Review: Wonderful Tales of an American Family with Roots in France
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2012
Wright presents a compelling family saga that takes place during an interesting time in American history (from the Revolutionary War to the War of 1812 and beyond). I liked her attention to historical detail and her incorporation of real historical figures (like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and many others). She brings the period after the Revolutionary War to life. Many of the scenes are on the ships of the era and that adds to a rich background. Some of them take place in America and some in France and London. The dialog is good and the characters (especially the heroes) well drawn and enticing. I recommend them though I read them in chronological order with the Raveneau series (see list below).CAROLINE:Cynthia Wright launched her career in 1977 with the publication of CAROLINE. First in the Beauvisage series, this one is set in 1783, just after the Revolutionary War. It's a good story and a worthy beginning to the series. Alexandre ("Sacha") Beauvisage is returning from the war (where he has been a spy and a privateer) when he discovers a young woman in the Connecticut woods dressed as a boy. She had fallen off her horse and has no memory of her past so she takes the name Caroline. It seems quite clear she is an innocent (she giggles). Alec, a womanizer, intends to take the beautiful young woman to his home in Philadelphia. On the way, he takes her innocence then tells her to "forget it happened," assuring her she'll find a nice young man who will never know.I liked Wright's attention to historical detail and her incorporation of real historical figures in American history (like George Washington and many others). She brought the period after the Revolutionary War to life. There were some negatives, including some improbable coincidences. As to characters, Caroline at first seemed weak but suddenly developed a spine, which change seemed a little abrupt. I also thought it a bit odd that it was more than half way through the story before Caroline recalled any memory from her past.TOUCH THE SUN:Second in the series, it is set in 1789, on the eve of the first American Presidential inauguration. Sea Captain Lion Hampshire desires to enter politics but his reputation as a rake is hurting him, so with the advice of his friend, Benjamin Franklin, he agrees to an arranged marriage with Virginia-bred Priscilla Wade. He knows his fiancée is shallow and whiny but he doesn't care; he wants her for her bloodlines and her Virginia origin. But he finds her headstrong lady's maid, Meagan, enchanting. Meagan is the daughter of a wealthy Virginia planter but with her parents dead in a shipwreck and her estate sold for debts, she must live with a spinster aunt in Boston...or, she can pose as Priscilla's maid. Lion finds himself wildly attracted to the maid Meagan but only wants her as a mistress as he must have a well-bred female for his wife.The plot is much like CAROLINE: Revolutionary War hero is a cad who doesn't believe in love and keeps mistresses; heroine meets him while in disguise; hero takes heroine's innocence; heroine "risks everything" to gain hero's love; cad realizes he loves heroine and learns her true identity. Mind you, it was still a good story with an interesting historical setting (with lots of American history and perhaps too much description of the furniture of the time period), well-written dialog, good character development and a winning ending.SPRING FIRES:This is the story of Nicholai Beauvisage, younger brother to Alexandre (both of whom we met in CAROLINE). Set in 1793, Nicholai returns to America from his family's estate in France after escaping death during the French Revolution. He lost a woman he loved in the chaos that was the Revolution and now is looking to get back into Philadelphia life with his family. Beautiful and independent, Lisette Hahn, an Austrian immigrant, runs the Hahn CoffeeHouse in Philadelphia, the new capitol.Wright can tell a good story and this is no exception, but it did have some improbable plot developments that seemed contrived and tempted me to give this installment 3 stars. The story begins in Philadelphia but ends up in London as Nicholai goes in search of his lost love. Nicholai is charming but at times Lisette seemed to make unwise decisions and was even a shrew for a brief period. The story's ok and if you're reading the series you probably won't want to skip this one but frankly it's not the best of the lot.NATALYA:This does a nice job of tying together the loose threads of everyone's lives. By the time we get to NATALYA, it's 1814 and Lisette and Nicholai (from SPRING FIRES) have aged 20 years and are living in France in the Loire Valley. Napoleon is rumored to be near the end of his reign and America is at war with England (the War of 1812). Nicholai's niece, Natalya (daughter of Alec and Caro from CAROLINE), who is a budding novelist, has been living with them for 6 years and wants to go home to Philadelphia, but the war is keeping her in France. Then one night, during a storm, a dangerous looking man arrives at their door while Nicholai is away. The man is Grey St. James, a British nobleman, an officer in the Royal Navy and on the run from Napoleon's henchmen. Though Natalya dislikes him, she agrees to his plan to get them both to England with Natalya posing as his wife.This story takes you from France to England and then to America as Grey seeks to return Natalya to her home as he promised Nicholai. When he discovers his treacherous wife (yes, he is married) is also in Philadelphia and has stolen the family jewels, he has another reason to be there. It's a worthy story and will entertain you though I did note a few improbable scenarios that may bother some readers. If you can suspend belief, I can recommend it.If you like reading a series in time order, as I do, here are the books in Wright's intertwined Raveneau and Beauvisage series in chronological order:1780 - SILVER STORM (the best of the lot and a superb story; I gave it 5 stars)1783 - CAROLINE1789 - TOUCH THE SUN1793 - SPRING FIRES1814 - SURRENDER THE STARS1814 - NATALYA1818 - SILVER SEA (originally BARBADOS)1903 - TEMPEST (to be released in 2012)