Description (from cover):'Beautiful and talented actress, poet and fashion icon, Mary Robinson was one of the most famous women of her time--yet she died virtually penniless, her reputation in ruins.
For Mary was always to be betrayed by the men she loved, whether it be her father, a prosperous Bristol merchant who abandoned his family for a life of adventure--and another woman; her husband, the weak and foolish Tom Robinson, who bankrupted the family with his inveterate gambling and humiliated his young wife with his numerous affairs; or the Prince of Wales, later George IV, who fell in love with Mary when he saw her playing Perdita in A Winter's Tale. Mary gave up everything for her prince--her career, her husband and her independence--only to be cruelly abandoned when his affections turned elsewhere.'
My thoughts:
Freda Lightfoot has a way with words and with making a story come to life. I enjoy the way she writes and even though I think that one of her books might not be up to par, she always surprises me and gives the reader an entertaining tale. I've never heard of Mary Robinson, but when reading the synopsis of this book it seemed to be right up my alley. I'm sue you all know of my love of all things historical fiction and it's hard for me to resist something that catches my eye.
I liked this book to a certain extent. Yes, the author has a unique way with words, but there were parts of this story that felt skimmed over. This book skips over a large span of time and I felt that the author could have spent some more time detailing some aspects of Ms. Robinson's life and not focusing so much on others. I wish we could have had more details about her love affair with the Prince of Wales and her life on the stage. For some reason, the author felt that leaving these details out to focus more on Ms. Robinson's life away from the stage and her life as a society madam. I didn't really like that all too much, but overall the story is engaging and interesting.
Do I want to learn more about Mary Robinson? Not really. This book was enough for me. Yes, she was an interesting lady, but I really don't think that there is all that much more to learn. I like books that leave me feeling that I need to learn more about a historical figure and this book really didn't do that for me. It was a good read, but the cons outweighed the good. Would I read another book by this author? Sure, but I hope that the author doesn't see fit to skim on the best parts.
Overall Rating: 2.5
Title: Lady of Passion
Author: Freda Lightfoot
Series: N/A
Publisher: Severn House
Publication Date: October 1, 2013
Pages: 256
Genre: Historical Fiction
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review. I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
