≡ Read Black Silk Judith Ivory 9780060098537 Books

Black Silk Judith Ivory 9780060098537 Books

Download As PDF : Black Silk Judith Ivory 9780060098537 Books

Black Silk Judith Ivory 9780060098537 Books

Lately I'm feeling like an unsuccessful truffle pig, rooting around the myriad HRs being cranked out by an unbelievable amount of authors (or wannabes who are just putting words to paper with varied success). Every once in a while there's a really good one, just to keep this truffle pig from giving up.

But a lot of the time when I need a good romance for my exercise bike time I find myself rooting through my "keeper" boxes. That's how I came to reread BLACK SILK this week. This was one of my least favorite Judith Ivory books. The heroine seemed a bit off in behavior and the hero less than heroic (although very flawed heroes are common in Ivory books). But it's amazing what getting older and also being deprived of new good HRs will do to one's perspective.

Heroine Submit (groan, yes, that's her name) is the widow of a marquess much older than she. Married at 16, her personality had been less than formed and much of her formation is due to her years with her old, rather dominant (but kind and loving to her) husband. She seems a bit prissy, prim, straitlaced, quiet, and not given to having fun. But all these things that I didn't like about her I now see are not really her fault and I have much more sympathy for her.

Hero Graham Wessit, the Earl of Netham, is the nephew of Henry, the deceased marquess. Orphaned young, he lived with Henry and Henry's illegitimate son William during his boyhood, but Graham went the opposite direction from Submit under Henry's tutelage. Rebellious, he turned out fun-loving, somewhat irresponsible and irreverent.

Now that Henry is dead, Submit and William are in a legal battle over their inheritance and Graham finds himself involved peripherally. In addition, Graham has some issues of his own to worry about: 1) a young lower-class woman falsely accusing him of impregnating her, with everyone believing her because of his reputation; 2) a mistress who seems to want more from him than he is prepared to give; 3) a popular serialized newspaper story of a rake's life, a rake whose similarity to Graham is unmistakable.

The plot meanders a lot but the book is so well written that I even enjoyed the tangents that never led anywhere. These are complex, complicated, well-developed characters and their tangled lives made for a very good Victorian romance, IMO.


Tags : Black Silk [Judith Ivory] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Fans of Amanda Quick and Stephanie Laurens will adore <em>Black Silk</em>—a classic tale of love and scandal by Judith Ivory,Judith Ivory,Black Silk,Avon,0060098538,Romance - Historical - General,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,AMERICAN LIGHT ROMANTIC FICTION,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Romance Historical General,FICTION Romance Historical Regency,Fiction,Fiction - Romance,Fiction-Romance,MASS MARKET,Romance - Historical,Romance - Regency,RomanceHistorical,Romance: Historical

Black Silk Judith Ivory 9780060098537 Books Reviews

Judith Ivory offers here what seem to me a pair of very original characters that allow her to deftly play with many of the conventions of genre and romance, unraveling fictions within fictions that are interesting to tease out. It is mostly for this reason that I liked the book. Such metatextual convolutions come about partly through the heroine, Submit's own foray into authorship, and the hero Graham's grappling with invented identities in his search for something genuinely himself - he's a celebrity in this Victorian society, a renowned "rake" plagued by the stereotype and his wild past. He's been brought into the public eye through, among other venues, the stage, the law courts, and the pages of magazine serials. Submit, though practically Graham's opposite in her absence from society, is also something of a creation herself, having been married at a young and malleable age to a much older man, an academian who was as much mentor as husband. She's widowed at the outset of the book, and her husband remains a shadowy, ambiguous figure forever a forceful, sometimes disturbing presence in the narrative, haunting both hero and heroine in their numerous, sparring encounters.

Graham is also involved with his mistress at the outset - a colorful character who's so much more than "the other woman." I thought she was one of the most interesting, sympathetic aspects of the book, and really got the short end of the stick. I couldn't help thinking, a bit uncharitably, that Graham wasn't good enough for her anyway.

As for the main characters themselves, they are human in the fullest sense of the word - flaws and all. I didn't necessarily *like* either of them, but for the purposes of enjoying the story, I don't think that really mattered, as strange as it sounds. They are both drawn with such depth that their developments and struggles are fascinating to follow (though Graham and his personal growth is more the focus than Submit's.) I was kind of angry at one plot contrivance at the end - it made me almost hate Submit and question whether either of them had really worked free of the forces shaping and manipulating them in their search for self-determination, with love as the reward. (But then again, maybe Ivory wanted to eschew such a pat ending?) Despite this qualm, I'd say Black Silk is a very well written romance. Judith Ivory has delivered another complex, compelling story that leaves me thinking long after I've read it. It's a different kind of romance, but don't let this deviation from formula deter you. This was a very rewarding read, and I only wish the ending had been a little different.
This is anything but the usual mature man meets lovely young widow situation especially since the widow's deceased husband is the prime mover and shaker of enfolding events. Graham Wessit, the scandalous Earl of Netham and Submit Channing-Downes, a very proper lady are thrown together as Henry, Submit's dead husband has left her instructions to hand a mysterious box of papers to Graham. From here on in we see the sometimes calamitous events enfold as both Graham and Submit share their thoughts intimately with the reader. We never really know what Henry's intentions were - was it to bring these two together or to further punish Graham for his youthful misdeeds, perhaps to meet Submit or none of these. This is the conundrum. Warning reading this book may keep you up most of the night.
I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely book! It was intricately and meticulously plotted, presented wonderfully complex characters, and revealed a rare combination of romance, mystery and angst. Very substantial and very well done.

The central character of the book is a dead man, literally. Yet his will sets the plot of this book in motion and determines the three protagonists' actions. We have the story of Henry's widow, his natural son and his former ward. The widow loved her husband dearly, the son resented his father and his ward actively despised him. The reader is left to form her own opinion of Henry and this, in part, formed the basis of the mystery - and my enjoyment.

What a novel novel I found this to be. Absorbing, interesting, romantic, suspenseful and very hard to put down. There were twists and turns and surprises to the very last page. What a read. I remain in awe of this author's talent and highly recommend you read it yourself.
Lately I'm feeling like an unsuccessful truffle pig, rooting around the myriad HRs being cranked out by an unbelievable amount of authors (or wannabes who are just putting words to paper with varied success). Every once in a while there's a really good one, just to keep this truffle pig from giving up.

But a lot of the time when I need a good romance for my exercise bike time I find myself rooting through my "keeper" boxes. That's how I came to reread BLACK SILK this week. This was one of my least favorite Judith Ivory books. The heroine seemed a bit off in behavior and the hero less than heroic (although very flawed heroes are common in Ivory books). But it's amazing what getting older and also being deprived of new good HRs will do to one's perspective.

Heroine Submit (groan, yes, that's her name) is the widow of a marquess much older than she. Married at 16, her personality had been less than formed and much of her formation is due to her years with her old, rather dominant (but kind and loving to her) husband. She seems a bit prissy, prim, straitlaced, quiet, and not given to having fun. But all these things that I didn't like about her I now see are not really her fault and I have much more sympathy for her.

Hero Graham Wessit, the Earl of Netham, is the nephew of Henry, the deceased marquess. Orphaned young, he lived with Henry and Henry's illegitimate son William during his boyhood, but Graham went the opposite direction from Submit under Henry's tutelage. Rebellious, he turned out fun-loving, somewhat irresponsible and irreverent.

Now that Henry is dead, Submit and William are in a legal battle over their inheritance and Graham finds himself involved peripherally. In addition, Graham has some issues of his own to worry about 1) a young lower-class woman falsely accusing him of impregnating her, with everyone believing her because of his reputation; 2) a mistress who seems to want more from him than he is prepared to give; 3) a popular serialized newspaper story of a rake's life, a rake whose similarity to Graham is unmistakable.

The plot meanders a lot but the book is so well written that I even enjoyed the tangents that never led anywhere. These are complex, complicated, well-developed characters and their tangled lives made for a very good Victorian romance, IMO.