A Tangled Web of Seduction, Intrigue
Sarah Burke
Saturday, September 29, 2007
“The Scandal of the Season,” by Sophie Gee, Scribner 2007, $25.
Readers do not think that the title of this book is all that the novel reveals.
Set in London, “The Scandal of the Season” by Sophie Gee involves more than one scandal and also adds the mystery of secret plots against the queen, and a high feeling of hatred against all who are Roman Catholic. Set in the time of Jacobites and a radical change of the country to Protestant religion, the characters revealed in this book attend more than parties.
Our cast of characters begins with Alexander Pope. After a near-death illness, Alex has come to London to see his poems published, and to be lovesick for Teresa Blount. Though he has already garnered repute as a brilliant poet, his humped back and crumpled body have left him lacking confidence in all his abilities. Added to that, he is also Roman Catholic, and until he came to London was under the watchful eye of overprotective parents. The majority of the book is told from Alexander’s perspective.
The Blount sisters are from a country estate not far from Alex’s parents’ estate and they have known him most of their lives. Martha is the sensible one, who adores Alexander and his writing, but who must sit back and watch as he is neglected by her sister. Teresa is overly optimistic and overly shallow, and is ready to take London by storm and find a rich husband. Sadly for Teresa, the man who she sets her eye on, Lord Petre, is infatuated with her cousin Arabella, whose beauty is the talk of society. Arabella returns the infatuation for Petre, but his intentions are not all they seem to be and why does he keep sneaking off to meet with unsavory characters?
Many of the supporting characters are just as intriguing as the main characters and leave you wondering who is wearing a mask and who is about to take the fall?
When reading, it is never obvious who will be the scandal of the season and who will end up with a happy ending, if there is even such a dream for the characters of this book. Will they all live to see their happy endings or will the rise in anti-Catholic sentiment destroy them?
If you are interesting in learning more about new author, Sophie Gee, check out her official Web site, www.sophiegee.com.
- On the Shelf is written by staff and volunteers of the Emporia Public Library.
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