Weekly Reader: The Earl's Sinful Quest by Lisa Campbell; Dark and Mature Regency Romance Shows Love After Death

 

Weekly Reader: The Earl's Sinful Quest by Lisa Campbell; Dark and Mature Regency Romance Shows Love After Death

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: The Earl's Sinful Quest is among the darker more mature of the Regency Romances that I read this month. The female protagonist is in a different stage in her life from the other women. She isn't a young virginal woman in her late teens or early twenties awaiting her Season so she can catch a potential husband and first love. Lady Amelia Turner has already been through that. In fact, she is a widow and currently the Dowager Countess of Wilton. 

Her husband, Arthur, died a year after their marriage leaving Amelia a widow who is at the mercy of her in laws including her domineering sister in law, Leonora and younger brother in law, Malcolm who is forced to end his medical studies and assume the title of the Earl of Wilton.

Of course in the time honored tradition of any romance, Malcolm appears and he and Amelia hit it off, developing a friendship that evolves into a romance. 

This romance does a good job of pointing out many of the social standards of the time period.

Once Amelia and Malcolm's romance develops, they face public scrutiny. This is a society in which some believe that being involved with the widow of one's brother is technically considered incest (even though they are not related by blood.) It's a Biblical concept that is still believed in some cultures. Amelia and Malcolm's romance could be cause for scorn and scandal. Not to mention, Amelia could look like a gold digger being with two brothers from the same family. At the time, their relationship could be enough to end their reputation.

Because of the situation that she is in, Amelia is not as naive as many other female protagonists in her genre. She understands the ideal of marriages of convenience and to her credit had a good one. She married Arthur to get her family out of debt and to help his reputation. He was gay and needed a wife for appearances. Despite their marriage not being consummated, Amelia and Arthur were good friends and generally happy with their marriage. In Arthur, Amelia found a close friend and loyal supporter.

In Malcolm, Amelia finds not only a good friend but a lover. Malcolm fills the emotional needs that his late brother could not. Malcolm also recognizes that emotional need with Amelia. Even though he never married and is by definition less experienced than Ame!ia, he has been committed to his studies and pursuits of women. He 

is regarded as a family outsider. 

When he is welcomed by Amelia, he finally feels a connection to his family that he previously kept at arm's length. He finally feels accepted. Their love making is established late in the book as they slow!y recognize each other as friends before they become lovers.

This book also shows what happens when most of the scrutiny comes from within one's own family. Malcolm and Arthur's sister, Leonore is unmarried but uses her dominating personality to control things from behind the scenes. She thinks that she knows best regardless of their arguments to the contrary. She tries to arrange the engagement of Amelia and Malcolm to the Duke of Derby and his sister. She disregards their feelings in the matter.

Leonore has a marginal hold in society. As a wealthy unmarried woman, no one regards her. She is completely diminished, so all that she has is her limited role that she is determined to hold onto. It is very likely that she sees Amelia as a threat so is determined to marry her off in an attempt to get rid of her. Leonore is a woman who social climbing and maintaining a good reputation are everything to her because that's all she has. She is unable to fill the one role that society placed on her, to be a loyal, loving, and wealthy wife so she expects others to do so. Her determination flies into obsession and causes her to tdo some manipulative and abusive  things to hold onto that role.

The Earl's Sinful Quest is filled with darker themes and characters than your average Regency romance but it still retains the sweetness and attention to detail that surrounds other romances. Somehow, the darkness is what actually makes Amelia and Malcolm better lovers.