Reviewer: Robyn Roberts
Title: Lady Elinor’s Escape
Author: Linda McLaughlin
Publisher: Amber Quill Press
ISBN: 1-59279-856-X (Trade Paperback)
1-59279-198-0 (Electronic Version)
Release Date: March 2004
Genre/Sub-genre: Historical
Year/Setting: 1812, London
Overall rating: 4.25
Sexual content rating: Subtle
Linda's Website:
www.lindamclaughlin.com
Lady Elinor Ashworth, the only child of the Earl of Ashworth, is a virtual prisoner at her Aunt Sarah’s home. After the death of Elinor’s mother, her governess wished to marry so Sarah became the guardian to Elinor since Elinor’s father (the Earl) was in Lisbon on assignment from the Foreign Office. After Sarah’s husband tragically dies, Sarah is never quite right in the head again. She becomes increasingly volatile and increasingly physical towards Elinor. After threatening Elinor with a pistol and blacking her eye, Elinor decides she must escape.
After managing to escape Aunt Sarah’s house and walking to the nearest town, Elinor is dismayed to find out the mail coach she is counting on for passage to London does not actually stop in that town. Desperate to escape, she takes passage in a private coach with Stephen Chaplin and fabricates a story about why she’s leaving and not revealing her true identity. Once she arrives in London, she begins posing as a seamstress. Mr. Chaplin is a man who brings home strays. He brought home animals as a child and women as an adult. He can’t leave the mysterious Ellie Brown (Lady Elinor) alone and continues to try to discover her identity.
I would say that Stephen is not your "typical" hero in a romance. He’s not the "Alpha-male" that is touted so often in books. However, I found him to be more likeable because of this. He’s so incredibly human that I see much of my own husband in him. I found him to be kind and gentle, the kind of man who would take a woman shopping for hours looking for the perfect red blouse and not complain when she ends up back at the first shop buying the first blouse he showed to her.
Ms. McLaughlin creates an authentic look at life in the middle/lower class of 1812 London. I sped through the book in no time at all. It’s not a compelling page turner; yet, it holds such an appeal on a basic human level that I wanted to keep reading without stopping. I really could feel the emotions that Ellie was going through and understand why she made choices that were not the best in the long run. I found myself cheering for both Stephen and Ellie and hoping they would find the way to each other and to happiness.
I really enjoyed this book and it’s subtle look at the affects of domestic violence. It was great to see the underdog befriended and I am looking forward to many more books from Ms. McLaughlin.
Robyn
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