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Title: A Regency Christmas Feast: Five Stories (Super Regency, Signet)
ISBN: 0451190467
Author:
Mary Balogh
Sandra Heath
Edith Layton
Metzger
Patricia Rice
Publicate Date: 1996-11-01
Publish: 1996-11-01
List Price: $5.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $383.53
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $1.79
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1: A book to discover for "The Wassail Bowl" alone
Anthologies of short stories around themes often have varied levels of success - I find that sometimes the stories are completely incompatible with each other, writing styles seem too different and the overall quality of the story writing is disappointing.
I bought this entire book because of the Mary Balogh story which I had read at a friend's house a year ago and remembered being fantastic. Her story, "The Wassail Bowl," the last in the book, is just brilliant. Somehow she manages to cram incredible amounts of emotion and feeling into a fairly short story about an estranged husband and wife having to spend Christmas together. There's a strange typographical anomaly in this story in that at the beginning of the story the hero is called the Earl of Wyndham and lives at Wyndham Hall but halfway through he becomes the Earl of Wycherly who lives at Wycherly Hall. Still it doesn't matter to the overall story because it's always clear what's going on. John, the Earl, has been estranged from his wife for three years since she became pregnant by another man; Antonia has been ordered to allow their son Jeffrey to visit his father for Christmas but the Earl doesn't expect Antonia to bring herself and her bastard daughter too. John wants to ignore Antonia and Jane but this isn't possible, firstly because of Antonia's behaviour towards him when first setting eyes on him again and secondly because Jane is curious about him. As the Christmas festivities go on around them the couple begin to explore more deeply what happened between them and to try to relearn trust and love. Mary Balogh is always an excellent writer, of course, and is also very succesful with short stories because she doesn't bite off more than she can chw - her stories focus on small elements of a plot which mean that these elements can be deeply explored, rather than trying to cram too much of an overall plot into limited space. This short story is very moving in several places and is alone worth the price of the book.
"The Gingerbread Man" by Edith Layton is the first story in the anthology and was a very pleasant surprise. The Duke of Blackburn's sleep is being disturbed by dreams of gingerbread (which he doesn't even like) and he wonders if his subconscious is trying to tell him something. He starts investigating whether gingerbread has another meaning, at the urging of his old friend Elizabeth, and soon finds his plans going rather awry. His plan to offer for the Incomparable of the Season seems less wise, his mistress and he part company because he begins to understand more about her life, and his whole world is rocked when his old friend announces her own matrimonial plans. This was a lighthearted story but very enjoyable and had an amusing twist at the end. It's a great introduction to this author's work and although the language used was often rather more American than British English it was still a great read.
The Christmas Goose by Patricia Rice, the third offering in this collection, is a story of a woman fallen on hard times as she looks after her dead husband's sisters. When her husband's friend returns from the war he feels a complete failure because he is unable to help his comrades and his life is relatively easy, being the younger son of a viscount. When he meets Rebecca, widow of his friend, he tries to help her but it is difficult to come to her aid without appearing to give her charity. Some of his attempts to help actually make things more difficult. In the end he takes a risk in contacting her estranged father in the hopes that he can bring about some sort of a reconciliation. The description of Simon LeMaster's survivor's guilt after the Peninsular war is excellent, as is the way in which we see his thoughts as he fails at trying to help Rebecca. Although a short story and therefore without a great deal of time to investigate characters the author reveals both Rebecca's and Simon's thoughts to us excellently as they begin to wonder if they can lean on each other. This was an excellent story and a reminder that hardship can exist both in the lives of soldiers and in the lives of those left behind with no pensions and little assistance.
"The Proof Is In The Pudding" by Barbara Metzger is the fourth story in this book (Balogh's "Wassail Bowl" is the final story) and this one was a little bit of a disappointment. There was nothing wrong with it as such and it was written in an enjoyable and light style, it just didn't feel very realistic. Johna Ogden is a widow and unfortunately her husband was a gambler and all round dodgy character so she and her unmarried sister Phillipa aren't socially acceptable. She persuades the Viscount Selcrest to ask his mother to launch them into the ton, which she does, but Johna continually puts their new social position at stake with her erratic behaviour. There's a rather farcical battle with a dodgy French chef and most of the action takes place way before Christmas so the Christmas theme is a tiny part of the story for the final couple of scenes. The Viscount is an attractive hero, although possibly too good to be true, and his interest in Johna appears mainly to be because he lusts after her as she's such a liability, but it's a pleasant enough read, if not up to the standard of "The Gingerbread Man," "The Christmas Goose" or "The Wassail Bowl."
"Sophie's Syllabub" is the second story in this anthology and unfortunately it doesn't live up to the standards of the other stories. Not in terms of writing style as it's an easy read with reasonable historical detail. The big problem is the central premise of the book, that a married couple who have been estranged for a year patch up their differences when meeting accidentally in Brussels and travelling back to England together. Sophie Greenwood is working as a governess in Brussels when she bumps into Captain Owen Lassiter, her husband, again. Two months after their wedding he had an affair with Serena Hetherington, a neighbour, and after that night Sophie left him and refused to have anything to do with him. Owen wants to win Sophie back and so the story shows his efforts as they travel together back to Canterbury. Unfortunately for this reader his arguments didn't seem entirely to work - he explained to Sophie that sex doesn't mean much to a male, that she's got to trust him and that he now knows how much he hurt her. Rather amazingly Sophie eventually falls for this and says she can trust him so they can live happily ever after. Although Owen is clearly a handsome man and persistant too he didn't come across as very trustworthy and he seems to blame Sophie for overreacting to his infidelity. This didn't make either hero or heroine attractive to me and is sharply contrasted by Mary Balogh's story which also contains infidelity but is written in so much more of a believable and understandable manner and the forgiveness of the parties in that makes sense whereas it doesn't in this story.
In summary this book contains three excellent stories, one very good one and one rather disappointing one. However that's not a bad score for an anthology which can often have one good story and three disappointing ones so I award this book five stars even despite the disappointment of "Sophie's Syllabub." And of course the entire book is worth finding just for "The Wassail Bowl," a story to be read and savoured over and over again.
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2: almost perfect anthology for regency fans...
I had to laugh at the review trashing this book. I get the impression that person doesn't read regencies (I also find it interesting that this is the only thing she's reviewed).
I do agree with her on one point. The second story, SOPHIE'S SYLLABUB by Sandra Heath (normally a good writer) is horrible-I could not even finish it. But that's the great thing about anthologies-if you don't like that story, skip ahead to the next one.
I thought the other four stories were absolutely wonderful, and if for no other reason, read the book for Mary Balough's story! I've never had a story that moved me to tears like that one. Most of the book is about second chances as well as finding love in the most unlikely places. It's was enjoyable to read about the different Christmas traditions back then as well.
One of the better romance anthologies I've read. If you love regencies, I'd highly recommend this book.
4.5 stars!
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3: ohmygod!!!
This book is pathetic!!! Do not listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. The first story dedicated 3/4 to a**kissing, namely the female doing the kissing. I skipped pages where she droned on and on about how wonderful, how perfect he was blah blah blah!!!! Give me a break! The second story started off better. You were introduced to a strong female character who became a duchess's companion to see the world. Then we meet a dashing captain on shore leave. But what a surprise, they're married! The problem is they haven't seen each other for a year because 2, that's right, 2 months after they got married he cheated on her with a snivilling snot of a woman that his little wife detested. So hence, the story continues until we reach the conclusion, which is, by the way, the icing on the cake. He gets offended because he can't understand why she can't understand that making love is "different" for men. That they don't have to be in love and that the woman he left his marriage bed for didn't mean anything to him. Now I know what you're thinking, let's burn it now!! But wait there's more. The "strong" female ends up realising that her a*s of a husband was right and that she was in the wrong for being so angry. Therefore the last page is devoted to her begging him for forgiveness!!!! I was too traumatised to read the other stories.
But perhaps I'm being too harsh, there was some enjoyment. I mean, it was so gratifying throwing that pathetic excuse of a book across the room!!
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4: A true gourmet's delight . . .
The minute you see this volume anywhere, buy it. (Unless, of course, it's a library book. In that case, just borrow it for a while.) Take it home, and after an aggravating day, pick it up and read THE PROOF OF THE PUDDING by Barbara Metzger. I guarantee you'll laugh out loud as you read about the ingenious young widow who tries to find a husband for her sister--only to win one for herself, instead.On the other hand, if you're already too buoyant, and want to shed a few tears, Patricia Rice will oblige with THE CHRISTMAS GOOSE. Men go off to war seldom considering the woman they leave behind, and if you mix in a curmudgeonly father who ignores his now-widowed daughter, you have the ingredients for a real tear-prompting tale. If you've ever all-of-a-sudden come to realize something that had been lurking in the recesses of your mind, you'll identify immediately with the young duke in Edith Layton's THE GINGERBREAD MAN. Awakened every morning by a scented memory, he discovers his heart's desire practically under his nose. You'll feel wonderful all day after this delight. Have you ever wondered what on earth was a Syllabub? Wonder no more. In this instance, it, too, is a memory-maker as Sandra Heath whips up the tangled remnants of a marriage into a new concoction, and straightens them out to everyone's satisfaction in SOPHIE'S SYLLABUB. And finally, Mary Balogh utilizes THE WASSAIL BOWL as a receptacle for love, hope and still more tears--all the things you need, in order to have a wonderful Holiday. Be sure to have a good one--and don't blame the reviewer for the calories you'll find in this delicious book--along with a related recipe from each author.
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