The Tory Widow
Grade : C-

I really wanted to like The Tory Widow. It has a Revolutionary Period setting – one of my favorites – and an interesting conflict. It's set in New York City, primarily from 1775-1777. It was a dangerous time when political winds shifted back and forth and figuring out loyalty was a tricky business. The heroine is the daughter of a printer, who is sold into marriage to another wealthy printer who dies shortly thereafter. It sounds interesting – and probably would have been had I liked the characters.

Anne's unhappy marriage ceremony serves as a preamble. As Anne is completing her unhappy union, Jack Hampton, a young printer's apprentice runs into the church and announces that the Stamp Act has been repealed. In the joy of the moment, he kisses her, then runs out to continue spreading the news.

Anne never forgets that day, even though she loses her husband and then her only child. In 1775 she sees Jack again, tarring and feathering a loyalist. Anne is caught up in the crowd and aided by a young prostitute named Patsy who figures throughout the book. At this point, Anne runs her press on her own. Her husband was a loyalist, and though her own political inclinations are more toward the rebel side of things, she takes Tory printing jobs for the money. One night a drunken troop knocks on her door. Led by Jack, they have heard that she is printing loyalist documents (which is true). Although she hides her finer type and burns most of her pamphlets, they find an errant one and dismantle her press. She vows loyalty to the Patriot cause, and Jack vows to keep a close eye on her. She accordingly changes the name of her establishment to Liberty Coffeehouse, and reopens as a shop serving scones and coffee. Anne continues to be cool to Jack until one day when he saves her from being attacked by ruffians. After this point, their relationship steadily grows more serious.

At the same time, the situation with the colonial army is deteriorating, and New York City is taken by the British. Anne is forced to stay behind, and Jack leaves her with the following words: "Be a Tory, Anne."

And I was okay (or at least somewhat engaged) up to this point. Sure Anne's a little whiny. Sure, Jack is always commenting on people's arseholes (don't ask). But the book was setting up an interesting question: How do women decide their loyalties in a time of war? Anne's an independent woman; should she stay and protect her business while covertly serving the cause, or should she flee to safety?

Well, she stays, and pretends to be a Tory – but she's actually a spy. Since Jack's last words to her were advising her to do just that, you'd think he would approve. Instead, he assumes that she really is a Tory. He sneaks into her room, hurling accusations and epithets. After a sneering tirade in which he refers to Anne as a Tory cunt, he suddenly realizes she is pretending. In a blink of an eye, they are sleeping together for the first time. And that, right there, is when the book lost me. I don't know about you, but if a man called me any type of cunt, I would not sleep with him three minutes later. Especially if he only offered the most cursory apology.

It deteriorates further from there. Jack never regained my trust, and I couldn't like Anne because Anne liked him. I won't bore you with further examples of his immaturity; suffice it to say he wasn't worth Anne's love, no matter how great he was in bed.

Throughout The Tory Widow, at the beginning of nearly every chapter, Blevins quotes from Thomas Paine's Common Sense. It's a good choice, considering all of her characters would have read it and had an opinion on it. But as the book wore on, I couldn't help wondering why she was not also quoting from Paine's Crisis Papers, which were even more apropos. These were, after all, "the times that try men's souls." After I finished the book, I concluded that she either a) hadn't heard of them or b) was saving them for the chapter headings of her next book (it is very evident from the ending that a sequel is in the works). Despite my avid interest in the time period, the sequel is not a book I will be reading. These characters are simply not equal to either the interesting setting or the philosophical questions of this book.

Reviewed by Blythe Smith
Grade : C-

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : April 20, 2009

Publication Date: 2009

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Blythe Smith

I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
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