"Delightful Telling of An Old Fairy Tale"
Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairy tale
and with a title like DeBUTY & THE BEAST, who could
resist? I am glad that I brought this one home and read it
right away, as it was completely delightful. In a nice switch from the fairy tale, the character known
as The Beast of Rose Hill is a woman! Anya Sedley was lost
at sea as a small child and raised on an island
by 'savages' and pirates.. In addition, at age 15 she
became a 'love goddess' and then concubine to the Island's
King. She can also curse in about 7 languages. The story is
set in Victorian North Carolina where Anya has recently
been returned to her family. As the book opens, Anya has
run off every companion, tutor and maid that her
Grandmother has hired to teach her to be a proper lady. In desperation, the very wealthy Elizabeth Sedley turns to
Julian DeButy (yep it is pronounced DuhBeauty) a gentleman
who is gorgeous, but also a real prig. Julian is a Doctor
who has not practiced because he feels inadequate to care
for patients. His lifelong dream is to become an
anthropologist traveling the world and recording facts
about tribes and strange customs, without gettng involved
with them. Elizabeth offers Julian a deal: marry her granddaughter and
make Anya a lady by her 21st birthday, which is in 4
months. If he is successful, Elizabeth will fund his
travels and he will leave Anya behind. Julian agrees with one proviso, he must meet Anya and tell
her the truth about the deal. One quickly realizes that
there is more to Julian then his priggish outward
appearance and moralizing speech. Julian is not too sure about what he has agreed to when he
gets his first glimpse of Anya, who appears half naked with
her long red hair covering her breasts, a scarf half
covering her lower limbs and as much jewelry as she could
bedeck herself with. Anya takes one look at Julian and decides she wants him.
She is sure she can seduce him, as she knows all the tricks
of seduction. But, Julian patiently explains that he is
celibate and intends to stay that way. Since Anya tells him
that she cannot have children, he tells her that there is
no reason for them to have sex. He promises to give her
all kinds of religious and medical tracts that will show
her how much better a celibate life is. Anya does not
think so and is sure she can make this man want her and
then control him. What follows is a nice retelling of Taming of the Shrew,
with a much nicer hero. The real plus here is that Julian
experiences real emotional growth too, in short 'the beast'
is not the only one who changes. Julian finds himself drawn to Anya's openness and spirit.
Their verbal sparring is delightful and often had me
laughing out loud. At the beginning Anya is like a
petulant child, but it is because she feels that she does
not belong anywhere and striking out is her only defense.
As Julian reaches her on an emotional and intellectual
level she becomes very likable. A kidnapping, the arrival of the Island King, his Queen
Mother and their half-dressed entourage who mix with the
North Carolinians with surprising results made the end of
this book lots of fun. Ultimately though, a 'Beauty and the Beast' story rises or
falls on the chemistry of the hero and heroine and these
two make this story a fun retelling of the old classic.
Reviewed by Linda Hurst
Posted April 22, 2002
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