The Viscount's Bawdy Bargain
Grade : C+

Connie Lane's return to historical romance (she wrote them under the name Constance Laux) is a pretty surprising book. As I read, I tried to figure out why. Most of the elements are pretty tried and true and there isn't a whole heck of a lot that happens. Still it caught me off guard a few times by zigging when I thought it would zag and zagging when I thought it would... you get the picture.

The "bawdy bargain" of the title involves Nicholas Pryce, Viscount Somerton, and a group of his friends known as the Dashers. Their goal is to top the members of another group of aristocrats called the Blades, who issued a challenge to meet and present something "so singular and extraordinary as to astound and amaze us." In a drunken moment Nick suggests they kidnap a virgin and trump the Blades. And he knows just the woman for the task.

The virgin in question is Wilhelmina Culpepper, the oldest daughter of a fire and brimstone missionary. When Wilhelmina is abducted and presented as the Dasher's "singular and extraordinary" find, she's more then a little angry with Nick but decides to put her abduction to good use. Once he falls into a drunken stupor, she camps out in his house until morning. Her hope is to be thoroughly compromised so that she will be seen as unfit by the cruel and humorless man her father has picked for her bridegroom.

Her plan doesn't go exactly as she hopes. Instead of casting her out, her father is instead intent on extorting money from Nick and then will still force Willie to marry the Reverend Smithe. Though Nick knows he's anything but hero material, he can't allow Wilhelmina to be sold. And since this is a romance, he takes her back to his home but is then at a loss. What is he to do with her? Since most of his staff quit because of Nick's supposed misbehavior with Wilhelmina, Willie decides the solution to both their problems is for her to become his housekeeper. One of her primary duties will be to help Nick find a respectable and wealthy wife to repair his fortunes.

If you're thinking that all of this is a bit far-fetched and silly, you'd be right. If that isn't enough to convince you, then consider the fact that Willie hires a group of former thieves and prostitutes as household help. And though she is only Nick's housekeeper, she manages to know everything there is to know about prospective wealthy, potential brides for Nick. Not only does she know about them, she is able to arrange dinner parties and invite all the right people so that Nick can meet and greet them. And no one ever thinks it strange that Nick has a single, young woman acting as his housekeeper/hostess!

And yet I managed to have some affection for this couple. I once read that every character in a book must be, in some way, larger then life. Much like news anchors have to use more energy when they're on screen so as not to come across as flat, fictional characters must have an extra something to leap off the page. Nick and Willie don't. But to quote Stuart Smalley, "that's okay." I liked that Nick wasn't some superstud rake and that his friends were really just a bunch of sometimes immature, sometimes drunk, young men. I liked that Nick's arch rival was neither super evil nor super charming (although I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a book of his own). And I liked that Willie, even if she did make some pretty odd choices, was able to make something of Nick by her very unflappableness. Individually, neither of these characters is truly hero/heroine material, but as a couple they manage to almost achieve that extra something needed to get beyond the page.

Though The Viscount's Bawdy Bargain is rather preposterous and silly, Nick and Willie sneakily gained some measure of affection from this reviewer. The book drags a bit as Nick meets and rejects several bridal choices, but every so often it's nice to read a book with characters who are "okay" rather than larger than life. I'll leave it to you to decide.

Reviewed by Jane Jorgenson
Grade : C+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : July 7, 2003

Publication Date: 2003

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Jane Jorgenson

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