It was okay, I was surprised to find this good character development in a novella. Well done, Ms. James.historical-romance read-in-20238 s Iseut10

I never warmed up to James's style despite having read more than a dozen of her novels. Her dialogue is always obviously anachronistic, and kind of artificial - as if the characters know they are performing on stage and must prove their wit. This is even more so the case with this novella, which didn't even have the benefit of a good plot.

I consider myself an easy-to-please historical romance reader, as I do not demand historical accuracy in plot, character development, or the language used, but when a book has so many intrusive elements, reading it definitely becomes a chore.

But perhaps what was most tiring was the excessive focus on the weight of the heroine (and on body types in general, with a ridiculous central binary opposition between fat/slim, associated with good/bad, kind/mean, moral/immoral, attractive/unattractive) from start to finish. Not every mention of Bea's body was justified, and despite some attempts to portray the heroine as smart and knowledgeable, she is defined by her figure (as are the other characters). While the two male characters admire Bea's curves, the female characters judge, criticize and despise her for it. There are also parallels drawn between Bea's weight and her sensuality, as male characters find her curves enticing, associating them with strong sensual response, while female characters associate them with immorality (she is actually called a whore by the lead mean girl of the story, the titular duke's sister, described as both a debutante and a leader of society
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