A Unique Book by a Gifted Author
This unique book is a winner; Carla Kelly steps to another level of writing with her understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder and its emotional components.
Before this story begins, James Trevenen has survived the wreck of the ship on which he was first mate, horrendous days adrift and 5 years of solitude on a deserted island. As a means of staying sane, he started to study a unique species of crab and wrote a treatise on his findings.
When rescued, James sailed back to England, resigned his commission in the Royal Navy and submitted his study to the Royal Society. The Society decided to award James with their award for the year and James is on his way to receive it.
Susannah Park is an outcast from society because she eloped with a young man and they moved to India. Soon, however, her husband was killed by cholera. Susannah was penniless and with child; she now lives quietly with her son Noah in her parents' home.
The Society promised to provide James with a place to stay in London and, through the machinations of Susannah's godfather, Susannah's family was chosen to host the survivor/scientist. Noah and Susannah are the only normal members of a family of eccentrics. The godfather suggests that James do something about the situation.
Taming the eccentrics is a light-hearted balance to the significant emotional suffering of James. The author shows James' truly awful experiences without turning maudlin. However, I was shocked by the blunt descriptions of James' time with the nymphomaniac. Although I don't read many Regency novels, I thought they described racy situations through innuendo rather than such candid narrative. Be prepared. 4.5 stars
