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Moonlight Variations
THEY MADE UNEARTHLY MUSIC...TOGETHER
Golden haired Lorrie MacIvor, a classical pianist, inherited the touch of her renowned ancestor, Barbary Clinton, who, a century ago, had given her heart to a brooding violinist with a curse upon his blood.
And then Lorrie knew--the resemblence cut deeper. For she was in love with the man Barbary lost...the man who lived again as Dario Paull, the master musician.
She should have feared him, but instead she embraced him with all the strength of her soul.
Until the tragic truth unfolded, until the haunting refrain began...again...and again...and again...
Golden haired Lorrie MacIvor, a classical pianist, inherited the touch of her renowned ancestor, Barbary Clinton, who, a century ago, had given her heart to a brooding violinist with a curse upon his blood.
And then Lorrie knew--the resemblence cut deeper. For she was in love with the man Barbary lost...the man who lived again as Dario Paull, the master musician.
She should have feared him, but instead she embraced him with all the strength of her soul.
Until the tragic truth unfolded, until the haunting refrain began...again...and again...and again...
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
40 people want to read
About the author
Florence Stevenson
25 books19 followersPseudonyms: Zandra Colt, Lucia Curzon, Ellen Fitzgerald, Pamela Frazier and Florence Stevenson
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 29, 2022
4 stars for sheer entertainment value. This is a masterpiece of cheesy, campy, utterly ridiculous vampire romance from the days before Vampire Romance was a genre unto itself; to that end, the author is free to play with grotesque tropes like incest, moldy witchcraft, dreamy Hammer-style horror, & phallic symbolism—soooo much phallic symbolism that lacks any subtlety, but that’s all part of the fun. 😈🐍
The writing itself feels loose & sloppy, which doesn’t fit with my expectations generated by previous Stevenson reads, but the lengthy middle section (set in 1868) is much better than the mid-1950s bits that frame Barbary’s narrative. I’m not sure if Stevenson was deliberately trying to sound like her heroines’ secret scribbles, or if she was having an off-day when she wrote it, or perhaps Jove’s editorial staff simply wasn’t up to par (there were typos galore, so the proofreaders definitely didn’t earn their keep). But one thing I did like was the way “vampire” is never spoken by any of the characters, whether aloud or in the privacy of their thoughts. Sometimes the best way to showcase a certain terror is to come at it sideways rather than head-on, & in that much the book is successful.
…It’s also successful in terms of a lolzy, torrid, vampiric melodrama with cheesy dialogue & overwrought angst. I don’t recommend this in terms of Quality Gothic Romance(tm), but it’s definitely fun with plenty of macabre underpinnings—a good read to welcome the Halloween season. 🎃
The writing itself feels loose & sloppy, which doesn’t fit with my expectations generated by previous Stevenson reads, but the lengthy middle section (set in 1868) is much better than the mid-1950s bits that frame Barbary’s narrative. I’m not sure if Stevenson was deliberately trying to sound like her heroines’ secret scribbles, or if she was having an off-day when she wrote it, or perhaps Jove’s editorial staff simply wasn’t up to par (there were typos galore, so the proofreaders definitely didn’t earn their keep). But one thing I did like was the way “vampire” is never spoken by any of the characters, whether aloud or in the privacy of their thoughts. Sometimes the best way to showcase a certain terror is to come at it sideways rather than head-on, & in that much the book is successful.
…It’s also successful in terms of a lolzy, torrid, vampiric melodrama with cheesy dialogue & overwrought angst. I don’t recommend this in terms of Quality Gothic Romance(tm), but it’s definitely fun with plenty of macabre underpinnings—a good read to welcome the Halloween season. 🎃
October 8, 2020
MOONLIGHT VARIATIONS by Florence Stevenson was published by Jove in February 1981. The novel is briefly mentioned by Janice A. Radway in her 1984 book Reading the Romance as having received a 5-star review in the newsletter of the romance readers that she was studying. I don't rate it as highly. The novel occasionally veers into being a 4-star read, especially near the middle of the book where it becomes an atmospheric gothic tale in the classic tradition. But the trope of the heroine's actions being controlled by others, either by remembrance of a past life (another person living again through her) or supernatural influence (hypnotic seduction by a vampiric lover), is unappealing in her lack of agency over events. The novel is sectioned into three parts (there are no chapter breaks): one titled "Lorrie" that takes place in 1952, the next (and largest) part titled "Barbary" that consists of the journal of Barbary Clinton from 1918 which recounts her experiences in the 1860s; and the final part titled "Maude" which is from Lorrie's perspective again (when she's not being possessed by Barbary's memories) and which brings things up to the present day. Although the story sometimes reads like a horror novel, it is also a romance and ends with a satisfying HEA.
The plot concerns a college student named Lorrie who is a promising pianist, a distant relative of the late Barbary Clinton who was acclaimed for her piano playing. One night Lorrie meets a young violinist named Dario and the two fall in love immediately, becoming lovers with plans for marriage. When they visit her family to explain the news, her eccentric Aunt Maude sends Dario away and warns Laurie of the danger that Dario presents to her soul, that he was responsible for Barbary's death. Maude hands her Barbary's diary in order that she will understand. We then read Barbary's diary (from page 55 to 187) where she relates her strange experience at Weir Hall where she met the "undead" Jonathan Weir and his sinister mother, Magda Weir. This section of the novel was the most impressive in its spooky and atmospheric vibe, sometimes reading like an actual 19th century horror novel and sometimes like a Hammer horror movie.
This novel would be worth reading a second time to pick up on details that were missed by the reader the first time around. The novel is a bit uneven and, as noted earlier, the denied agency of the heroine(s) is a little annoying, her identity smothered by past lives or supernatural control, although occasionally her true personality can be glimpsed underneath the actions of the possessed woman, providing a subtle textual depth. While the book can be slow-going at times, overall I enjoyed it very much. I rate it 3.5 stars.
The plot concerns a college student named Lorrie who is a promising pianist, a distant relative of the late Barbary Clinton who was acclaimed for her piano playing. One night Lorrie meets a young violinist named Dario and the two fall in love immediately, becoming lovers with plans for marriage. When they visit her family to explain the news, her eccentric Aunt Maude sends Dario away and warns Laurie of the danger that Dario presents to her soul, that he was responsible for Barbary's death. Maude hands her Barbary's diary in order that she will understand. We then read Barbary's diary (from page 55 to 187) where she relates her strange experience at Weir Hall where she met the "undead" Jonathan Weir and his sinister mother, Magda Weir. This section of the novel was the most impressive in its spooky and atmospheric vibe, sometimes reading like an actual 19th century horror novel and sometimes like a Hammer horror movie.
This novel would be worth reading a second time to pick up on details that were missed by the reader the first time around. The novel is a bit uneven and, as noted earlier, the denied agency of the heroine(s) is a little annoying, her identity smothered by past lives or supernatural control, although occasionally her true personality can be glimpsed underneath the actions of the possessed woman, providing a subtle textual depth. While the book can be slow-going at times, overall I enjoyed it very much. I rate it 3.5 stars.
June 8, 2018
Florence Stevenson is always good for a gothic romance with a little occult flavor mixed in, and this is no exception. However this book contains a shocking event that I did not see coming, nor have come across in any other gothic romance before. Prepare to have your eyebrows raised at the very least. 😳
August 3, 2019
It was campy, it was soapy, it was entertaining. There's a couple taboos; incest & dub-con, but it wasn't hanging on those tropes or utilized like a kickstand. With all vampire books, there's the melodramatic underscore, and I don't dislike them by default, but it takes a great hand to pull it off successfully, IMO.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2025
It's amazing how so many people seemed to adore this book, while I have the same opinion my nephew did, after one of those hokey celebrity fundraising concerts for worthy causes that people thought so impressive. His opinion: "I thought it was DUMB!"
Exactly!
Exactly!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews