Edith Layton
To Wed a Stranger (2003)
Author: Edith Layton
Genre: Romance (Historical Regency)
Plot Summary:
Lady Annabelle is one of London's most beautiful debutantes, but at the age of 27 she is still frustrated by love and is becoming the talk of the ton for her flirtatious ways. Annabelle's father tells her that a man she has never met, Miles Croft, Lord Pelham, has asked for her hand in marriage. Miles has just come into an inheritance, and is looking for a fashionable bride who can help his family regain the respect of society that his mother lost through a scandalous second marriage. Annabelle is aghast, but she agrees because she thinks she will otherwise never marry. Unfortunately, Annabelle has focused on her failure to get married for so long that she hasn't taken into account what is expected afterward the ceremony. After an awkward wedding night, Annabelle falls so severely ill with the flu that she loses her hair and her looks. It is then that Miles realizes exactly what he and Annabelle have done. No longer finding appeal through Annabelle's looks, Miles is horrified when he realizes that he is married to a stranger, and feels extremely guilty for taking Annabelle away from all she holds dear. Miles realizes that Annabelle needs love and care in order to recuperate, but since he doesn't know who she really is, he can't give Annabelle the assurance and safety she needs. Used to being a society beauty, Annabelle must figure out who she is as a human being before she can even try to find love for her new husband. Luckily, Annabelle has happened to marry a man who is willing to try to get to know his new wife in order to help her find confidence in herself. As they grow closer together a new problem emerges: since they have married for convenience, how do Miles and Annabelle confess their love for each other without leaving themselves open to rejection and scorn by the other? SPOILER: As Miles and Annabelle grow closer together, another problem emerges. Annabelle finds out that Miles' stepfather, long presumed dead, has come back to London and is threatening to ruin the family again by spreading vicious family secrets. Although she loves Miles, Annabelle doesn't feel she can confide in him since she doesn't think he returns her love. After it becomes obvious that Annabelle is keeping something from Miles, Miles confronts her odd behavior and the truth about the scandal and about Miles' and Annabelle's mutual attraction is revealed. Miles arranges to duel with his stepfather to solve the problem, and a number of supporters, including Annabelle, show up in his support. The stepfather is killed, and Miles and Annabelle can begin their life as a couple who married for love instead of for convenience.
Geographical Setting: London, England
Time Period: Regency (1811-1820)
Appeal Characteristics:
Characterization is the main appeal element used in To Wed a Stranger. The main premise of the novel is that Annabelle and Miles need to get to know each other if they have any hope of turning their marriage of convenience into a marriage of love and devotion, and the reader is taken along for this journey of discovery. Although much emphasis is put on the give and take of the physical side of a relationship, Layton tries to let the reader see the couple's growing attraction through thoughts and moments of kindness as well. This focus on thoughts and feelings keeps the pace relatively steady, although not slow, and gives Annabelle and Miles time to fall in love. However, the pace picks up extremely in the last hundred pages when the subplot of the stepfather and the duel are introduced. The overall tone of the book is careful and hesitant but joyful as Annabelle and Miles slowly fall in love, but Annabelle's sickness at the beginning and the introduction of the subplots at the end gives the end of the novel a darker tone than the rest of the novel has. The book is written in third person, although mostly from Annabelle's point of view, in an attempt to allow the reader to get to know how both Annabelle and Miles are falling in love with each other. There is a secondary romance for Miles' sister Camille, and two other subplots deal with the problems and lives of both Miles' and Annabelle's parents, but these subplots are used mostly to further the main plot of Miles and Annabelle falling in love. Although set in Regency period England, very little is made of this point. The more important point is overcoming the roadblocks caused when one marries for convenience instead of love, and it is highly possible that readers who liked this book will like another book on this theme set out of this time period.
Read-alikes: Siege of Hearts by June Calvin may be another Historical Regency that is an appealing choice to those who liked To Wed a Stranger. Although this novel focuses less on the physical aspect of the relationship (All About Romance gives the novel a sensuality rating of Subtle), both novels include heroines who are self-conscious about their plain appearance. The couples fall in love when both take the time to discover the true character of the person within. Those who liked the theme of an arranged marriage may like The Marriage Contract by Cathy Maxwell, which shares a sensuality rating with To Wed a Stranger of Warm. The heroine of The Marriage Contract seems to be a bit stronger and more willful than Annabelle, but both women are willing to go to great lengths to protect the one they love. The heroine in The Marriage Contract has to confront a war uprising in Scotland. The Temporary Wife by Mary Balogh (also rated Warm by All About Romance) is another Historical Regency novel based on the theme of a marriage of convenience. Here the heroine exhibits a strong character by deciding to marry in order to be able to support her struggling family. A Convenient Marriage by Georgette Heyer may also be an appealing Historical Regency. In this novel, both characters have flaws that make them feel they aren't marriageable. The heroine stutters, and the hero is older. Like Annabelle, they both have to resolve their feelings of inadequacy before they can find true love. Those who liked the fact that To Wed a Stranger is a Historical Regency may be willing to try a novel which was actually written during that time period. A possible suggestion for these readers is Persuasion by Jane Austen. Although this novel doesn't deal with arranged or convenient marriages, it does focus on self-esteem and being brave enough to fall in love when that match is frowned upon by society.
Red Flags: Love scenes rated as "Warm" by All About Romance, discussion of ways to feel/give pleasure without getting pregnant, duel match
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