Review: The Harlow Hoyden by Lynn Messina
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 28, 2014
Jane Austen’s arguable masterpiece, Emma, featured a heroine who danced to her own tune, managed people’s lives, and thought very highly of herself indeed. Most readers find Emma Woodhouse conceited, bossy, and rude, but I have always found her amusing. She lives life on her own terms and that is always admirable to me. Lynn Messina, a new-to-me author, has created another vexing Emma in her charming historical romance novel of manners, The Harlow Hoyden.Emma Harlow also reminds me of other independent-minded literary heroines: Sophy Stanton-Lacy from Georgette Heyer’s The Grand Sophy and Flora Poste in Stella Gibbons’ Cold Comfort Farm. Both of those stories were laugh out loud funny and feature a pushy, managing, yet thoroughly enchanting heroine who only sees things her way and fixes bad situations.This is a charming and refreshing story. From the very first scene, when Emma steals a unique and beautiful orchid from the Duke of Trent’s conservatory for her horticulturalist twin sister, Lavinia (Vinnie), her wit, impetuousness, and open and direct manner capture the attention of the Alex, the Duke of Trent. It also vexes him to no end.Emma doesn’t plan to marry so feels free to live her life as she chooses and, if it “keeps the serious suitors away," all the better. She’s delightfully different; instead of using the pull cord to summon servants, she hollers for them. Society shuns her and calls her "the Harlow Hoyden” after she raced her carriage wildly through the streets of London, breaking a gentleman’s record. Indeed, her view of marriage as a trap for women and a wonderful boon for men shocks Alex. Marriage without love is unfathomable to her so it is best to remain single. “'A man's life continues in the same vein, as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened, while a woman's is altered irrevocably. I'm not sure it's an advantage.'” (p34)Emma is in London with her sister, Lavinia (Vinnie) and sister-in-law, Sarah. Vinnie is newly betrothed to Sir Waldo Windbourne—Sir Windbag to Emma— a man Emma does not like or respect. He’s a pompous and long-winded politician with secrets of his own. Windbourne cannot tell Emma and Vinnie apart so he often says things to Emma that anger her, such as how he wants a submissive wife who takes care of hearth and home and gives up her study of horticulture.  Emma doesn’t think he deserves her sister and plans a wild scheme to break the engagement.Somehow, amazingly and hilariously, Emma manages to engage the services of Alex, when she convinces him to woo her sister away from Windbourne. At first, of course, he refuses but, undaunted, she announces she will just find another rake to do the deed. He then capitulates because, while he thinks her (and her plan) mad, he also fears for her safety in the company of other men and seeks to protect her from ruin. Emma also convinces Alex to help her break into Windbourne’s house but, when Emma suspects Windbourne of more sinister misdeeds, the story quickly turns into an almost dangerous adventure story.Vinnie figures things out especially when she notices that Emma is miserable and also that Alex only has eyes for Emma. It is interesting that the author also gives Vinnie’s point of view. Vinnie and Alex even form a friendship grounded in their mutual love of horticulture and of Emma.Alex is a typical aristocrat of the ton. He has had mistresses and gone on his world tour, but is now expected to marry and to continue the family line. He resists but finds himself drawn to Emma’s vibrant and unusual personality. Their love story is sweet and inevitable but love moments are few and far between; the real story is Emma’s grand plan and the title accurately reflects this focus.There is some seriousness to this otherwise lighthearted and sparkling novel. Emma’s brother, Roger, returns home gravely injured while in France. But it is offstage and does not take away from the overall breezy tone of the novel.Mention of makers of fine furnishings give a nice sense of time and place to the story as do rituals of tea, descriptions of food, and Emma’s disregard for propriety and the strict rules of society.Secondary characters are interesting and colorful: Philip, Alex’s young and green country cousin from Yorkshire; Sarah, Emma’s proper sister-in-law and chaperone; Pearson, Alex’s friend; Roger, Emma’s no-nonsense but mostly emotionally absent brother; and Emma’s friend and co-conspirator, Kate Kennington (with her almost too alliterative name).Unfortunately, there were several grammatical and spelling errors, typos, and missing articles in my reading copy that sometimes distracted, but I was so captivated by the story that I didn’t let it bother me overmuch.Memorable moments:“Having decided on a course of action and having been so thoroughly disappointed by the Duke of Trent, Emma decided that the best thing to do was to make up a list of eligible seducers.” (p39)”’You defend society’s constrictive rules against women while taking full advantage of your own freedom. How nice it must be to be a man.’” (p78)“Emma smiled, beginning to see the advantages of having a husband. No one in society cared what boring, old married ladies did, nor did they expect them to behave with the utmost propriety. Perhaps this was where true freedom lay.” (p219)If you enjoy unconventional and carefree heroines who take responsibility for their own lives and actions, then you will love this engaging story.*A modified version of this review first appeared on The Romantic Historical Reviews blog.