Review: Interesting
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 24, 2014
This book is a short story, written in installments, about Maria and the relationship she has with her husband, Richard.  The story, while interesting, is a bit flat.  There really isn't much character development and the only character that you get any kind of feel for is Maria.  Richard is a bit of enigma, though you can tell that he really loves Maria.Poor Maria is the daughter of a wealthy merchant whose social class undergoes a drastic change with her marriage Richard, a Duke.  Maria believes Richard married her for financial reasons....in other words to refill his coffers.  She holds herself to the impossible and, IMO, hypocritical standards of the so called ladies of the aristocracy.Maria is a lady, not by birth, but by training.  She feels inferior to other ladies due to her "low" birth, and seeks always to behave like the perfect lady.  This, unfortunately, leads to a lack of communication with her husband, resulting in one misunderstanding after another within the marriage.  Maria believes that Richard has a mistress, one Lady Hensley.  Richard is not very communicative, and so Maria suffers her misgivings in silence and alone.For his part, Richard is a tortured soul and does not believe he deserves Maria's love.  These two suffer along in their miserable marriage until, finally, Maria behaves less like a lady and things are resolved.  The book covers a period of about a year, and each installment (referred to as "Part") relates a specific incident in Maria and Richard's life throughout the year, in chronological order.  This story exemplifies the repercussions for failing to communicate within a marriage.I thought it was really sad the way Maria felt she needed to hold herself to a higher standard than the aristocratic ladies in order to compensate for her "inferior" origins.  These "ladies" that she sought to exemplify were often less than kind to Maria, many times making thinly veiled remarks in reference to her lower class birth, Richard's supposed indiscretions, and the like.  When she finally broke protocol, I cheered!  And thank God she did, because that is what ultimately lead to a resolution of the problems between herself and Richard.Overall, this is an OK read.  But, it's not one that would come to mind when recommending a book to a friend.