Pre-revolutionary war setting, colonial America. Drags from the river, English lord she ends up marrying when forced to flee Boston. Former wife and lover turn out to be nuts and rips everything away when Sir Philip Dapifer dies. Makepeace gets revenge in the end but at what cost? Taking Liberties is the sequel. ( )

Boston 1765: Bereits zu Beginn der Herrschaft Georgs III. (1760–1820) waren die Spannungen zwischen dem britischen Mutterland und den Kolonien groß. Die junge Tavernenwirtin Makepeace rettet einen Engländer aus dem Wasser und wird in der Folge von ihresgleichen böse angefeindet. Schlussendlich gibt es nur noch den Ausweg, nach England zu gehen, doch auch dort passt sie nicht dazu, in die reiche aristokratische Schicht. Bis Makepeace wirklich ihren Platz findet, vergeht einige Zeit. Zudem wird sie von den Rachegedanken an ihre ärgste Feindin verfolgt. Obwohl das Buch einige Längen aufweist und vor Zufällen wimmelt, ist es, was die Person Makepeace Burke angeht, erstaunlich kohärent. Das hielt mich dann auch immer bei der Stange: Es ist ziemlich überzeugend, wie fanatisch Makepeace an ihrer Rache festhält, ohne zu erkennen, dass es sie mittlerweile ihr ganzes Lebensglück kostet.
Geschichtlich hätte man den Umbruch zur Moderne vll. noch etwas ausführlicher darstellen können, auch den amerkanischen Unabhängigkeitskampf hätte ich interessant gefunden.
Insgesamt aber trotz aller Gefälligkeiten ein netter Schmöker. ( )

I really enjoyed The Vizard Mask by Diana Norman, so I was eager to try more of her work. This one is the first in a trilogy that revolves around Makepeace Burke, a tavern owner in colonial Boston. On the night after riots in opposition to the Stamp Act, Makepeace launches out from her dock to pick up traps and finds instead a drowning man. As a good Christian, she feels compelled to pull him from the water and bring him home to nurse, but his dress identifies him as an English aristocrat--a dangerous man to have in her house in dangerous times, especially since Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty use her tavern as a meeting place. Romance, of course, ensues. Events force Makepeace to sail for England, along with her brother Aaron,m an aspiring actor, her mute Indian servant, Betty, her black housekeeper, and Betty's son, Josh.

Things get better for Makepeace. Then things get worse--much worse. And soon the romance becomes a tale of survival for the sake of revenge. Makepeace is a survivor, and she survives solely on her wits and the strength of her hatred. While what happens to Makepeace, both in America and even more so in England, is truly horrific, her monomaniacal lust for revenge blinds her to any kindness and starts to make her a bit unlikable. Near the end, Norman goes into a blatant and annoying feminist rant about how women who have business smarts should not be held back because of their gender. I'm all for that sentiment, but it could have been handled more subtly.

As you can probably tell, I didn't enjoy this novel as much as the previous one, and I'm less eager to get to the next two in the Makepeace series. I may go back to another Norman novel, Blood Royal first. ( )

The story starts off in 1700's Boston, USA but soon moves to England. I thought the main character, Makepeace was excellent. She came across as a strong and independent woman. When she first arrives in England she has to try and fit into the upper class society of London and also has to deal with Sir Philip's ex-wife. But then tragedy strikes and she must move to Northumberland to start another new life. For me this was the most enjoyable part of the story, with a little bit of drama and some romance thrown in too.
This was a fantastic historical fiction that really made me feel like I was right there. I loved this book and will be looking out for more books from this author. ( )

Well written book about the life of an American woman in the 1760's, on the brink of the Revolution. She falls in love with and marries a divorced man from Britain's aristocracy and deals with the prejudices of his peers. ( )