Man of Honour

by Jane Ashford

Eliot saw his duty -- and married Laura. What else could a gentleman do when they had been snowbound together at an inn -- unchaperoned? The fact that Laura was beautiful, gentle, and completely suitable as a wife made his behaving as a man of honour very easy.

But Laura was not satisfied with such a meager basis for marriage. And the once-docile young bride soon began a rebellion that had all the ton agog -- and her husband forgetting about honour and listening instead to his heart.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Fiction

238 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1981

About the author

Jane Ashford has written historical and contemporary romances. Her books have been published in England, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Slovakia, Denmark, Russia, and Latvia, Croatia and Slovenia as well as the U.S. She was nominated for a Career Achievement Award by RT Book Reviews. Her latest book, Lost Time, is romantic suspense with a touch of magic.

Her website is https://www.janeashford.com/ and her Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/JaneAshfordW... If you'd like to subscribe to Jane's monthly newsletter go to www.eepurl.com/cd-O7r and sign up.

Reviews

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Levi is on a mission.
Ever since the untimely death of his beloved sister, he's made a goal to tracking down and exposing the illegal gambling dens and their corrupt masters from causing any more innocents from being driven to ruin, as was done to her. His base of operations is his loan brokering business, an establishment which alongside his Jewish background don't make him popular in 19th century London.



But however unsavoury his business may be to some, it one day brings a chance at exposing one such den of iniquity right into his lap with the arrival of Lady Laura Ashton.*
Lady Ashton is in dire straights. Her hopes of what looked to be a a wonderful 'coming out' in London for her first season are dashed, as she falls into a serpent's den at the hands of the charming yet sinister Lord Allen and his embittered wife. After being coerced by Allen into playing a game of chance during a party at his manor, she finds herself taken advantage of to the sum of £2000 (aprox. £36,000 today) and given a loathsome offer as to how she may 'work off' her debt at his hands.

In desperations, she approaches Levi at his shop only to lose her nerve when they come face to face. His curiosity is piqued, however, and after some investigation he manages to uncover her plight - and rescue her from her debt, as well as Allen's harassment. Unfortunately Allen has no intention of letting matters stand and makes one last attempt to bring Laura to ruin.

Sounds like a pretty awesome book, no? Adventure, the possibility of romance, a dashing hero with a heart of gold... <3 <3
Too bad Levi's presence in the book, and the above plot-line take up the entirety of about 10 pages at most.

No, I'm not kidding.

Man of Honour is about a young woman, Laura, who is forced into marriage with someone she barely knows after accidentally being 'un-chaperoned' (not that they're actually alone) over a weekend, after a sudden snow-storm and carriage accident.
She comes to London with her shiny new husband, brining her sister along for the ride so she can have her first season. During which time they shop, mostly, as well as host the occasional tea party, and go to various parties where Clarissa can meet some of 'the ton's' eligible gentlemen. Occasionally we see awkward attempts at conversation between Laura and her new husband, which generally end with her being offended and him too dense and self-absorbed to realise it. There's a bit of drama, with his ex-mistress being unhappy that he has broken off their 'relationship' and recruiting her husband to bring Laura to ruin in revenge. The woman assists in this by going out of her way to manipulate Laura's emotions, and make her jealous, causing Laura to repeatedly play right into the couples' hands. This comes off as more annoying than anything, however, as we're given no indication that Laura feels anything for the man until the end of the book, and her 'jealousy' comes across as immature, rebellious behaviour - but not completely incomprehensible behaviour, as it's usually displayed after her spouse has acted like a patronizing jacka** towards her. This nonsense makes up at least 3/4 of the book.

Also not promising, is that from what I understand, Laura is supposed to be a reasonably intelligent character. She spends a lot of time reading, and is from the upper class - it's implied that she's received a decent education for the time (though she's no trail-blazer or suffragette). So why would a reasonably intelligent woman go off to the home of a strange man she barely knows, who isn't her husband? Especially since the last time she did so, IIRC, ended up with her being taken to a party that (IIRC) she was already highly disturbed by? And she makes it clear she holds no fondness for the man, despite his apparent charm.

The author gets a point for historical accuracy, I suppose - the 'rakes' as depicted in this novel are true to the historic definition given in the link below - a far cry from the harmless ne'er-do-well who turns good that we see in romance novels. (I might have to avoid 'rake' stories for a while.)

If it wasn't for the drama, and Levi, the book would be completely dull. I haven't read the authors' other books yet, but this one does not recommend her writing to me. I really feel as though she missed the mark. I mean, she came up with a complex, complicated plot that she could have done so much with - focus on Levi, his history. Still bring in the 'rake' couple, but give them a better reason for targeting Laura (money, for instance - bankrupt & ruined, she'd be unable to fight back against them, after they finish with her). Introduce her to Levi, and start a romance there, and you can bring in struggles against class differences, cultural differences and mis-understandings, bigotry against his culture from outsiders. She could have done so much with it. But instead she turned Levi into a sub-plot, for a story that has no-where near the potential.

It wasn't DNF bad - it's a quick read. The writing is read-able, if dull. I might check out her other books, but I wouldn't recommend this one for anyone interested in checking out her writing - go for something more recent on the chance that she's improved with experience.

Regency Corinthians, Dandies, Rakes and Young Blades.


* Not gonna lie, I don't remember her real name. I had to look at the book page just for her given name.

[Mini · Rating 1 out of 5]

ok the summary looks great and i was really expecting SOMETHING!!! to happen,


like maybe he ignores her and she gets fed up with his attitude and decides to make her self in to the Belle of the Ball but does she!!!! NO!!!!

SHE DOES NOT!!!!!


i'm sorry but this was just not what i was wanting to read in the end. i think the only reason i was able to actually finish the book was because i was expecting something new to happen!.

Seriously it begins with the guy saying how he's proud that be got himself a wife and that she's "perfect," and so getting frustrated with his attitude towards her, she decides to rebel! and i'm thinking to myself YEAH~!!!! she's doing something but in the end she just makes an even bigger mess!!!!


ARGH!!! and usually i love the siblings that appear in books but my god Clarissa was annoying!!! this girl did not know when to not butt in!!!

Seriously i can't say how disappointed i was. i really wanted to see the main couple spend more than 2 minutes together because then it would have at least made it possible that they had "fallen in love" with each other.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, despite its fancy cover, this book has been around for quite awhile. It was originally published in 1981. I'm wondering if the character development that Ashford used was indicative of the decade in which she wrote, or of her personal style.

The novel is written in the third person limited viewpoint. It's as if we sit on the shoulder of the heroine. We know only what she knows and only what she feels. Throughout the course of the novel, there are may three complete pages of material from the hero's point of view. I'm wondering if Ashford meant for the reader to more fully identify with Laura by giving us only her point of view. I must say, it did not work for me. Laura ends up falling in love with her husband, but there isn't really any reason for her to do so. Ashford doesn't even spend much time extolling the physical aspects of Eliot that appeal to Laura. We see him repeatedly treat Laura as a child and call caring for her a "duty." While he does occasionally have dinner with Laura and attend a few social events, there seems very little reason for her to fall in love with him.

Just as Laura eventually falls in love with Eliot, Eliot eventually falls in love with Laura. But again, we have very little reason for that to happen. Laura seems to act like the child that Eliot seems to see. Laura's physical charms are not enumerated either. Laura gets into all sorts of trouble when she acts out. She behaves in the way she does just because Eliot or the gossips tell her she shouldn't. And, Eliot doesn't even save Laura from her biggest problem. A very minor secondary character does.

Overall, the idea behind the story is good. I would have liked to have some additional characterization in order to believe that love does happen for these two people.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have saved my money. This book is full of unlikeable characters and has a ridiculous plot. I would have thrown it against the wall, but I read it on my iPad. The story started off in a promising fashion when the couple is marooned at an inn during a snowstorm. They have to marry to save the woman's reputation .The heroine, Laura, is a colorless, timid idiot who makes one bone-headed decision after another. Eliot, the "honourable man" is cold and unfeeling until the very end, when he decides he's madly in love. My biggest disgust is for Clarissa, Laura's younger sister, who is manipulative and reckless and always gets just what she wants.
This is a reprint that was first published in 1981.

[Janice Liedl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shows its age. The trope of the mature hero who marries and tolerates a young, unseasoned woman? Not exactly easy to pull off today, where Eliot comes off as a distant control-freak and Laura as an insipid milquetoast. There's a pair of villains who are unbelievably black, Laura's rambunctious younger sister and the heir to a dukedom in disguise rounding out the romance's share of ridiculousness. You don't really believe that Laura and Eliot connect at a rushed and unsatisfying conclusion. Her sister's story has much more of a romance about it than Laura's!

There's also a bit of an odd and disconcerting appearance of London Jews in the story which comes across as trying to invoke the period ideas without being prejudiced but doesn't exactly succeed.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Man of Honour but it could have been better. Why oh why do good books fall aparrrrrrrt in the last few chapters? Drives me crazy.

[Liliflaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

lepo

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp. A bit farcical at the end, but a good read.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This, standing in comparison with newer works, is a good reminder of how an author's abilities improve over time. I read half of it and skipped to the last chapter. The villains were well done, but the main characters were not characters I could come to like at all. I can't say if there was any character development in the second half of the book that might have brought me more into sympathy with them, but based on the last chapter I doubt it.

[Jennifer Fner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reprint from 1981. Things really have changed, haven't they? Pretty sure this is a retelling of Heyer's April Lady -- but it's been a long time since I read that one -- and it wasn't really worth retelling.

[Jacqueline Seewald · Rating 4 out of 5]

An older Regency romance but well-written. Laura and Eliot marry according to the dictates of their social class but encounter many misunderstandings on the bumpy road to love. All ends well however.

[DFZ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not going to say this was the literal worst, but it was pretty terrible.

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining read.

[etherealfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library Kindle e-book

[Iris · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst romance novels I have read to date. The book is about everything but the couple. More about the sister and friends and the gambling !

[ChristineZ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly enjoyable. Not steamy at all. It kind of reminded me of Jane Austen, with more dialogue.

[kylie elizabeth]

I can’t believe I spent actual time reading this book… I’ll read anything 😭

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed that our female lead was not able to speak to her husband.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, and definitely not as bad as other reviewers made it out to be. I wouldn't say this is this author's best, but I haven't read many of her other books, to make a comparison. Given that it was written in the 80s, and it follows the standards of the traditional Regency Romance, as inspired by Heyer and Austen, it has a different tone than something that might be published today, with no explicit scenes, and a heroine that is more naive in the ways of the world, as women in the Regency often were sheltered by parents or guardians prior to marriage, and because they often married older men who had seen more of the world, the situation of this novel is plausible. I found it similar to False Colours because of the marriage taking place at the beginning, the hero being more mature than the heroine, and the heroine getting into scrapes.
My one issue with the book was with Levy. Another review pointed out how interesting he is as a character, and I have to agree, but given that he is not the hero of the book, I found it a bit off-putting that he played such a large role in the end, almost usurping the hero role from the intended hero, Eliot. So little screen time was devoted to the Levy character, and it ends up being him who for the most part saves the heroine.

[PATRICIA KUNA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eliot has agreed to take Laura to her aunts but they get stuck in a snow storm and up at a inn for several days.

The aunts say they must marry because Laura is ruined.

They marry and now Laura must find her way in London with Eliot. Her sister Clarissa comes too.

Laura is learning her way and the way things go in London.

She get in trouble but finds a way out.

Eliot is not there must until she really needs him.

They do find their love and get their on track.

He realizes he loves her and she loves him from the first

Just shows that love came to you when you least expect it.

I will read more of her books.

[Georgeanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't bear to read on..... I don't usually stop reading a book when I'm more than halfway through, but I just couldn't take anymore. Another relationship on the rocks through failure to communicate I can take, but a seemingly intelligent heroine bound and determined to make each and every stupid mistake she can.....no, I'm done. I'm sure there is some kind of implausible happy ending to this book but I can't bear the journey to get there, I'll go try something else instead.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is terrible. You can tell that she's going for some strange mix of Darcy (someone with good intentions that continuously messes up) and Anne Shirley (so many hijinks that backfire!). Both characters are dumb, their motivations unbelieveable, and the final "but I've loved you since the beginning!" falls flat. They have hardly spoken to each other at all through the whole book. Where does this mysterious super love come from?

[Pen Isaranuwatanakul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that I like to part where Laura goes after Clarissa, Anne and her Captain. During the time that she was talking to her sister. I wished that Eliot showed up at the scene earlier. It was fun to read after a few chapters into the book. There should have been more interaction with Eliot and Laura. I think there should have been a little more scenes between Clarissa and Lord Redmond too. I would recommend this book.

[Marlene · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a struggle to finish. An immature childish naive bride and a sophisticated husband who barely speaks to her except to issue orders, there is no romance in this and the book is based upon a series of secrets and lies. Her sister and sister's friend were even sillier.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

AWFUL. There is not one sympathetic character in the book, which reads like a chunky string of shallow stereotypes in implausible situations. This deserves to be put out to pasture.

[Amanda McCoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I was interested to see where the story would take me I didn't feel the chemistry between them.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whish there was a thumbs down button for this book.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regency Romance