Now Face to Face: A Novel
by Karleen Koen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Karleen KoenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-08
ISBN: 0307406083
Number of pages: 734
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of Now Face to Face: A Novel
Book Review: A FITTING SEQUEL TO "THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY."
Summary: 4 Stars
"Now Face to Face" is the sequel to Karleen Koen's wonderful novel "Through A Glass Darkly," and in my opinion it is the weaker of the two. I think one has to read "Through A Glass Darkly," a stand alone book, in order to make sense of this second effort which relies heavily on the characters and storyline of the first novel.
Set in Georgian England, at a time when the country is filled with political unrest and economic upheaval, "Now Face to Face" picks up where the prequel ended. A Jacobite conspiracy threatens open rebellion and revolution, and the South Sea Company's disastrous failure has caused the economy to crash. Many investors, from the highest nobles to the poorest commoners with a few guineas to invest in the company, lost huge sums of money. The losses and subsequent impact on the economy are devastating.
Barbara MontGeoffry, the Countess Devane, is widowed at age twenty and is desolate at the loss of her beloved husband, Roger. Although the couple's marriage was marred by Roger's shocking betrayal, their relationship was beginning to improve when he died. Barbara finds herself saddled with massive debt and is forced to sell-off almost all of her husbands substantial holdings, as he was partially responsible for the economic catastrophe. Her reputation and future appear to be ruined. Barbara's grandmother, the Duchess of Tamworth, persuades her granddaughter to go to the New World - to the Virginia Colony, where she owns a tobacco plantation - in order to get away from the financial scandal and to heal emotionally.
The young aristocratic widow, whose beauty, charm and nobility cause quite a stir in the colony, is determined to make her grandmother's plantation a success. Interspersed with her adventures in Virginia is the narrative set in tumultuous England.
Slavery, tobacco growing and plantation work, smuggling, treachery, sedition, love and murder make for much excitement in the multi-faceted plot. Also, many fascinating characters people "Now Face to Face," as they did in "Through A Glass Darkly," including: Hyacinthe, Barbara's small African boy slave whom she treats as a son; Therese, her beloved maid and companion; her extremely eccentric family members; the Virginia colonials; King George I, the Prince, Princess, their courts, mistresses and ministers - many of whom are real life characters; the Jacobite revolutionaries, and their leader, the Bishop of Rochester; and Laurence Slane, the prominent actor, who is all the rage in London. He is to play an important role in Barbara's life when she returns to England after a year in the New World.
I would rate this novel 3+ stars because the writing is not as tight as it could be and the plot is somewhat scattered at times. However I will happily give it 4 stars because I was/am so glad to follow the lives of the characters I came to love in "Through A Glass Darkly."
Jana Perskie
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