Title: The Tory Widow
Author: Christine Blevins
Pages: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Copyright: 2009
Format: Paperback (ARC)
Rating: 
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Because I read and enjoyed Midwife of the Blue Ridge, Christine Blevins contacted me and offered me an ARC of The Tory Widow, her second book. Of course I jumped at the chance. The Tory Widow was released this week in the United States.
Anne Peabody is married off to Mr. Merrick, a man twice her age, by her greedy father. On her wedding day, a young printer named Jack Hampton impulsively kisses her, carried away by the revolutionary spirit inspired by the repeal of the Stamp Act. It’s her best memory of that otherwise dismal day. Jump forward ten years. It’s 1776. Anne is now a widow and working to make ends meet in New York with her loyal friends Sally, a Scottish indentured servant, and Titus, a free black man. She encounters Jack again, this time a more somber Son of Liberty. As the events of the Revolutionary War unfold, so does Anne and Jack’s romantic adventure.
The Tory Widow is a historical novel with a very healthy dose of romance. The plot is compelling. The writing is unobtrusive. And the research appears to me to be impeccable. And the characters! I really liked Anne, Jack, and the rest of the cast of characters. And yet, I just wasn’t as invested in their fates as I felt I should be. Also, there was a fair amount of bawdiness. The language, in particular, made me pause a couple of times. And, I know this is a romance, but sometimes it was hard to suspend disbelief that a widow in revolutionary times would be so . . . free with her virtue. If you know what I mean. All of that aside, though, this is a well researched, well-written, well-paced historical romance.
The Tory Widow, by Christine Blevins
Other Reviews:
Devourer of Books
Medieval Bookworm
Guest Post by Christine Blevins @ Devourer of Books
Buy The Tory Widow at Powell’s Books or Amazon.com
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I think I would enjoy the historical part but I’m not one to read much romance.
The bawdy part didn’t bother me too much – the first book I read this year, Blindspot by Jane Kamensky and Jill Lepore, more or less opened my eyes to how racy Revolutionary America could be, and as they’re both historians, I thought it was a little more credible. So that part of this book didn’t bother me; not all of the past was as uptight as the Victorians would have liked us to believe, especially regarding widows. =)
I can handle some bawdiness! bring it on – this looks fun.
This book sounds like fun. I’ve had Midwife of the Blue Ridge on my TBR list for awhile and just have not had a chance to get a copy of it yet. That one sounds really good too.
Kathy – I’m not usually a reader of romance, either, but I enjoyed this and Midwife of the Blue Ridge.
Meghan – I guess I forget that all people in the past were not prudes. :)
Care – Yeah, it wasn’t too bawdy. Though I have to say that I liked the bawdiness in Midwife of the Blue Ridge better.
Debbie – I would definitely recommend Midwife of the Blue Ridge. I hope you can find a copy of it.