As a young girl, Jane Maxwell was in love with Thomas Fraser, and they go so far as to declare their engagement. But Thomas goes to war and is reported dead, to Jane’s dismay and her mother’s glee. In his absence, encouraged by family and friends, she marries Alexander, Duke of Gordon, and goes on to become a famous patroness of the arts and a political activist. Thomas, however, is not dead, and Jane spends her life torn between the man she has always loved and the man with whom she has a family.
This is quite an ambitious work of historical fiction. I so appreciated the depth and complexity of it and the historical picture that Ciji Ware creates here. Jane travels between England and Scotland and I really got a feel for both of them in the late eighteenth century. Jane herself is a powerful woman and I really liked her. For all that she had trouble choosing between men, she was a figure to be reckoned with in politics and consistently knew her own mind in many respects. The book is long, but I was sucked in after fifty pages and really enjoyed it. It has a nice sweeping, epic feel to it, like these characters are important and usually doing important things.
I similarly appreciated the author’s research. I liked knowing that she’d read Jane’s letters and tried to find the mysterious man that she references as her childhood love. She filled in the missing pieces, but it’s nice to know that the real life Jane struggled with the same issues that the fictional Jane did. I also appreciated the variety of historical characters that poke their heads into the story, like Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire and Robert Burns, the Scottish poet.
It’s not a perfect read, though. It is very bawdy; it seems like all the characters are featured in at least one sex scene with a variety of different people. Some of it furthers the plot, but a lot of it feels unnecessary, and leaves me wondering if this sort of explicit writing was in favor in historical fiction when the book was originally published. I was often frustrated with the misunderstandings that the characters had, but I could recognize where their difficulties came from even if I wanted Alex to open up and Jane to stop mooning constantly over Thomas.
In the end, I really enjoyed Island of the Swans. It has its faults, but there is a great story here with well-developed characters and dilemmas. I would definitely recommend it to other historical fiction lovers.
I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the publisher for review.
I have been very picky about what historical fiction I read now, but this sounds like it could hold my attention.
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..Sunday Salon =-.
Sounds interesting, but I wonder why all the author felt all the bedroom scenes were necessary.
.-= Kathy´s last blog ..Our Life in France – banking, money and numbers =-.
Hmmmm….bawdry! I can probably just skim those parts if the historical fiction aspect is worth it!
.-= Julie P.´s last blog ..Book Club Exchange – Robin Maxwell =-.
I love that you used the word bawdy, that is a history lover’s word right there. The premise sounds good with a slightly irregular love triangle. Does she love Alex at all, or is it your typical cruel husband saga?
.-= Jodie´s last blog ..Race, History and Steampunk =-.
She likes Alex, especially at first – they would have been fine if Thomas hadn’t turned up again. He’s sometimes cruel, but he clearly loves her and is just jealous. It’s an interesting dynamic!
I’m not really fond of historical fiction that is chock-full of sex, so I think I’ll skip this one, even though it sounds interesting.
.-= Jen – Devourer of Books´s last blog ..The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England – Book Review =-.
This book seriously sounds like it would make me cry. You should have seen me after The Duchess.
I loved this one when I read it years ago. I went on to read the rest of her books and am glad she is finally publishing another after 10 years.
.-= Stacy´s last blog ..Fave Film #23 – Silence of the Lambs (1991) =-.
Group dynamics and a sweeping epice. I completely agree. I never thought about the sex aspect, it just seemed to go with the territory for me. Maybe I have read too many romance novels lately
Overall I enjoyed this as well. Great review Meghan
.-= Jennygirl´s last blog ..Progress Check: 2010 Reading Resolutions Challenge =-.
Great review Meghan! I too really enjoyed this novel. It was hard to put down and I can’t wait to read more from her!
I agree that this was an epic read! It’s great when a book of this length does not seem long. It was so hard to decide weather I wanted Jane with Alex or Thomas…what a horrible situation. I just reviewed Island of the Swans over on my blog, along with an interview with the author, if you want to check it out here is the link
“http://muse-in-the-fog.blogspot.com/2010/02/book-review-island-of-swans-by-ciji.html”
.-= Svea @Muse in the Fog´s last blog ..Author Interview: Ciji Ware talks about Island of the Swans =-.
I’m reading this right now and am enjoying it so far. Haven’t got to the sex yet, though, so I can’t comment on that aspect of the book.
.-= Anna´s last blog ..And the winners are… =-.