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Title: Isabelle and Alexander
(Proper Romance Victorian)
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Author: Rebecca Anderson
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Genre: Historical Fiction, Inspirational
Fiction, Victorian Romance
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Publisher: Shadow
Mountain Publishing (May 4, 2021)
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Format: Trade
paperback, eBook, & audiobook (368) pages
·
Tour
Dates: May 3-16.
2021
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Isabelle Rackham knows she will not marry for love. Though
arranged marriages have fallen out of fashion, hers has been settled for some
time to combine the upper-middle-class wealth of her father's coal mines with
Alexander Osgood's prospering Northern country textile mills. Though not a man
prone to romantic gestures, Alexander is well-known as an eligible bachelor.
His good looks have turned more than one head, so Isabelle is content to think
of herself as Alexander's wife.
However, her marriage is not what she expected. Northern England is nothing
like her home farther west in the lake country. Cold, dreary, and dark, the
soot from the textile mills creates a gray hue that seems to cling to
everything in the city of Manchester. Alexander is distant and aloof,
preferring to spend his time at the mill rather than with her at home. Their
few conversations are brief, polite, and lacking any emotion, leaving Isabelle
lonely and desperately homesick.
Sensing his wife's unhappiness, Alexander suggests a trip to his country
estate. Isabelle hopes this will be an opportunity to get to know her new
husband without the distractions of his business. But the change of scenery
doesn't bring them any closer. While riding together on horses, Alexander is
thrown from his and becomes paralyzed. Tragedy or destiny? The help and care
that Alexander now needs is Isabelle's opportunity to forge a connection and
create a deep and romantic love where nothing else could.
Isabelle and Alexander by Rebecca Anderson was quite the unique historical fiction read that had such a great concept and intriguing story line that I really enjoyed reading about. This was fantastic!
Isabelle Rackham's life had been planned long ago when her father decided to join upper middle class forces, and combine the wealth of their coal mines in the south, with Alexander Osgood's textile mills of the north. Through an arranged marriage, Isabelle's life in Manchester was certainly not what she had dreamed of. Alexander trying to make amends and forge a better relationship with his wife plans an escape to the country. As fate would have it, their lives takes a turn when Alexander fell of his horse and suffers a spinal cord injury leaving him disabled.
As I read the book, the story just kept getting better and better. I loved how much research went through in the medical world of the Victorian era and how injuries like this were handled then. It was amazing to read about it as a nurse myself. I followed closely what happened to our beloved Christopher Reeve, and to think with all the modern day advancement, there were still a lot to learn about spinal cord injuries.
I have not read anything like this in the historical fiction books, and this was a great change of pace and topic, where the love developed after the marriage and after such a tragic accident. The story arc was well written and beautifully told. I highly recommend this book.
ADVANCE
PRAISE
·
"Anderson’s first foray into historical romance is an
atypical, yet satisfying story set in Victorian Manchester’s upper middle
class. Hand this to readers looking for a book that navigates the peaks and
valleys of two strangers attempting to make a life together despite the
hardships life throws at them."— Library Journal
·
"Isabelle transitions from an unaware, leisure-class woman to
a more enlightened spouse and supporter of the working class. Intimacy and
romance develop between Isabelle and Alexander because of simple gestures, like
a long look or a thoughtful gift, and their conversations. Their slow, stately
courting is reader appropriate for any age or audience. Manchester also gets
its due as a place of grit and incredible production. Descriptions of bustling
mills reveal their impact on the couple’s family and its fortunes. Isabelle
and Alexander is an intimate and touching romance novel that focuses on
women’s lives in the business class of industrial England."— Foreword
Reviews
·
"Isabelle must use her quiet spunk, busy mind, and
compassionate spirit to woo her husband in a wholly new way. Anderson's debut
is a lovely northern England Victorian romance about confronting the seemingly
impossible and the power of empathy. Anderson also addresses the time period’s
treatment of physical and intellectual disabilities. Most of all, she
beautifully depicts love in its many forms beyond romance, such as compassion,
patience, and vulnerability; and her characters illustrate the ways that these
expressions of love carry us through even the darkest hours. Isabelle’s loving
and persevering fervor and devotion will resonate with any caregiver’s
heart."— Booklist
AUTHOR BIO
Rebecca
Anderson is the nom de plume of contemporary romance novelist Becca Wilhite,
author of Wedding Belles: A Novel in Four Parts, Check Me Out,
and My Ridiculous Romantic Obsessions. Isabelle and Alexander is
her debut historical romance novel.
High
school English teacher by day, writer by night (or very early morning), she
loves hiking, Broadway shows, food, books, and movies. She is happily married
and a mom to four above-average kids.
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