Narrated by Rosalyn Landor

It’s been a treat, over the last few months, to see some of Mary Balogh’s older titles finally making it into audio format. I have noticed a number of them (including this one, and its sequel, Silent Melody) coming back into print and being made available digitally, so I’m hoping that the audiobooks will follow – and will add my voice to those longing for re-issues of Ms Balogh’s Simply series (also narrated by Rosalyn Landor) and for recordings of her Bedwyn books.

Heartless was originally published in 1995 and is set in the late Georgian era. Its hero, Lucas Kendrick, left England a decade earlier following a heart-breaking betrayal and its terrible aftermath, and has since made a life for himself in Paris. Ten years later, Luke is a trendsetter, a man of fashion and influence, deadly with both blade and pistol and much sought after by the ladies, but with a reputation for being cold and unemotional. He’s totally heartless according to Parisian society, and that’s exactly how he likes it. That way, no woman will expect more from him than he is able to give, because his emotions died a decade ago, along with the bookish, mild-tempered and optimistic boy he had been.

The unexpected death of his brother some two years earlier saw Luke accede to the title of Duke of Harndon, but he had no interest in returning home to manage his estates. However, his uncle, the one person in his family who did not cut all ties with him when he fled to France, has now persuaded him to come home. Luke knows it’s up to him to secure the future of the dukedom, but has no interest in the commitment required for marriage, fearing the vulnerability that comes with love. Yet Luke’s innate sense of responsibility – to his title and his family – won’t allow him to shirk this particular duty, and when he meets Lady Anna Marlowe, daughter of the late Earl of Royce, he finds himself smitten by her zest for life, her open, sunny nature and sense of humour. Before long, Luke is courting Anna in earnest and soon proposes marriage.

Anna Marlowe is twenty-five and practically on the shelf, having spent much of her youth nursing her sick mother, and after the countess’ death, her father, who died a year previously. With the new earl – her younger brother – still at University, it fell to Anna to look after her sisters and the Royce estates as well as she could. Now her brother has assumed the reins of the earldom and is about to be married, Anna can at last make an appearance in London society, which she is doing more in hopes of getting her sister Agnes settled than of making a match herself.

Like most of the other ladies in society, Anna is captivated by Lucas Kendrick’s good looks and air of sophistication. He might dress in the height of Parisian fashion, powder his hair and make use of cosmetics, but he’s still the most gorgeous, masculine man she’s ever seen, a veritable Prince Charming in the flesh.  When Luke begins to pay marked attention to her, Anna is both overjoyed and miserable; marriage is a course no longer open to her and she most certainly can’t afford to fall in love, but when Luke promises to provide for her sisters and makes clear his desire for her, she cannot find it in her to turn down his proposal.

I admit, when it became apparent quite early on that Anna had A Big Secret, my heart sank. I’m not a fan of the Big Misunderstanding in romance novels, and I expected several hours of frustration, pulling at my hair and wailing “just TALK to each other you bloody idiots!”. But this is Mary Balogh, after all, so I ploughed ahead and can report that while the Big Secret is there in the background a lot of the time, most of the story is actually devoted to Luke’s evolution from someone who had thought love was now beyond him into a devoted husband and father, and to the way he rebuilds his fractured relationships with his family. That particular aspect of the story is very well done and feels quite realistic, as Luke makes mistakes and finds himself in danger of alienating his siblings. We hear him learning to do better (with the help of his wife) and gradually establishing a closeness with them that he had not previously enjoyed.

The relationship between Luke and Anna is also very well developed, in spite of the initial strain placed upon it by the secret that Anna can’t bring herself to divulge. They enjoy a passionate sex life and get on well out of bed, too, but they know they lack an essential closeness and atmosphere of trust, and that without it, their life together can never be anything but superficial.

The dénouement to the story is perhaps a little inclined towards melodrama, but by that time, I was so ready for all to be brought into the open, that I didn’t really mind the method chosen.

Rosalyn Landor seems to have become the go-to narrator for Mary Balogh’s books, as she is narrating both her current Survivor’s Club Series as well as these recently issued backlist titles; and as anyone who knows me will know, I’m a big fan of hers, so you’re going to hear no complaints from me! She brings her customary skill to all aspects of her performance; all the characters are effectively delineated according to sex, age and station, and the narrative is perfectly paced and hits all the right emotional notes.  Her portrayal of Luke is especially good, her measured delivery perfectly conveying his famous sang-froid, his dry wit and allowing us to hear the love for his family he protests he is not capable of in his voice. There is never any doubt, in the scenes between Luke and his brother, as to which of the two is speaking, and the same is true of those which feature Anna and other female members of the cast. She gives Henrietta – Luke’s sister-in-law and former love – a slightly breathy, artificially bright tone which immediately points to the woman’s duplicity, and the villain of the piece sounds every bit as smarmy, dangerous and unpleasant as he is written.

I always enjoy listening to Rosalyn Landor, and was delighted that my initial reservations about the direction of the story proved unfounded. All in all, Heartless turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that more of Ms Balogh’s backlist makes it to audio.

Here are other Mary Balogh reviews at AudioGals.

Caz

Narration: A

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in

Violence: Mild – small (not graphic) description of a sexual assault

Genre: Historical Romance

Publisher: Recorded Books