The three strong-willed women at the core of this overblown romance may struggle with the strictures of Victorian England, but they are utterly defeated by Sully's ( The Barleyfield ) melodramatic and hoary plot. Unconventional Elizabeth, a widow, refuses to marry the love of her life for fear of giving up her freedom, but she strives to control her daughters, Katherine and Agnes. Katherine, anguished by unrequieted love, takes to drink and to chloral. Agnes, restlessly searching for something to feel passionate about, realizes that studying medicine and her engagement to the solicitous Theo have proven unsuccessful diversions, so she steals the man her sister loves, then immerses herself in the family business in Australia. The women's inability to understand one other threatens their familial ties, until a bally-hooed ruinous secret Elizabeth has been hiding for years is forced into the open. Poor character motivation and even poorer structure help sink this novel far from shore.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Although Elizabeth Pengelly ignores the standards of the Victorian era by refusing to marry her lover, Edward Munro, she is unprepared to deal with the unconventional lives chosen by her two daughters. The elder, Agnes, ambitious and competent, studies medicine and engages in social work before sailing from England to Australia to manage the business started by Arthur Pengelly, her mother's late husband. Beautiful and romantic, younger daughter Katherine drifts into a crowd of artists and poets, where she grows addicted to alcohol and drugs. The sisters' rivalry culminates in their successive affairs with an artist, and a destructive Katherine reveals that Agnes is really Edward's daughter, not Arthur's. The themes of secrets and betrayal permeate the novel. Because the characters are so unlikable, however, the reader's journey through their lives is more a puzzle for the head than an exercise of the heart. By the author of The Barleyfield (St. Martin's, 1992).
- Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
