Abducting Amyby June Calvinreviewed by Barbara R. HumeJune 2003, 234 pages, Publisher: Signet, ISBN: 0451209222 Back Cover Blurb: Can a young woman be too beautiful? Ammabel Armstrong might be excused for thinking so. First her greedy uncle expects to be paid well for granting her hand in marriage. Then she is abducted by a succession of disappointed young men who know they can never afford the most beautiful woman they've ever seen. In the meantime she has fallen in love with the Earl of Maxbridge, who makes obvious both his desire for her and his contempt of her fortune-hunting ways.
June Calvin is no slouch at writing Regencies; Abducting Amy is her tenth Regency romance. Her knowledge of the period certainly comes through in this story, which involves some of the restrictions women had to endure two centuries ago--and some of the behaviors men were able to get away with. But the author skillfully blends these details into an engrossing tale of a brave young woman who finds her way to happiness in spite of institutionalized injustices.
Abducting Amy is an apt title. As it turns out, several men attempt to abduct the heroine during the course of the novel. Why? Because she is extremely beautiful, the Incomparable of the Season, and therefore much desired by more than one man. Amy Armstrong finds her beauty a burden, for her cruel uncle uses it to his own advantage, planning to sell her to the highest bidder in order to recoup his own fortunes. Between her uncle's willingness to foist her off on any man, no matter how repugnant to her, who comes up with enough wherewithal, and the efforts of less well-heeled gentlemen to force her into marriage, Amy is beside herself. But her uncle has threatened harm to her mother if she marries against his wishes.
Ah, that's the rub, since the only man who appeals to her is the Earl of Maxbridge, whom her uncle hates with a passion. It seems that Maxbridge caused her uncle to be dismissed from service in the Peninsula for his tendency to flog his soldiers to death in the name of discipline. Further, Maxbridge, cynical after being shamefully used by a scheming female who only wanted his brother's wealth, assumes Amy to be a heartless fortune hunter. He therefore wants nothing to do with her. Or does he? While Amy must control her feelings and actions to avoid antagonizing the man who has her in his power, Maxbridge must allow his natural intelligence and compassion to conquer his learned tendencies toward cynicism and lack of trust.
This novel will definitely help you to appreciate the rights today's women enjoy. It will also give you an interesting hero and heroine who must learn to trust each other, and then work together to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion. And they employ some rather unusual strategies in order to do it! Abducting Amy is a pleasurable read for those who enjoy watching virtue triumph and evil go down in defeat.
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