"a wonderful Victorian historical"

Simon Belleview grew up in poverty in London. He witnessed his sister's rape, a crime from which she has never recovered. Simon is half-Jewish. His mother had been a Jewish maid in a wealthy household, and the only son of the house had married her, earning his family's disapproval. When Simon's father died the family lived in dire poverty until Simon's mother married a Jewish merchant, who then cared for the family and still cares for Simon's delicate sister. After years in India he returned to London a wealthy man.

Now Simon wants to run for Parliament in Victorian England, and must maintain a spotless reputation. So, when he rescues Christine Tremayne from the attic of a house of prostitution, he needs to situate her as quickly as possible, far away from himself. Instead, his sympathy for her plight makes him take her to his home, passing her off as his cousin. His attraction to Christine surprises him, and he sends her to his ex- mistress, who runs a school for middle-class girls, so that Christine can become a governess, with the manners necessary to fit into British society.

Christine had left her family's dairy farm to escape the law because she thought she had murdered her cruel and perverted cousin. She had placed her younger siblings in a safe environment and was looking for work in London. She was lured to the house of prostitution with the offer of a respectable job, and then imprisoned in the attic to break her spirit. When Simon rescues her after the raid on the house, she thinks of him as her dark angel. She is willing to do anything to improve herself in the dim hope that he might look her way, although she will not forget that her younger sister and brothers need her support to keep them safe.

Ms. Tarr has written an elegant, passionate novel, which captures the feel of the Victorian era with its strict rules of etiquette. She has also woven into the story the political climate of Benjamin Disraeli's government. Ms. Tarr obviously understands the currents of Victorian England, for the feel of 1867 British society is wound effortlessly and painlessly into this story, transporting us to the setting without ever overwhelming us with unwanted historical detail.

I truly loved the characters. Simon is the strong, silent type. Because he carries the perceived responsibility for his sister's wounded spirit, he is also gentle and caring. He is a self-made man, and has incredible force of character, which makes it difficult for him to understand why he is balancing his future political career with concern for Christine. Christine is a wounded spirit like Simon's sister Rebecca, and this may be part of what attracts him to her, along with her innate strength, gentleness and kindness. I enjoyed Tempting immensely, and strongly recommend it.

Reviewed by Cynthia Meidinger
Posted July 30, 2002

Summary

"My Fair Lady" meets "Pretty Woman" in Hope Tarr's Tempting

Simon Belleville should have taken the poor prostitute straight to Newgate Gaol. As the head of Her Majesty's Morality and Vice Commission, he's supposed to be closing down brothels--not consorting with the "ladies" who work in them. But one glimpse of Christine Tremayne's sweet, innocent face, and he is enraptured. Instead of locking her up in a gaol cell, he enrolls her in finishing school--hoping against hope that he will be able to put her out of his mind. Now that he has a chance to win a seat in Parliament, the last thing he wants is a scandal. But the lovely Christine proves to be a woman unlike any other--charming and intelligent, deeply mysterious and deliciously witty. And Simon has never been so intrigued-- or so tempted...