"Ghost Story with a Pygmalion Theme"

In Tudor times, a romance ended tragically, and now the ghost of the young man supposedly haunts Fallingate. The current inhabitant, Caroline Wainwright, finds herself in a dilemma. If she doesn't marry before her 25th birthday, she will lose her home and income to her pompous brother and his overbearing and social climbing wife. The problem is that Lord Hamilton's ghost keeps chasing away all her suitors! Doctor Theodore Cavendish, physician, explorer and family friend, decides to find her a husband -- at the local jail. He selects one Lucas Davin, imprisoned for horse theft and the best housebreaker in Seven Dials. He convinced Luc that he wants to play Pygmalion and pass him off as a gentleman to win a bet, then gets him drunk and places him in Caroline's bed. Luc agrees to marry her to save her reputation and her home, then leave forever.  First he has to pass muster with her brother, so the Pygmalion experiment is underway in earnest. The trouble is, Caroline the hopeful romantic, and Luc, the burglar with a heart of gold, insist on falling in love with each other. 

The paranormal elements in this novel are minimal -- whether the ghost is real or a figment of everyone's imagination is up to the reader to decide. It is a frothy romp with engaging characters and lots of humor. Caroline is an engaging heroine, a bit naive but warm and sweet- natured -- a 19th century version of Joanie in Romancing the Stone. And Luc, for all his rough edges, is a gentleman at heart, with a soft spot for orphans and ladies in distress. The supporting cast are fun, too. The dialogue is amusing, the Pygmalion theme well handled (I like Caroline and Theodore much better than Henry Higgins and whoever), and the sex is sweet and steamy at the same time. There are not a lot of surprises here, but I don't think we read this sort of story for the plot twists anyway. I'll definitely look for other books by this author and I'll likely keep it.

Gil / September, 2000
Copyright © 2000 for PNR Reviews

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Posted November 10, 2001