OF SHIPS AND SEALING WAX

A British officer returns from war to the temptations of a new love in Shaw’s historical romantic drama.

In 1795, Captain Edward Trewin of the British Royal Navy returns from war with France as a widely celebrated “hero for the nation” likely to become wealthy from the spoils of victory. Nonetheless, his mood is black, as he left Cornwall on acrimonious terms with his wife Julia, who resented being abandoned to care for their two daughters alone. Embittered, she answered none of Edward’s letters over the course of the year he was abroad. Reluctant to return home, he accepts an invitation to lodge with his old friend Admiral Augustus Heywood in Portsmouth, and he is immediately taken with Augustus’ daughter Caroline, who has never married—though she expects an offer soon from George Winslow. Winslow jilts her, though, for a wealthier prospect, and Caroline is left free to enjoy the company of Edward, who savors her attention. The romantic electricity between them crackles—the author deftly captures their mutual longing—and their flirtations finally crescendo into a full indiscretion, the first of many. In this intelligently rendered story, Edward is caught between the love he has for Caroline and his marriage “in shreds,” a union that only further deteriorates when Julia finally unleashes upon Edward “unvarnished declarations of her deep unhappiness”; there seems to be no way out for him. (“What am I to do? I love my wife, but she will not have me. It seems that Caroline will have me, but she is not my wife.”)

Shaw offers more than a simplistic tale that pits honor against love—Edward loves both Julia and Caroline, a predicament that becomes even more challenging when Julia begins to express more welcoming signs of forgiveness. The issue here is the fathomless complexity and expansiveness of romantic love, which can present itself as an intractable problem. There are elements of the story that inspire incredulity—Caroline’s father is remarkably magnanimous when he learns of the affair, especially when one considers the precepts of martial virtue by which his life is governed. Occasionally, the author’s writing can veer into anodyne earnestness, the familiar stamp of a lesser romance novel; here, Caroline anxiously considers her plight: “I want to make him happy. Could we not make each other happy? Would that be so wrong?” However, such insipidity is rare. In fact, while Shaw’s prose style can be a touch genteel, the plot is well executed and briskly paced, and the erotic tension between Edward and Caroline is impressively palpable (“When the dance ended, he bowed to her deeply, resisting a sudden and wholly inappropriate impulse to press her hand to his lips”). Also, Edward is a delicately drawn protagonist—a sailor naturally constituted for war, he is also surprisingly nuanced and sensitive, and these contradictory inclinations are made entirely plausible by the author. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read—deeply thoughtful and dramatically immersive.

A romance novel that is genuinely romantic as well as psychologically sophisticated.