's conduct after his second incident of mistreating Whitney without evidence or explanation. How can a romance be all that good if I don't think Whitney should have ended up with Clayton? There are a few instances of Clayton's love for Whitney, but they seemed very few and far between. There was far too much violence displayed, and his tenderness always seemed to be calculated and manipulative. He treated her like a child, and I don't believe the he ever really stopped thinking of her as a possession to be flaunted rather than a person to respect.

Nicki was a very touching, lovable character. Even if the story-line between Whitney and Clayton proved to be far more interesting and tumultuous, I never stopped hoping for Nicki to be the victorious suitor. I commend McNaught on her ability to draw such emotional support for a minor character, and perhaps even on her wisdom for creating a character so likeable as to create a rival for Clayton in the reader's mind. But by the end, the reader should want Whitney to be with Clayton at least as much, if not more, than with Nicki - which was not the case. Whitney was a gem of a character and I never really felt that Clayton understood her worth or appreciated her as a person, which the only way that he could really love her.

There are extremes of conflicting opinions over this book. Overall, it is very well-written but is not something that I would probably read again. Its appeal is more for those with a traditional view of romance, which is often associated with violence. As a reader with more modern sensibilities, I believe that McNaught's greatest mistake was in placing an incident of rape in the story-line as if it were a crime of passion and excusable in the name of love. I found it horrifying and demeaning, and I believe that Whitney should never have forgiven him, no matter how much she loved him - especially if she loved him, in fact. If you have a similar opinion, then I would definitely recommend skipping this book.

I love Ms. McNaught's contemporary romances. This one deeply disturbed me. It only deserves to be considered romance if you believe that A) a man is ever justified in beating a woman, B) that women are children who need to be controlled by men strong enough to dominate them, C) that rape is forgivable under any circumstances, and most disgustingly D) that a woman should deal with this by coming to submit to a man and loving him despite all his previous violent acts. Whitney actually says (paraphrased) "It's OK if you hurt me every night as long as you say sweet things to me." Excuse me?!? I can't see how this book can be a fantasy to anyone except someone trapped in an abusive relationship who thinks maybe last night is the last time he'll beat her. And that's a dangerous fantasy to perpetuate. Ms. McNaught has done her readers a grave dis-service by presenting this relationship as an ideal one. I urge readers not to buy this book. I can't even loan you mine because upon finishing it I ripped it up and threw it out.

They say everyone makes mistakes, and JM made hers with this horrid book. I put off reading it for years, despite liking her other books so well (Kingdom of Dreams, Perfect and Almost Heaven are sooo wonderful!) because of the mixed reviews here. But since they averaged out more positive than negative, I finally gave it a chance and read with an open mind. But I could not have disliked this story more had I tried!

I wish I had a new take on what all is wrong with this story, but I can't say anything that hasn't already been said in the numerous one-star reviews here. I'll just say to take the time to read them all, as they are very accurate about the facts of the story. Now, it's how you take those facts that determine whether or not you will like this book. If you think that beating, rape, emotional abuse and betrayal can all be overcome and true, lasting love still result, then you may find this to be a "romantic" story. I just don't. Clayton did nothing to redeem himself in my eyes, but apparently McNaught was operating under the love is blind (and deaf) theory of romance when she had Whitney take him back. In my head, this relationship will not stand the test of time - Clayton is not able to trust enough to let that happen. I like to think that he eventually caught a wasting venereal disease from a mistress and threw himself off a cliff as an easy way out, hopefully while Whitney was still young enough to find a good man.

Congratulations, JM: you now have the distinction of having created the "Worst Hero Ever" in all my years of reading.

I loved Whitney and Clayton during the beginning of the book, I found them charming and witty, with excellent chemistry. However, after the rape scene both characters (especially Clayton) lost all appeal to me. I kept hoping Clayton would pay for the rape (and it clearly was rape in it's most brutal form) against Whitney, but no, SHE must beg and grovel at his feet for forgiveness. I mean, the man raped her, and she is worrying that "his pride suffered". Huh? He even taunts her about the rape later in the book. And, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, after marrying Clayton, Whitney's adoring husband accuses her of some hair-brained story without bothering to confront her about his suspicions. And while she is pregnant with his child, no less. He treats her like scum, and she takes him back again with open arms! Why, Ms. McNaught? Why would you turn a bright, intelligent, independent woman into an abuse victim? It's like the battered wife coming back for more. Instead of admiring Whitney I felt so sorry for her. Towards the end of the book she seemed to lose all vivaciousness and courage.

The dialogue, pace, and secondary characters are so fantastic that I felt cheated after reading the book. I felt pity for Whitney and thoroughly disliked Clayton. I presume Clayton's despicable behavior were meant to demonstrate his deep love and obsession with Whitney. But his actions failed to show any deep remorse.

Ms. McNaught is a gifted storyteller, and some of her other books are fantastic (A Kingdom of Dreams being my favorite), but this book failed to endear me to the main characters, especially Clayton Westmoreland.

This book could have been so enjoyable, but I found the whipping and rape scenes too disturbing to enjoy the book as a whole. McNaught's heroines tend to be smart and independent women, so why--if they have these qualities--would she have this particular heroine accept degrading treatment from any man, most particularly the one she is supposed to love? Romance novels naturally include conflict between the hero and heroine, with love eventually conquering all, but this story seemed all about Clayton dominating and controlling Whitney, not about loving her. I don't find physical and emotional abuse entertaining and that's pretty much all McNaught wrote in this book. I don't believe whipping or raping a woman is a natural response to a misunderstanding. Rape is a violent crime, not one of passion, and McNaught treats it as a forgivable action done in the name of love. I found that utterly distasteful and unbelievable. If Clayton would have talked to Whitney about what she had done rather than acting on impulses most of the time, I would have found him a much more likable character. As such, his cruel behavior was too much for me to find this book at all entertaining. I would encourage you not to read it.

I was actually quite fond of this book in the beginning- it had such potential. She, an outspoken vibrant child who swore to become a lady to gain the heart of her childhood crush; he, an emotionally absent, rather overbearing man who was determined to have her the moment he laid eyes on her. I knew how this would turn out: she would grow into a beautiful, vivacious young woman who would have every eligible man in Paris begging for her hand. He would somehow win her heart and in the process learn he loved her too. Because of his love for her, he would learn to view women (her in particular) as treasures worth protecting instead of objects to be thrown away once he tired of them......Oh my, was I ever more wrong. (WARNING: Lots of spoilers)

I must say first, I truly admire Whitney for her razor-sharp wit (that phrase is often overused, but it actually applies here). She was, in the beginning, a heroine I could actually enjoy reading about. But everything was ruined the moment she set foot back in England. First, he aquired her hand in marriage by paying an enormous sum of money to her father...without her knowledge. I was at first willing to forgive this, as the general opinion in England at the moment was that the women were expected to do as the men wished. So, of course he should act like that! I understood it, but knew he would eventually change....right? Haha, NO.

Second, at every possible turn, our "hero" sexually assaults the willfull lady and repeatedly hurts her physically with his brute strength. This bothered me, but I just KNEW this would get better. It HAD to... After hearing rumors in her small town that she had eloped (WHEN HE ALREADY KNEW THAT THEY WERE GOSSIPPING ABOUT HER AND PAUL ELOPING) he became enraged. Ok, so I forgave him for that too. Big deal, he is mad, he will confront her about it, she will tell him otherwise, and the matter will be resolved. Sigh.....

He tracks her down, believes the lie of a vicious woman whom he knew hated Whitney (I MEAN SERIOUSLY, HOW FRIKKIN STUPID IS THIS GUY?), grabs Whitney, and proceeds to rape her. Oh no, too late, he finds out she is a virgin, and the other chick was lying. And he feels just awful about it.

This is where my dislike for Whitney comes in.... she is hardly traumatized by the experience. She displays none of the signs of a woman who has just been raped; she cries then feels better, then forgives him! Ya, it hurt, but oh, how could she hate such a wonderful man? He decides to break off their engagement, she finds out, and is furious! Hell, I would be too! But, wonder of wonders, he is again blindly furious that she would not tell him she loved him! WHAT??? He just RAPED her and now he is in a snit that she doesn't faint at his touch......is it just me, or is there something wrong here?????

Anyways, she is reduced to begging and he makes sure she is completely and utterly humiliated. But the wedding is back on and everything is all roses again! Yay! Oh, but then he finds out she is pregnant, and through yet another miscommunication, assumes she had slept with someone BEFORE they were married and married him to hide her pregnancy. They have been married 5 months and he STILL doesn't trust her. GOOD GOD. He is mad at her for possible sleeping with someone else, after he had raped her, when he has slept with half the women in France?? Where does this guy come off?

So he treats her absolutely terrible, knocks her around a little, as expected, moves out, and is determined to make her as miserable as any human can be by taking her baby away. Ya, I mean, what's not to love about him? Whitney again dissapoints by trying to win him back instead of simply running away where she could be SAFE and give him the cold shoulder he so richly deserves. She actually (finally) does move to his mother's house, who is sympathetic. He finally catches up after his lightbulb finally clicks on (wow, you mean, Whitney, who never gave even the hint of ever being deceitful, is trustworthy? Golly, what an idea!). She, of course, takes him back instantly. YAY, the happily ever after!

Haha, do you want to know the kicker? After everything is said and done, HE IS UPSET WITH HIS MOTHER FOR SHELTERING WHITNEY FROM HIM. (Ripping hair out). I mean, SERIOUSLY?? I thought he would have been thanking her for giving Whitney a place to stay so he wouldn't continue to beat her until either her or the child died....

In the end, they have their happily ever after, with him just as disgustingly overbearing as in the beginning, and her with a broken pride and spirit. Lol, I would actually love to read the sequel where she is having a nightmare and moans some other man's name in fear, he hears it, then flies into another rage. I can just hear it now... "HOW DARE YOU DREAM ABOUT ANOTHER MAN! I'LL SHOW YOU WHO YOUR MAN IS!! (proceeds to rape and bruise her yet AGAIN)"

I admit that most romance novels are not very realistic, (that's probably why they are so popular) but this book took it to the extreme. I don't care what time period you're living in, it is virtually impossible to fall in love and care for a man who beats you, is verbally abusive, and who sexually violates you! What good qualities did Clayton possess that made Whitney fall in love with him? None, if you ask me, which is why this book is ridiculous. It is simply unbelievable. I hated Clayton from the beginning. He treated Whitney horribly and the fact that she still fell in love with him after all his ill-treatment made me hate her almost as much. It is scary how many people liked this rubbish. Take my advice and skip this infuriating book, unless of course you enjoy reading about violent, controlling, and abusive relationships.