Report repeated from P.273, 1953, when scheduled for earlier publication, as follows: ""A Victorian melodrama takes an...

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THE QUAKER BRIDE

Report repeated from P.273, 1953, when scheduled for earlier publication, as follows: ""A Victorian melodrama takes an unwanted Quaker orphan from Newport to London when Luke Ashton, a visiting Indian nabob, pays assiduous court to penniless Rose Cartwright. A sea miracle returns her dead father's ship, with her fortune; she marries Luke and is weaned from austere simplicity to oriental luxury on her way to her new home. Presented at Court, discovering important relatives in England, Rose is confronted by unexplained dark corners in Luke's home; the refusal to talk about Luke's first wife, the power of Luke's old nurse, Tabitha; the omnipresence of the Lady Diana and the dinners and card games attended only by men. When Rose's old nurse, Patsy, is kidnapped and the gardener, Red Cain warns her, Rose's direct questions to one of the titled guests bring her a sad enlightenment -- she, as a Quaker, is a perfect disguise for a forbidden gambling house. How Rose squares away Luke's perverted viciousness with her own religious training builds up to a fateful climax that bring about a happy ending. With a run for the money to Georgette Heyer and a shadowing of Rebecca, this handles its heroine, hero and villain with accomplished aplomb. Fun to read.

Pub Date: May 4, 1954

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown-A.M.P.

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1954

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