Book Review: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

Reviewed By: Cheryl - RAM

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation     Amazon US HC Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada HC
Lauren Willig
Class/Genre:   Romance   Mystery   Historical   Espionage

This story within a story is a charming Regency romp. The modern framing story is rather slight - why, exactly, was Colin so opposed to showing the family papers to Eloise, a perfectly respectable American graduate student? Nevertheless, the framing story is rather charming and amusing, nearly enough so to make me overlook the almost obligatory American slam at the French. Most of the book is set at a period when Napoleon's France was causing much fear and consternation in England, and modern American anti-French attitudes seem even more bizarre than they usually do when they are contrasted with those prevalent in the England of the Napoleonic era.

The Regency side of the novel follows in the grand tradition of the Scarlet Pimpernel, with swashbuckling heros playing clever tricks on the French authorities rescuing aristocrats from Madame Guillotine. It's all lots of good fun, with hilarious romantic misunderstandings as well as plenty of derring-do, showing the influence of the greatest Regency romance writer of all, Georgette Heyer.

I would highly recommend this book to any fan of Regency romances.

Cheryl - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM