The Return of the Earl

Edith Layton is one of my auto-buys. I have found her books, over the years, to "hit all of the right buttons" for my own personal tastes. However, in fairness, I have found some of her recent efforts, particularly the anthology offerings, to be a little off form. And, this story is definitely not, to my mind at least, up to the standards I know she can achieve.

I had the feeling, somehow, that the author may have had something personal troubling her and this overshadowed The Return of the Earl. Somehow, the narrative and its flow seemed forced as if she were struggling to get the novel over and done with to satisfy her publisher. The quality of the prose was not up to her usual standard - I felt there were too many awkward turns of phrase and too many instances of modern overtones in the language. I do realise she was trying to get across that her characters had lived in a criminal environment but somehow this just did not work for me.

The story, which has been well summed up by other reviewers seemed a little stretched and turned on hidden identities - something I personally don't care for. And, sadly, I just could not feel any tug of attraction to the hero, Christian - perhaps because until the end of the novel he was too embroiled in his deception. Frankly, I could not see what Julianne saw in him and the old childhood connection with her dead brother was weak and insipid as a plot device.

Perhaps I am being a little hard on this book - others whose opinions here I usually agree with have liked the book more than I did but I note that none of them were ecstatic either. I have read the follow up to this, Alas My Love, and will post my thought on it as well. Of the two, I think this, particularly as the opening offering of a trilogy, was really too uninspiring to be anything like a keeper.

Setting - England, 1810 --- Taking one long look at the clear blue sky Geoffrey Sauvage and his 12 year old son Christian stepped down into the darkness of the belly of the Retribution - a prisoner transport that would take them to New South Wales and away from England for fifteen years. Fifteen years later, a man claiming to be Christian Sauvage has returned to England after receiving a letter notifying him that he was the new Earl of Egremont. Having been a child when he left who was to say that he was that same person.

The young woman, engaged to marry the other claimant for the earl's title remembered that her cousin, Julianne Lowell, knew Christian before he was transported and invited her for a visit, never telling her the true reason and hoping to prove Christian as an imposter. As the battles raged over who was the rightful heir it was hoped that, Julianne, sister to the Christian's best childhood friend might be able to identify him through some common recollections of childhood memories. Julianne remembered the young lad, but the handsome man with brilliant blue eyes was an enigma. The more time spent together she felt that he was that young lad grown up, yet she couldn't say for certain as the elegant, well-bred and polite, grown man simply stole her breath away.

This was a beautifully written and entertaining story of intrigue, betrayal and romance. Both the protagonists were truly likeable and Julianne was wonderful. I truly liked that she was nobody's fool, who very early on realized that her cousin was using her, and let her know she knew it. The secondary characters were all well defined with reasonable depth for even those cast in minor roles. I can't say I was surprised by who the culprit was, but there were some surprises in at the end that did sneak up on me. As far as sensuality goes - it was clearly felt (though not acted on)throughout though I felt the story was steered more towards the mystery.

BOTTOM LINE - I can recommend this as a most enjoyable read with enough action and characters you care about that will keep you turning the pages in order to solve the mystery. --- Marilyn Rondeau (...)

I immediately fell in love with both the hero and the world of this book! Return of the Earl is a perfect union of romance and intrigue. This book combines fabulous and fascinating characters with real suspense and plot twists that keeps you turning pages. I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

I am a HUGE Edith Layton fan...her "The Cad" is probably one of the best romance novels ever written, and I highly recommend it (if you can find it). This book, however, is more like one of her old Avon regencies - there is more time spent chatting and recouping what's happened, than on your average episode of a daytime soap. How someone can't recognize someone who they allegedly were so close to, and who has such striking physical features,is too implausible to get past, from the get go. Snoozy...

Christian returns to England after 15 years of exile. He, along with his father and two other boys, were sent to New South Wales after being convicted of theft. He returns with the knowledge that he has inherited the Earldom of Egremont, a grand estate. However, the Earls of Egremont do not seem to be living very long. A cousin also lays claim to the Earldom and Christian must prove his existance.

Enters Julianne. To her, Christian is a connection to her brother, who died in the war. A former childhood friend, she befriends Christian in hopes of keeping her brother alive and to discover if he actually is the boy she vaguely remembers.

There is family intrigue and lots of "getting to know" you moments in this book. However, something is missing from the main characters. To me, there is a lack of passion between the main characters. The kisses were luke warm and the consummation was ho-hum. I did not feel that this couple felt a burning for each other. I also did not think that Christian did much to earn Julianne's loyalty so quickly. This type of love may work for some readers though. I, however, prefer more passion in my books. THE RETURN OF THE EARL is my first book by Ms. Layton and will probably be my last.