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Almost A Gentleman
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An ENE Review
of the enovel
Almost A Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal
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| Almost
A Gentleman, Pam Rosenthal's debut novel, is an evocative tale of
one woman's determination to rise above the tragedy that claims the lives
of her husband and son, and to exact her revenge on London's male elite;
the ton. |
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| Set
in Regency England, Almost
A Gentleman provides a striking contrast between the dangerous,
gas-lit streets of London; the gambling clubs, drinking dens, the molly
houses, and the golden, pastoral fields of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
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| Burdened
by the tragedy of her past; humiliated and abused by her boorish husband
and suffering the agony of losing her only child, the heroine; Lady Phoebe
Claringworth, decided she'd never be a woman again. |
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| Assuming
her daring, new identity as a dandy, Phoebe sows provocation, desire and
intrigue wherever she goes. Her infamy is the talk of London society, her
social power unparalleled. She makes powerful enemies with her acid wit
and prowess at the gaming tables, and finds unexpected love in the arms
of Lord David Hervey. |
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| The
richly layered and excellently written plot, twists and turns intriguingly,
combining the complexities of a whodunit, with sensuous eroticism of the
highest order. |
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| Phoebe
is an unforgettable figure. Her independence, financially, socially and
emotionally, and her determination to succeed amongst the male dominated
ton, mark her as a thoroughly modern heroine, despite the accurately portrayed
historical setting of Regency England. |
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| Lord
David Hervey, Earl of Linseley, is more straightforward. An upstanding man
who cares for his workers and fights passionately for the rights of the
farm workers whose lives are dependant on him. |
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| Together,
David and Phoebe determine to discover who's trying to kill Phoebe, growing
ever closer in the process, until the erotic tension between them becomes
almost unbearable. |
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| Pam
has that enviable ability to create well thought out, believable characters.
Characters the reader can identify with, and take pleasure from reading
about. Whether it be the vile Baron Bunbury, who derives his pleasure from
cruelly abusing the lads whom he pays for sex, or the refined, kind-hearted
Lady Kate Beverredge, friend and confident of Phoebe, who has her own quiet
tragedy to bear. |
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| The
reader gets the sense that not only does Pam know this era of history intimately,
she cares for her characters. She makes the reader care too. She writes
with a natural sense of passion, freshness, romance, and clarity. |
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| With
a free flowing style such as Pam's, the pages almost turn themselves as
the tension, erotic and otherwise, builds toward a climax that is as surprising
as it is ultimately rewarding. This book is wonderfully infectious. Un put-downable.
An absolute joy to read and comment upon . |
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ALMOST
A GENTLEMAN by Pam Rosenthal is available for purchase through
Amazon.com 
Four years of married misery end the day Phoebe's husband's causes
a carriage accident that kills not only him but also their young
son and unborn daughter. Phoebe then disappears, only to reemerge
disguised as a man, Philip "Phizz" Marston, an expert gambler who
rules the ton with his fashion opinions. When David Hervey, the
Earl of Linseley, arrives in London in search of a new wife, he
discovers, much to his surprise, that the only person he's attracted
to is Phizz Marston. Once David discovers Phizz's real identity,
it relieves him of the idea that he might be in love with another
man, but it does nothing to lessen the desire David now has for
Phoebe. With graceful writing and a poetic touch, debut romance
author Rosenthal (who will appeal to readers of Nicole Jordan and
Susan Johnson) skillfully integrates vividly detailed, sizzlingly
sensual love scenes into a captivating story that shifts between
deception, danger, and desire with spectacular results. John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
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Oil
tycoon, shipping magnate, thaumatologist and disinherited aristocrat,
G. Russell feeds his senses by indulging his passions in frivolous, casual
sexual encounters with anyone. He enjoys his precarious spare time breeding
homunculi, tiny creatures no more than four inches high and wholly subservient
to his will. He also writes late into the night and has been published
everywhere. With the exception of the novel, Mni pot chanting, light opera,
and fado. Well- read, erudite, suave, strikingly handsome, and much sought
after by discerning women with gargantuan sexual appetites. He is availiable
for discrete perversions, but remains happily married.
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All Text, Codes, Graphics © 2003 ENE. All
Rights Reserved.
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