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Din toată inima
Când erau copii, Geraint Penderyn și Marged Evans erau cei mai buni prieteni. Dar anii au trecut, și Geraint, considerat odinioară fiul bastard al contelui de Wyvern, este acum stăpânul domeniului. După zece ani de absență, se întoarce acasă, la conacul Tegfan, și găsește lucrurile mult schimbate în rău. Marged îl urăște din toată inima, învinuindu-l de moartea soțului ei, în timp ce foarte mulți dintre fermierii arendași pe pământurile lui trăiesc în mizerie. În copilărie cunoscuse și el foamea și lipsurile, crescând în mijlocul sătenilor, dar acum, devenit noul conte de Wyvern, este primit cu ostilitate și resentimente. Pentru a-și împăca oamenii – și pentru a o recuceri pe Marged –, Geraint începe să joace rolul „Rebeccăi“, unul dintre conducătorii mascați ai răzmerițelor purtate în anul 1842 împotriva spolierilor galeze. Curând, Marged li se alătură adepților „Rebeccăi“ și, așa cum era de așteptat, se îndrăgostește de bărbatul din spatele măștii. Într-o lume ideală, dragostea lor ar fi fost minunată. Dar acum amândoi știu că trebuie să lupte pentru a fi împreună, căci nu pot iubi decât într-un singur fel – cu sinceritate, pasional, din toată inima. Mary Balogh a scris peste 70 de romane și 30 de nuvele. Printre numeroasele premii câștigate s-a numărat și cel pentru întreaga activitate acordat de Romantic Times.
342 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
255 people are currently reading
672 people want to read
About the author
Mary Balogh
200 books6,354 followersMary Jenkins was born in 1944 in Swansea, Wales, UK. After graduating from university, moved to Saskatchewan, Canada, to teach high school English, on a two-year teaching contract in 1967. She married her Canadian husband, Robert Balogh, and had three children, Jacqueline, Christopher and Sian. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, music and knitting. She also enjoys watching tennis and curling.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mary Balogh started writing in the evenings as a hobby. Her first book, a Regency love story, was published in 1985 as A Masked Deception under her married name. In 1988, she retired from teaching after 20 years to pursue her dream to write full-time. She has written more than seventy novels and almost thirty novellas since then, including the New York Times bestselling 'Slightly' sextet and 'Simply' quartet. She has won numerous awards, including Bestselling Historical of the Year from the Borders Group, and her novel Simply Magic was a finalist in the Quill Awards. She has won seven Waldenbooks Awards and two B. Dalton Awards for her bestselling novels, as well as a Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
November 16, 2023
Someone smarter than me needs to review this book. Like, STAT. This would make an incredible book club selection, the conversations and discussions would be great.
Ok, so like a Rose Lerner and Courtney Milan book, this is impossible for me to write a coherent review because of thoughts and feelings. The gist is Geraint grew up in Wales with people thinking he was a bastard but at age 12 he is whisked away because his mother didn't lie, she was married to an Earl's heir and Geraint is now the heir. His grandfather forbids him any contact with his mother and past friends, Marged and Aled, from Wales. After a little over a decade away, he returns and is pretty much shunned by everyone because of how awful the economic system has been running, poor getting taxed to death. The author uses the real historical Rebecca Riots as a plot point and to help Geraint integrate himself with the people.
But oh my dearies, this book is so much more, the economic and class issues are the main theme with sexism also being touched on. To be honest, the romance took a definite back seat for me and I actually liked the secondary couple better than the main. The first three chapters or so give this a really slow beginning but stick with it, the author weaves an incredible tale. It is emotional, thought provoking, and intelligent; I don't find books like this too often. This has been in my garage sale book box for many years and I'm actually glad it took me so long to get to, I don't think I could have appreciated this when I was younger; I think this would be better for a mature audience. I would call this a mash-up of Rose Lerner (class/economic issues) and The Rose in Winter by Kathleen Woodiwiss (main couple's relationship).
This is a book to help you get it, why and how people's fear and helplessness create anger because they have nowhere to turn to or recourse and the courageous and dangerous acts this produces. I am disappointed this doesn't have a re-issue in ebook format. I also want to start the battle cry for Idris to get his own book.
If I was a part of book club discussion:
But the challenge of journalism is to try to separate truth from prejudice and hysteria and report accurately what is fair to both sides.
I don't think the relevance of this book will ever die out but this line hit me extra hard. The importance journalism plays in this story, well, it will remind you why we need to keep fighting for a free media system.
But Geraint had always felt disliked. Not that he had ever been self-pitying about it. But he had built defenses, of which Aled, as his one close friend apart from Marged Llwyd, had been aware. The defense of not caring a fig for anyone as a child. The added defense of aloofness as an eighteen-year-old and the firm hiding behind his newly acquired Englishness and his gentleman's manners.
We don't get heroes like Geraint very often; he was the epitome of still a hurt, lonely child inside mixed with strength, compassion, and courage. The author did an amazing job showing how people create defense mechanisms to help them survive and how this can help and hinder them in their personal relationships.
"Goddammit," Geraint said, "we were friends, Aled. You and Marged and I. Marged told me to get away from Ty-Gwyn. She told me I could shove my sympathy for her down my throat---I believe she was itching to suggest a different location. She told me I was not welcome. And you tell me I have a vivid imagination. Don't make this lonelier for me than it has to be, many. What have I done?"
When Geraint finally returns to Wales, he finds he can't just waltz in and be accepted. He's rich and part of the system destroying the people's lives, like his old friend's Aled and Marged. Aled was such a great character, shy but bold in his strength. Aled was the friend who tells it like it is, without anger or hate towards Geraint but with a calm open your eyes and educate yourself.
"Ignorance is no plea, is it?" he said.
Not then and especially not in 2017.
Most were enthusiastically in favor of showing their displeasure and their frustration---and their fear---in some active manner.
Fear was a dreadful emotion when it was accompanied by utter helplessness.
Something was wrong. It would have been farcical if it were not also deadly serious.
Using the Rebecca Riots was brilliant and helped educate me (I had to immediately go and research it further) on a personal little known historical occurrence. It beautifully showcased all the angles people take when injustice is massively tipped to one side.
And yet he saw now more than ever before that people of his class could not act as individuals for all their privileges. If they did not act as a class, as a unit, they might all crumble.
Again, the author was brilliant in showing all sides and directions of classism and how that can create injustice and as Geraint discovers, there is no easy fix because it is a system and not an individual person to easily attack.
The necessity for rebelling in order to draw attention would be past.
"I am fighting against a system, Marged," he said, "against an injustice that is larger than one person. I do not hate anyone."
"It shows," she said. "You are so very careful that no one if hurt during the smashing of gates, either on our side or on the other side. And somehow you arrange it that those who suffer material loss are compensated. You are a compassionate man. Is that why you are doing this, then? You are fighting against a system rather than against people?"
"Yes," he said.
"It is better than hatred," she said. "Hatred---hurts."
People as a whole don't want to constantly be at odds, they want to be a part of society and contribute. They want the system fixed or the first step at bare minimum to be taken, acknowledgement that the system is broken and needs to be fixed.
She was still angry. Perhaps angrier with him than she might have been because she was angry with herself.
Oh, Marged. I can see some great discussions happening about this heroine. The quickest and easiest assessment to make of her is bitter and hateful. Our heroines have to be kind, softhearted, and forgiving at all times, don’t they? Marged burns that thought to the ground. Marged is angry, she's angry that Geraint left her when she loved him as a child, she's angry at the system that killed her husband, and instead of crying on the inside, she flings her anger at Geraint.
Hatred, she was discovering, was too powerful an emotion. Too like love. Sometimes the two were indistinguishable. Perhaps if she had not loved him, she would never have hated him. She would merely have disliked and despised him.
Marged's anger and helplessness finds a convenient and pretty undeserved target of Geraint. Her warring of emotions gave their relationship passion. For every review I see that says they hated the heroine, I want thesis after thesis discussing the complexity of burdens of womanhood, their rights and privileges during this time period, how women are “allowed” to behave, and how individuals deal with convoluted emotions.
She also helped to provide the story with some romance angst ;)
"I am glad you were so stubborn," she said. "I am glad we never married, Aled."
He swallowed awkwardly. "I love you, cariad," he said.
"No," she said. "It is something other than love that rules your life, Aled. It is hatred and the desire for revenge. It is the desire for destruction and violence."
"It is the desire for a better life," he said, "and the conviction that we have a right to it. It is the belief that I owe it to myself and to my neighbors and to my unborn children---if I ever have any---to do something I cannot allow others to do for me, cariad."
"Neither could Eurwyn," she said bitterly. "But he died and left Marged and his mam and gran to manage without him. And no one has a better life as a result of what he did."
He lifted one hand to cup the back of her head. "It is what you are afraid of?" he asked softly. "That I will die and leave you alone? It is better, you think, not to marry me and not to have my little ones if I recklessly court death?"
She was crying then and trying to pull away from him. But his arms closed about he like iron bands. And he kissed the top of her head, the wet cheek that was exposed to him, and finally the wet face she lifted to him. He kissed her mouth with hunger, parting his lips with his own.
"Tell me you love me," he whispered against her lips. "It has been so long since I heard you say the words. Tell me I am your cariad."
But she struggled then and freed herself and turned back to face the gate, his coat held about her shoulders with both her hands. "No," she said. "You are not my love, Aled. And I do not believe Marged is my friend any longer. I am sorry for it. Marged is causing mischief and you are talking of breaking down tollgates with perhaps hundreds of men to make a mob. Someone will get hurt. It may be you or it may be Marged. But worse, it may be someone else, hurt because of you or Marged. I cannot love you any longer. No, let me put it differently. I will not love you any longer. But you knew that. We have argued it out before. Let there be an end now. No more scenes like this. It is over."
"And yet," he said, "you still love me."
"You were not listening." She released her hold on his coat and let it slide to the ground.
"Ah, yes," he said sadly, "I was, cariad."
She said nothing more. And he could think of nothing more to say either. She would not give up her conviction that protest and violence were never justified, and he would not give up his conviction that they were and that if he wanted to see change and thought someone should do something about effecting it, then he must be willing to do his part. He could no longer stand back and let the Eurwyns of this world do his fighting for him. He must fight for himself. Even if it meant giving up the one good thing in his life that had given it meaning and direction for the past six years. For four of those years he had worked long , hard hours in his forge, making himself worthy of her, making for her a secure future and preparing a comfortable home. And now for two he had taken the course best calculated to drive her away forever. But there was nothing he could do to change that. For if he could not offer her his integrity, then he had nothing worth offering at all.
Aled and Ceris were the secondary romance and I ate them up with a spoon. Talk about two sides of a coin and a wonderful showcase of how society needs both ways of thinking in order to challenge and change the system and keep societal civility. If Aled and Marged were the hundred reasons to passionately act out, Ceris was the hundred reasons to intellectually not to. Aled and Ceris' relationship, gah, their quiet love for each other just killed me.
This is a little slow at times and to ensure a happy ending, two very serendipitous moments had to occur but it was all so worth it for me.
If you're looking for more romance, this probably wouldn't be for you. If you're looking for a quick and easy story, this probably wouldn't be for you. If you're looking for complexity in thought and emotion, this is definitely for you.
This whole story felt like a very intimate peek into people's lives, they weren't just characters to me.
Ok, so like a Rose Lerner and Courtney Milan book, this is impossible for me to write a coherent review because of thoughts and feelings. The gist is Geraint grew up in Wales with people thinking he was a bastard but at age 12 he is whisked away because his mother didn't lie, she was married to an Earl's heir and Geraint is now the heir. His grandfather forbids him any contact with his mother and past friends, Marged and Aled, from Wales. After a little over a decade away, he returns and is pretty much shunned by everyone because of how awful the economic system has been running, poor getting taxed to death. The author uses the real historical Rebecca Riots as a plot point and to help Geraint integrate himself with the people.
But oh my dearies, this book is so much more, the economic and class issues are the main theme with sexism also being touched on. To be honest, the romance took a definite back seat for me and I actually liked the secondary couple better than the main. The first three chapters or so give this a really slow beginning but stick with it, the author weaves an incredible tale. It is emotional, thought provoking, and intelligent; I don't find books like this too often. This has been in my garage sale book box for many years and I'm actually glad it took me so long to get to, I don't think I could have appreciated this when I was younger; I think this would be better for a mature audience. I would call this a mash-up of Rose Lerner (class/economic issues) and The Rose in Winter by Kathleen Woodiwiss (main couple's relationship).
This is a book to help you get it, why and how people's fear and helplessness create anger because they have nowhere to turn to or recourse and the courageous and dangerous acts this produces. I am disappointed this doesn't have a re-issue in ebook format. I also want to start the battle cry for Idris to get his own book.
If I was a part of book club discussion:
But the challenge of journalism is to try to separate truth from prejudice and hysteria and report accurately what is fair to both sides.
I don't think the relevance of this book will ever die out but this line hit me extra hard. The importance journalism plays in this story, well, it will remind you why we need to keep fighting for a free media system.
But Geraint had always felt disliked. Not that he had ever been self-pitying about it. But he had built defenses, of which Aled, as his one close friend apart from Marged Llwyd, had been aware. The defense of not caring a fig for anyone as a child. The added defense of aloofness as an eighteen-year-old and the firm hiding behind his newly acquired Englishness and his gentleman's manners.
We don't get heroes like Geraint very often; he was the epitome of still a hurt, lonely child inside mixed with strength, compassion, and courage. The author did an amazing job showing how people create defense mechanisms to help them survive and how this can help and hinder them in their personal relationships.
"Goddammit," Geraint said, "we were friends, Aled. You and Marged and I. Marged told me to get away from Ty-Gwyn. She told me I could shove my sympathy for her down my throat---I believe she was itching to suggest a different location. She told me I was not welcome. And you tell me I have a vivid imagination. Don't make this lonelier for me than it has to be, many. What have I done?"
When Geraint finally returns to Wales, he finds he can't just waltz in and be accepted. He's rich and part of the system destroying the people's lives, like his old friend's Aled and Marged. Aled was such a great character, shy but bold in his strength. Aled was the friend who tells it like it is, without anger or hate towards Geraint but with a calm open your eyes and educate yourself.
"Ignorance is no plea, is it?" he said.
Not then and especially not in 2017.
Most were enthusiastically in favor of showing their displeasure and their frustration---and their fear---in some active manner.
Fear was a dreadful emotion when it was accompanied by utter helplessness.
Something was wrong. It would have been farcical if it were not also deadly serious.
Using the Rebecca Riots was brilliant and helped educate me (I had to immediately go and research it further) on a personal little known historical occurrence. It beautifully showcased all the angles people take when injustice is massively tipped to one side.
And yet he saw now more than ever before that people of his class could not act as individuals for all their privileges. If they did not act as a class, as a unit, they might all crumble.
Again, the author was brilliant in showing all sides and directions of classism and how that can create injustice and as Geraint discovers, there is no easy fix because it is a system and not an individual person to easily attack.
The necessity for rebelling in order to draw attention would be past.
"I am fighting against a system, Marged," he said, "against an injustice that is larger than one person. I do not hate anyone."
"It shows," she said. "You are so very careful that no one if hurt during the smashing of gates, either on our side or on the other side. And somehow you arrange it that those who suffer material loss are compensated. You are a compassionate man. Is that why you are doing this, then? You are fighting against a system rather than against people?"
"Yes," he said.
"It is better than hatred," she said. "Hatred---hurts."
People as a whole don't want to constantly be at odds, they want to be a part of society and contribute. They want the system fixed or the first step at bare minimum to be taken, acknowledgement that the system is broken and needs to be fixed.
She was still angry. Perhaps angrier with him than she might have been because she was angry with herself.
Oh, Marged. I can see some great discussions happening about this heroine. The quickest and easiest assessment to make of her is bitter and hateful. Our heroines have to be kind, softhearted, and forgiving at all times, don’t they? Marged burns that thought to the ground. Marged is angry, she's angry that Geraint left her when she loved him as a child, she's angry at the system that killed her husband, and instead of crying on the inside, she flings her anger at Geraint.
Hatred, she was discovering, was too powerful an emotion. Too like love. Sometimes the two were indistinguishable. Perhaps if she had not loved him, she would never have hated him. She would merely have disliked and despised him.
Marged's anger and helplessness finds a convenient and pretty undeserved target of Geraint. Her warring of emotions gave their relationship passion. For every review I see that says they hated the heroine, I want thesis after thesis discussing the complexity of burdens of womanhood, their rights and privileges during this time period, how women are “allowed” to behave, and how individuals deal with convoluted emotions.
She also helped to provide the story with some romance angst ;)
"I am glad you were so stubborn," she said. "I am glad we never married, Aled."
He swallowed awkwardly. "I love you, cariad," he said.
"No," she said. "It is something other than love that rules your life, Aled. It is hatred and the desire for revenge. It is the desire for destruction and violence."
"It is the desire for a better life," he said, "and the conviction that we have a right to it. It is the belief that I owe it to myself and to my neighbors and to my unborn children---if I ever have any---to do something I cannot allow others to do for me, cariad."
"Neither could Eurwyn," she said bitterly. "But he died and left Marged and his mam and gran to manage without him. And no one has a better life as a result of what he did."
He lifted one hand to cup the back of her head. "It is what you are afraid of?" he asked softly. "That I will die and leave you alone? It is better, you think, not to marry me and not to have my little ones if I recklessly court death?"
She was crying then and trying to pull away from him. But his arms closed about he like iron bands. And he kissed the top of her head, the wet cheek that was exposed to him, and finally the wet face she lifted to him. He kissed her mouth with hunger, parting his lips with his own.
"Tell me you love me," he whispered against her lips. "It has been so long since I heard you say the words. Tell me I am your cariad."
But she struggled then and freed herself and turned back to face the gate, his coat held about her shoulders with both her hands. "No," she said. "You are not my love, Aled. And I do not believe Marged is my friend any longer. I am sorry for it. Marged is causing mischief and you are talking of breaking down tollgates with perhaps hundreds of men to make a mob. Someone will get hurt. It may be you or it may be Marged. But worse, it may be someone else, hurt because of you or Marged. I cannot love you any longer. No, let me put it differently. I will not love you any longer. But you knew that. We have argued it out before. Let there be an end now. No more scenes like this. It is over."
"And yet," he said, "you still love me."
"You were not listening." She released her hold on his coat and let it slide to the ground.
"Ah, yes," he said sadly, "I was, cariad."
She said nothing more. And he could think of nothing more to say either. She would not give up her conviction that protest and violence were never justified, and he would not give up his conviction that they were and that if he wanted to see change and thought someone should do something about effecting it, then he must be willing to do his part. He could no longer stand back and let the Eurwyns of this world do his fighting for him. He must fight for himself. Even if it meant giving up the one good thing in his life that had given it meaning and direction for the past six years. For four of those years he had worked long , hard hours in his forge, making himself worthy of her, making for her a secure future and preparing a comfortable home. And now for two he had taken the course best calculated to drive her away forever. But there was nothing he could do to change that. For if he could not offer her his integrity, then he had nothing worth offering at all.
Aled and Ceris were the secondary romance and I ate them up with a spoon. Talk about two sides of a coin and a wonderful showcase of how society needs both ways of thinking in order to challenge and change the system and keep societal civility. If Aled and Marged were the hundred reasons to passionately act out, Ceris was the hundred reasons to intellectually not to. Aled and Ceris' relationship, gah, their quiet love for each other just killed me.
This is a little slow at times and to ensure a happy ending, two very serendipitous moments had to occur but it was all so worth it for me.
If you're looking for more romance, this probably wouldn't be for you. If you're looking for a quick and easy story, this probably wouldn't be for you. If you're looking for complexity in thought and emotion, this is definitely for you.
This whole story felt like a very intimate peek into people's lives, they weren't just characters to me.
April 9, 2020
This 1996 Balogh novel is getting mixed reviews. Some reviewers dislike it and/or find it boring. Some like it. There doesn't seem to be that "indifferent" 3-star middle ground. Well, I haven't been a fan of Balogh's work for a few years now, but this book has me rethinking that.
I truly enjoyed this. The plot has some meat to it. Social-class unrest in 1800s Wales. The rich landowners exploiting and oppressing their tenant farmers, continually raising rent on the lands the tenants farm and setting up too many toll gates with too high tolls, causing hardship and loss of profit when the farmers need to transport their goods. Poverty is high, with people losing their farms and finding it difficult to obtain other work to support their families. Is it any wonder that riots against this oppression were fomented? This is the time of the Rebecca Riots, mainly with the goal of destruction of Welsh toll roads.
This is pretty heavy stuff for a Balogh romance. Usually all we read in her books is will they/won't they get together, will the hero or won't he learn not to be a jerk, will the heroine or won't she learn not to be a doormat, will they or won't they stop their unending, repetitive internal agonizing about this. Nope, this one suits me much better. Other than for a couple of problems with the hero's behavior, which I won't mention here but may include as a spoiler at the end, he was one of the good Balogh heroes. They are, IMO, few and far between but they do exist and I'm happy to see that he is one of them.
And, not only that, but this is a two-fer romance. There are two couples who will get their HEA by the end of the book. I liked both couples and was cheering on their romances all the way. Both men were mainly good and noble and worthy of being loved.
The plot revolves around Geraint Penderyn and his return to Wales after more than 16 years in England. Geraint had lived in Wales for his first twelve years of life. Most of the time at poverty level, scraping by with his mother, who was believed to have given birth to him illegitimately and was shunned by almost everyone, even the godly churchgoers. When Geraint was later proven to actually be the legitimate grandchild of the Earl of Wyvern, whose deceased son had married Geraint's mother before his death, he was whisked away to England to learn to be an English peer and gentleman. Torn between two identities, Geraint comes back to Wales and again finds himself shunned, this time because of his "Englishness" and his membership in the oppressor class.
There is surprising complexity to the story and surprising depth. Friendship and loyalties and conflicting identities and cultures and misconceptions about others. But it's not a perfect book. There is still the problem I have always had with Balogh's writing style. It's too mannered and slow and repetitive, although not quite as annoyingly so here as in other books. Another problem I had was with the hero's inability to be completely honest with the woman he loved, maintaining two conflicting identities and not letting her in on it until almost the very end. (And it wasn't even he who divulged this information.) So that's why it's not a 5-star book. But it's a superior Balogh tale, IMO. Her love of Wales shines through here.
I truly enjoyed this. The plot has some meat to it. Social-class unrest in 1800s Wales. The rich landowners exploiting and oppressing their tenant farmers, continually raising rent on the lands the tenants farm and setting up too many toll gates with too high tolls, causing hardship and loss of profit when the farmers need to transport their goods. Poverty is high, with people losing their farms and finding it difficult to obtain other work to support their families. Is it any wonder that riots against this oppression were fomented? This is the time of the Rebecca Riots, mainly with the goal of destruction of Welsh toll roads.
This is pretty heavy stuff for a Balogh romance. Usually all we read in her books is will they/won't they get together, will the hero or won't he learn not to be a jerk, will the heroine or won't she learn not to be a doormat, will they or won't they stop their unending, repetitive internal agonizing about this. Nope, this one suits me much better. Other than for a couple of problems with the hero's behavior, which I won't mention here but may include as a spoiler at the end, he was one of the good Balogh heroes. They are, IMO, few and far between but they do exist and I'm happy to see that he is one of them.
And, not only that, but this is a two-fer romance. There are two couples who will get their HEA by the end of the book. I liked both couples and was cheering on their romances all the way. Both men were mainly good and noble and worthy of being loved.
The plot revolves around Geraint Penderyn and his return to Wales after more than 16 years in England. Geraint had lived in Wales for his first twelve years of life. Most of the time at poverty level, scraping by with his mother, who was believed to have given birth to him illegitimately and was shunned by almost everyone, even the godly churchgoers. When Geraint was later proven to actually be the legitimate grandchild of the Earl of Wyvern, whose deceased son had married Geraint's mother before his death, he was whisked away to England to learn to be an English peer and gentleman. Torn between two identities, Geraint comes back to Wales and again finds himself shunned, this time because of his "Englishness" and his membership in the oppressor class.
There is surprising complexity to the story and surprising depth. Friendship and loyalties and conflicting identities and cultures and misconceptions about others. But it's not a perfect book. There is still the problem I have always had with Balogh's writing style. It's too mannered and slow and repetitive, although not quite as annoyingly so here as in other books. Another problem I had was with the hero's inability to be completely honest with the woman he loved, maintaining two conflicting identities and not letting her in on it until almost the very end. (And it wasn't even he who divulged this information.) So that's why it's not a 5-star book. But it's a superior Balogh tale, IMO. Her love of Wales shines through here.
November 15, 2021
5 completely unobjective STARS
What an amazing range Mary Balogh's back catalogue has. Who knew that one of the most prolific authors of Regency romances also wrote two novels set in mid 19th century Wales, both featuring stormy political upheavals and equally tormented romances? This one and ‘Longing’.
Truly takes place in 1830, in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, specifically in the fictional village of Glydereri and the neighboring estate of Tegfan. Its owner is the dashing, blue-eyed and very English-mannered Earl of Wyvern, Geraint Penderyn. Despite not having set foot in Wales for 16 years, Geraint once grew up as the presumed by-blow of the Earl's son, and as such shunned by the inhabitants of Glynderi and forced with his mother to live in a hovel up in the mountains. His life changed drastically once his grandfather discovered the legitimacy of his birth, which resulted in Geraint being forced to leave his Welsh identity behind forever in order to be raised as an English peer.
His sudden return to his homeland sets the whole village abuzz: many resent the Earl's lack of interest in the management of his estate. Some openly dislike the iron fist with which his steward exacts rents and turns impoverished farmers out of their homes. Among the latter, the most vocal is Marged Evans, a 26 yo widow barely managing to pay the rents on her farm, who once befriended Geraint as a child, tried to prevent him from starving, and taught him how to sing.
When they met again as teenagers on the occasion of Geraint's mother's death, love blossomed between them, only to end in resentment when she refused Geraint's bolder advances. (Yes, she slapped his face off when he tried to get under her skirt. Yes, he hid his embarrassment behind a mask of haughtiness. No, neither of them misses being 16 yo. Yes, this incident provides insane levels of angst in the present timeline).
However, the main source of Marged's hatred is Geraint's apparent refusal to save her late husband from transportation when he'd been caught trying to break a salmon weir on the Earl's land. Because of Geraint's lack of intervention, her husband died before even serving his sentence.
Geraint has an incredibly hard time trying to regain his tenants' trust, try to regain control of Tegfan from his villainous steward, carve a new place for himself in the village when everyone regards him with a mixture of resentment and awe, and deal with his renewed feelings for Marged.
He decided to reconnect with his roots after overhearing two Welshmen in London state their desire to go back home, but feels very much torn between his two contrasting identities, the Earl of Tegfan and plain Geraint Penderyn, a bold urchin who grew up on the Welsh hills with rags on his back.
His education and life as an English peer set him firmly aside from the citizens of Glynderi, yet there is a strong yearning in him to belong to this place as well as to take an active part in fixing the injustices that run rampant in Wales and make his tenants' lives near impossible.
'Perhaps it was not so much the poverty and the bleakness that haunted him but the love— the total, unconditional love he had received here. Perhaps this was the place where the riches of his life had been. For sixteen years he had had everything in his life except love.'
On top of his personal troubles, political upheaval is just around the corner with talks of 'Rebecca riots' spreading to Glynderi. Rebecca and her daughters are none other than masked men wearing wigs and dresses, guiding fellow local farmers to tear down tollgates in order to regain control of their land and make trade more accessible.
What is the local landowner with reforming aspirations to do to gain the village's trust? Why impersonate Rebecca himself of course! And live a double life as leader of the rebellion by night and befuddled Earl by day, which very nearly costs him not only his life, but also his sanity as Marged joins Rebecca and becomes his lover while still treating Geraint with contempt.
Geraint and Marged dance around each other for the entire length of the book creating enough tension to power a small European country, fighting the contrasting emotions they harbour for one another, but in the end, they are helpless to resist a love that's only matured in ten years. Their interactions are at times tender and melancholy, at others full of barely checked passion and belligerence. Will they let themselves accept the truth about their feelings? Will a future together for them ever be TRULY possible?
God only knows second chance romance is my catnip and MB is a master at crafting intense romantic dynamics, but I think she truly (hah) surpassed herself with these two.
'And no one would ever convince him that young love was ridiculous and of no account.'
'It was terribly wrong, she thought, to think of the love of sixteen-year-olds as puppy love, as something less serious than real love, whatever real love was.’
I found Marged's divided loyalties particularly compelling to read: she genuinely hates the Earl of Wyvern for washing his hands of his estate and unconsciously condemning her husband to death, and despite being mortally afraid of transportation herself, is ready to challenge his authority in any way she can. On the other hand, she still remembers Geraint as a kid and feels incredible tenderness for that version of him. She is dazzled by Rebecca and dives headfirst into love with him, despite not knowing his real name; becomes his mistress despite the risk of having a child out of wedlock and the social isolation that would ensue. She is brave and wild at heart, lives by her beliefs and is honest to a fault. IMHO, she is Balogh's best-drawn heroine to date.
'She hated him with an intensity that surprised even herself. She hated him because she had loved him and had made a fool of herself over him. Because he had let her down and shown her arrogantly and cruelly the gap in their stations. Because she had loved him at the foolish age of sixteen and because even then—especially then—love had hurt. Because even though she had prepared herself for his coming, her apron had become soiled and her hair had been buffeted by the wind and she had a visible patch on the sleeve of her dress. Because she was twenty-six years old. She hated him.'
I called this novel 'Welsh Les Mis on steroids' in my reading updates, and unfortunately, I won't reconsider my words: MB took inspiration from real historical events and created a deeply human story that shows why people resort to violence after their basic rights have been trampled on for centuries.
This book definitely has an ensemble flavour to it: it isn't about an English peer trying his hand at revolution, it's a story of loyalty, sacrifice, and love for one's homeland.
The entire cast of characters is vividly drawn, their motivations clearly portrayed. There are villains, and one of them made my skin crawl not so much for his cruelty, but because of how human he appeared despite his absolutely disgusting thought process. The secondary romance between the two leads' respective BFFs is also surprisingly complex and heartfelt. And yes of course there is a Welsh counterpart of Gavroche, and he's so cute I wanted to hug him myself.
A note about my rating: objectively, this book doesn't deserve five stars. MB is not the most dynamic of writers, and her tendency towards repetition and prosaic streams of consciousness is particularly evident here. She will write a sentence and then reformulate it after a few paragraphs in case we didn't get it the first time.
But as far as I'm concerned, these are all pretty inconsequential drawbacks when confronted with the sheer perfection that is this story as a whole. One has to be in the mood for a romance that 80% of the time veers towards angst as well as political commentary, but I highly recommend this book to everyone, be they MB veterans or not. It's a unique example of historical romance that is unjustly overlooked!
What an amazing range Mary Balogh's back catalogue has. Who knew that one of the most prolific authors of Regency romances also wrote two novels set in mid 19th century Wales, both featuring stormy political upheavals and equally tormented romances? This one and ‘Longing’.
Truly takes place in 1830, in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, specifically in the fictional village of Glydereri and the neighboring estate of Tegfan. Its owner is the dashing, blue-eyed and very English-mannered Earl of Wyvern, Geraint Penderyn. Despite not having set foot in Wales for 16 years, Geraint once grew up as the presumed by-blow of the Earl's son, and as such shunned by the inhabitants of Glynderi and forced with his mother to live in a hovel up in the mountains. His life changed drastically once his grandfather discovered the legitimacy of his birth, which resulted in Geraint being forced to leave his Welsh identity behind forever in order to be raised as an English peer.
His sudden return to his homeland sets the whole village abuzz: many resent the Earl's lack of interest in the management of his estate. Some openly dislike the iron fist with which his steward exacts rents and turns impoverished farmers out of their homes. Among the latter, the most vocal is Marged Evans, a 26 yo widow barely managing to pay the rents on her farm, who once befriended Geraint as a child, tried to prevent him from starving, and taught him how to sing.
When they met again as teenagers on the occasion of Geraint's mother's death, love blossomed between them, only to end in resentment when she refused Geraint's bolder advances. (Yes, she slapped his face off when he tried to get under her skirt. Yes, he hid his embarrassment behind a mask of haughtiness. No, neither of them misses being 16 yo. Yes, this incident provides insane levels of angst in the present timeline).
However, the main source of Marged's hatred is Geraint's apparent refusal to save her late husband from transportation when he'd been caught trying to break a salmon weir on the Earl's land. Because of Geraint's lack of intervention, her husband died before even serving his sentence.
Geraint has an incredibly hard time trying to regain his tenants' trust, try to regain control of Tegfan from his villainous steward, carve a new place for himself in the village when everyone regards him with a mixture of resentment and awe, and deal with his renewed feelings for Marged.
He decided to reconnect with his roots after overhearing two Welshmen in London state their desire to go back home, but feels very much torn between his two contrasting identities, the Earl of Tegfan and plain Geraint Penderyn, a bold urchin who grew up on the Welsh hills with rags on his back.
His education and life as an English peer set him firmly aside from the citizens of Glynderi, yet there is a strong yearning in him to belong to this place as well as to take an active part in fixing the injustices that run rampant in Wales and make his tenants' lives near impossible.
'Perhaps it was not so much the poverty and the bleakness that haunted him but the love— the total, unconditional love he had received here. Perhaps this was the place where the riches of his life had been. For sixteen years he had had everything in his life except love.'
On top of his personal troubles, political upheaval is just around the corner with talks of 'Rebecca riots' spreading to Glynderi. Rebecca and her daughters are none other than masked men wearing wigs and dresses, guiding fellow local farmers to tear down tollgates in order to regain control of their land and make trade more accessible.
What is the local landowner with reforming aspirations to do to gain the village's trust? Why impersonate Rebecca himself of course! And live a double life as leader of the rebellion by night and befuddled Earl by day, which very nearly costs him not only his life, but also his sanity as Marged joins Rebecca and becomes his lover while still treating Geraint with contempt.
Geraint and Marged dance around each other for the entire length of the book creating enough tension to power a small European country, fighting the contrasting emotions they harbour for one another, but in the end, they are helpless to resist a love that's only matured in ten years. Their interactions are at times tender and melancholy, at others full of barely checked passion and belligerence. Will they let themselves accept the truth about their feelings? Will a future together for them ever be TRULY possible?
God only knows second chance romance is my catnip and MB is a master at crafting intense romantic dynamics, but I think she truly (hah) surpassed herself with these two.
'And no one would ever convince him that young love was ridiculous and of no account.'
'It was terribly wrong, she thought, to think of the love of sixteen-year-olds as puppy love, as something less serious than real love, whatever real love was.’
I found Marged's divided loyalties particularly compelling to read: she genuinely hates the Earl of Wyvern for washing his hands of his estate and unconsciously condemning her husband to death, and despite being mortally afraid of transportation herself, is ready to challenge his authority in any way she can. On the other hand, she still remembers Geraint as a kid and feels incredible tenderness for that version of him. She is dazzled by Rebecca and dives headfirst into love with him, despite not knowing his real name; becomes his mistress despite the risk of having a child out of wedlock and the social isolation that would ensue. She is brave and wild at heart, lives by her beliefs and is honest to a fault. IMHO, she is Balogh's best-drawn heroine to date.
'She hated him with an intensity that surprised even herself. She hated him because she had loved him and had made a fool of herself over him. Because he had let her down and shown her arrogantly and cruelly the gap in their stations. Because she had loved him at the foolish age of sixteen and because even then—especially then—love had hurt. Because even though she had prepared herself for his coming, her apron had become soiled and her hair had been buffeted by the wind and she had a visible patch on the sleeve of her dress. Because she was twenty-six years old. She hated him.'
I called this novel 'Welsh Les Mis on steroids' in my reading updates, and unfortunately, I won't reconsider my words: MB took inspiration from real historical events and created a deeply human story that shows why people resort to violence after their basic rights have been trampled on for centuries.
This book definitely has an ensemble flavour to it: it isn't about an English peer trying his hand at revolution, it's a story of loyalty, sacrifice, and love for one's homeland.
The entire cast of characters is vividly drawn, their motivations clearly portrayed. There are villains, and one of them made my skin crawl not so much for his cruelty, but because of how human he appeared despite his absolutely disgusting thought process. The secondary romance between the two leads' respective BFFs is also surprisingly complex and heartfelt. And yes of course there is a Welsh counterpart of Gavroche, and he's so cute I wanted to hug him myself.
A note about my rating: objectively, this book doesn't deserve five stars. MB is not the most dynamic of writers, and her tendency towards repetition and prosaic streams of consciousness is particularly evident here. She will write a sentence and then reformulate it after a few paragraphs in case we didn't get it the first time.
But as far as I'm concerned, these are all pretty inconsequential drawbacks when confronted with the sheer perfection that is this story as a whole. One has to be in the mood for a romance that 80% of the time veers towards angst as well as political commentary, but I highly recommend this book to everyone, be they MB veterans or not. It's a unique example of historical romance that is unjustly overlooked!
February 7, 2022
"She kept her back straight and her chin high and bent her knees in a deep curtsy, grasping the sides of her dress as she did so. “My lord,” she said, speaking deliberately in English, “what an honor, to be sure.”
His expression did not change at all. And yet she knew he had understood that her subservience was deliberate mockery. He knew that battle had been engaged.
3.5/5. This book started in a fiery manner, the battle line drawn between former childhood friends, the angry and headstrong Marged and Geraint, the Earl of Wyvern who has finally returned to his long-neglected seat and his Welsh roots.
Geraint was forced to leave his mother and Wales behind as a twelve year old to be educated and raised in a manner fitting for an English lord. Although he inherited the title from his grandfather several years ago, past trauma had prevented him from returning back to his Welsh village and country seat.
The hills had beckoned to him. And he had been unable to resist their call.
He came back on a whim, a nostalgia for home, but it was never really home as Marged and the other villagers are now quick to remind him. Ostracised as a child when he was thought to be born out of wedlock and still derided and shunned now. Loneliness and isolation has never felt so acutely, his lifelong desire to be accepted and to belong has only grown over the years.
There was no home. Anywhere. Nowhere where I belonged. No one I belonged to.
As a child, Marged had extended her warmth and friendship to him when he and his mother were abandoned by all others. Since then, his fortune has changed for the better, but to his regret, their friendship has not. She blames him for her husband's death and he blames himself for his youthful folly and how his neglect of his people has resulted in their current impoverished and oppressed existence. Well 'contributed to', not 'resulted in', for the unjust treatment of the Welsh farmers is the consequence of years of unchecked subjection under wealthy landowners.
The chasm between Geraint and Marged seems unbreachable, personal grievances and social divide unsurmountable, but more important matters are at stake when the charismatic and enigmatic Rebecca leads the tenant farmers in revolt against the rising tolls. The people's leader, dressed up as the symbolic Rebecca, and accompanied by 'her children' takes centre-stage and Marged becomes one of his loyal followers, pitched against Geraint and his fellow landowners. Of course, things are not what they seem but Marged is too caught in the maelstrom to see clearly.
While the history buff in me enjoyed learning about the Rebecca Riots, unfortunately the romance took a backseat to the riots themselves. I also did not enjoy, what I regard as a love triangle
So it was not the most comfortable of romance, but not for the reason I expected. I love angst, especially between old friends or lovers now estranged. I however really loathe love triangles as a trope. Nevertheless, there were some powerful moments, more pertaining to Geraint and his past and coming to terms with who he now is as a person.
She did not say anything for a long while. He held her to him, listening to the singing from inside the house, feeling that happiness was this, this fleeting moment. And unhappiness was the same moment.
If he did not go back, he thought suddenly, then he would never really be able to go forward.
Perhaps if she had not loved him, she would never have hated him. She would merely have disliked and despised him.
His expression did not change at all. And yet she knew he had understood that her subservience was deliberate mockery. He knew that battle had been engaged.
3.5/5. This book started in a fiery manner, the battle line drawn between former childhood friends, the angry and headstrong Marged and Geraint, the Earl of Wyvern who has finally returned to his long-neglected seat and his Welsh roots.
Geraint was forced to leave his mother and Wales behind as a twelve year old to be educated and raised in a manner fitting for an English lord. Although he inherited the title from his grandfather several years ago, past trauma had prevented him from returning back to his Welsh village and country seat.
The hills had beckoned to him. And he had been unable to resist their call.
He came back on a whim, a nostalgia for home, but it was never really home as Marged and the other villagers are now quick to remind him. Ostracised as a child when he was thought to be born out of wedlock and still derided and shunned now. Loneliness and isolation has never felt so acutely, his lifelong desire to be accepted and to belong has only grown over the years.
There was no home. Anywhere. Nowhere where I belonged. No one I belonged to.
As a child, Marged had extended her warmth and friendship to him when he and his mother were abandoned by all others. Since then, his fortune has changed for the better, but to his regret, their friendship has not. She blames him for her husband's death and he blames himself for his youthful folly and how his neglect of his people has resulted in their current impoverished and oppressed existence. Well 'contributed to', not 'resulted in', for the unjust treatment of the Welsh farmers is the consequence of years of unchecked subjection under wealthy landowners.
The chasm between Geraint and Marged seems unbreachable, personal grievances and social divide unsurmountable, but more important matters are at stake when the charismatic and enigmatic Rebecca leads the tenant farmers in revolt against the rising tolls. The people's leader, dressed up as the symbolic Rebecca, and accompanied by 'her children' takes centre-stage and Marged becomes one of his loyal followers, pitched against Geraint and his fellow landowners. Of course, things are not what they seem but Marged is too caught in the maelstrom to see clearly.
While the history buff in me enjoyed learning about the Rebecca Riots, unfortunately the romance took a backseat to the riots themselves. I also did not enjoy, what I regard as a love triangle
So it was not the most comfortable of romance, but not for the reason I expected. I love angst, especially between old friends or lovers now estranged. I however really loathe love triangles as a trope. Nevertheless, there were some powerful moments, more pertaining to Geraint and his past and coming to terms with who he now is as a person.
She did not say anything for a long while. He held her to him, listening to the singing from inside the house, feeling that happiness was this, this fleeting moment. And unhappiness was the same moment.
If he did not go back, he thought suddenly, then he would never really be able to go forward.
Perhaps if she had not loved him, she would never have hated him. She would merely have disliked and despised him.
February 5, 2014
Infuriating...Bitter...Disappointing
Getting through this one was difficult. There is no one to like. NO ONE. The Welsh towns-people are nasty, bigoted hypocrites who are so poisoned with bitterness and pride that they would rather see their own children starve than accept charity from a "rich nob" like our hero. They call him a greedy bastard for taking high rents, but then turn around and call him a lording snake whenever he tried to give anything back. They WANT to hate the rich. There is nothing the rich can do to gain their good opinion other than die. Painfully. And they also have a very limited supply of empathy and generosity among themselves, having sneered at and ostracized the hero as a young boy because they all believed he was a bastard. They hated him when he was poor because they're bigots, and they hate him now because they're bigots.
And the wealthy? Just as bad. The other rich land owners in the area fabricate any intellectual excuse they can to continue their raping practices, turning anger and suspicion on the hero whenever he dares to suggest changes. You would think such horrible behavior would make you pity the poor, but as I wrote earlier, not these poor. Both classes are just horrible, horrible people.
So what of our hero and heroine? Sorry, but no help there. The heroine is a BITCH. I do not like that word and do not use it lightly, but it is the best description for her. She is hateful, bitter, and absolutely determined the blame the hero for anything and everything wrong in her life, even those things which she logically knows can't be his fault. She is also self-contradictory. She recognizes that the hero puts on airs in order to protect himself, pretending to be cold in order to not get himself hurt. Yet, despite this knowledge she goes out of her way to take every cold look her gives her as genuine! Yet another example of her grasping for reasons to hate him. Add to this the pranks she orchestrates at his home which amount to property destruction, all of which will have to be cleaned up by the hero's servants. She obviously doesn't give a damn about the extra work she's giving to her own people with her pathetic, petty schemes.
So all we have is the hero. Is he likable? No. He's a hold in the ground, utterly caved. Here he is surrounded by the people who treated him like garbage as a child, leaving him and his mother to nearly starve on the mountainside, and not only does he long for their good opinion but after all the sneering and pranks and outright nastiness he offers to become their lower class destructive leader! Yes, the hero is going to lead the bigots who hate him in destroying....his own property. Oh, yes, this is a likable man. He's pathetic, and his romance with the heroine makes absolutely no sense. There is no logical explanation for why he loves this woman or wants to do with her. Her fine treatment of him as a boy simple doesn't make up for everything else.
Getting through this one was difficult. There is no one to like. NO ONE. The Welsh towns-people are nasty, bigoted hypocrites who are so poisoned with bitterness and pride that they would rather see their own children starve than accept charity from a "rich nob" like our hero. They call him a greedy bastard for taking high rents, but then turn around and call him a lording snake whenever he tried to give anything back. They WANT to hate the rich. There is nothing the rich can do to gain their good opinion other than die. Painfully. And they also have a very limited supply of empathy and generosity among themselves, having sneered at and ostracized the hero as a young boy because they all believed he was a bastard. They hated him when he was poor because they're bigots, and they hate him now because they're bigots.
And the wealthy? Just as bad. The other rich land owners in the area fabricate any intellectual excuse they can to continue their raping practices, turning anger and suspicion on the hero whenever he dares to suggest changes. You would think such horrible behavior would make you pity the poor, but as I wrote earlier, not these poor. Both classes are just horrible, horrible people.
So what of our hero and heroine? Sorry, but no help there. The heroine is a BITCH. I do not like that word and do not use it lightly, but it is the best description for her. She is hateful, bitter, and absolutely determined the blame the hero for anything and everything wrong in her life, even those things which she logically knows can't be his fault. She is also self-contradictory. She recognizes that the hero puts on airs in order to protect himself, pretending to be cold in order to not get himself hurt. Yet, despite this knowledge she goes out of her way to take every cold look her gives her as genuine! Yet another example of her grasping for reasons to hate him. Add to this the pranks she orchestrates at his home which amount to property destruction, all of which will have to be cleaned up by the hero's servants. She obviously doesn't give a damn about the extra work she's giving to her own people with her pathetic, petty schemes.
So all we have is the hero. Is he likable? No. He's a hold in the ground, utterly caved. Here he is surrounded by the people who treated him like garbage as a child, leaving him and his mother to nearly starve on the mountainside, and not only does he long for their good opinion but after all the sneering and pranks and outright nastiness he offers to become their lower class destructive leader! Yes, the hero is going to lead the bigots who hate him in destroying....his own property. Oh, yes, this is a likable man. He's pathetic, and his romance with the heroine makes absolutely no sense. There is no logical explanation for why he loves this woman or wants to do with her. Her fine treatment of him as a boy simple doesn't make up for everything else.
May 18, 2022
Captivating
A slice of history I never knew about with not one, but two wonderful storylines involving couples fated to be together.
Really enjoyed it.
A slice of history I never knew about with not one, but two wonderful storylines involving couples fated to be together.
Really enjoyed it.
November 20, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_...
When they were children, Geraint Penderyn and Marged Evans were close friends. But years have passed since then. Geraint is now the Earl of Wyvern and Marged hates him more than any other man on earth. She blames him for her husband's death, and both she and all the other inhabitants of the Welsh village where she lives blame him for oppressing his people. Geraint has to devise some scheme to convince his people that really he is on their side. A masked savior, a man dressed as a woman named Rebecca, rides out at night to lead his people in rebellion against the toll gates that are destroying them all. He is a daring and commanding figure, and Marged is soon deeply involved with him, though she has never seen his face. Beneath the disguise he is, of course, her friend-turned-foe, Geraint.
I started Truly with absolutely no expectations at all. I had been talking with some friends about how much I enjoy Balogh's books and that made me want to start one. I went to the shelves and there I found this one. I had no idea what it was about and I was completely surprised when I started reading it. First because the heroine is very bitter, she resents the hero. Secondly because there's a lot of social history depicted here. I know, now, that Balogh has more such books, dealing with welsh history, out there and I'm on the hunt for them.
Feeling that Marged and all his former friends think him responsible for the situation they live in Geraint, a wealthy landowner, feels at first a bit confused as he hasn't been in the country for some years. He is the son of an Earl's son and a vicar's daughter and while a child he lived in the village and was treated as an outcast. Later his grandfather recognised him as the heir and he never had anything more to do with his mother and his former life. He felt so miserable that after inheriting the title he never went back to the village and the girl he was falling in love with before clumsily ruining everything. Till now...
Despite not being directly responsible Geraint feels he should address the problem as it was his steward who has been raising rents and evicting those who can't pay. Unable to change as much as he wants to and seeing that his offers to the villagers are returned he devises a plan to become a Rebecca. The Rebecca and her daughter's were a group of masked men who destroyed the gates so the toll wouldn't have to be paid. Geraint starts a double life being Rebecca by night and himself during the day. Marged naturally feels very attracted to the man she feels he is a sort of hero, who fights for the poor people's rights and has an uncommon respect for human life.
One does have to suspend one's disbelief on how Marged never recognised Geraint in situations where she clearly should but I was so interested in the story that I was willing to put this aside and just keep reading. Besides the love story it's very interesting how Balogh portrays the difference in social classes and how the common people lived and laboured.
Grade: B+
When they were children, Geraint Penderyn and Marged Evans were close friends. But years have passed since then. Geraint is now the Earl of Wyvern and Marged hates him more than any other man on earth. She blames him for her husband's death, and both she and all the other inhabitants of the Welsh village where she lives blame him for oppressing his people. Geraint has to devise some scheme to convince his people that really he is on their side. A masked savior, a man dressed as a woman named Rebecca, rides out at night to lead his people in rebellion against the toll gates that are destroying them all. He is a daring and commanding figure, and Marged is soon deeply involved with him, though she has never seen his face. Beneath the disguise he is, of course, her friend-turned-foe, Geraint.
I started Truly with absolutely no expectations at all. I had been talking with some friends about how much I enjoy Balogh's books and that made me want to start one. I went to the shelves and there I found this one. I had no idea what it was about and I was completely surprised when I started reading it. First because the heroine is very bitter, she resents the hero. Secondly because there's a lot of social history depicted here. I know, now, that Balogh has more such books, dealing with welsh history, out there and I'm on the hunt for them.
Feeling that Marged and all his former friends think him responsible for the situation they live in Geraint, a wealthy landowner, feels at first a bit confused as he hasn't been in the country for some years. He is the son of an Earl's son and a vicar's daughter and while a child he lived in the village and was treated as an outcast. Later his grandfather recognised him as the heir and he never had anything more to do with his mother and his former life. He felt so miserable that after inheriting the title he never went back to the village and the girl he was falling in love with before clumsily ruining everything. Till now...
Despite not being directly responsible Geraint feels he should address the problem as it was his steward who has been raising rents and evicting those who can't pay. Unable to change as much as he wants to and seeing that his offers to the villagers are returned he devises a plan to become a Rebecca. The Rebecca and her daughter's were a group of masked men who destroyed the gates so the toll wouldn't have to be paid. Geraint starts a double life being Rebecca by night and himself during the day. Marged naturally feels very attracted to the man she feels he is a sort of hero, who fights for the poor people's rights and has an uncommon respect for human life.
One does have to suspend one's disbelief on how Marged never recognised Geraint in situations where she clearly should but I was so interested in the story that I was willing to put this aside and just keep reading. Besides the love story it's very interesting how Balogh portrays the difference in social classes and how the common people lived and laboured.
Grade: B+
April 29, 2020
This beguiling rags to riches story takes place in nineteenth century Wales, on an estate bounded by sheep pastures, craggy hillsides and a community divided into Anglicans (the privileged) and Covenanters (everyone else). Geraint left the estate as a lonely twelve-year-old. He had spent his first years abjectly poor and thought to be the bastard son of the heir to the estate. He scampered the hills with children from the village and made friends among the cooks and housekeepers who gave the ragged boy food when they could. Then it was proven that his parents really were married and he is torn from his mother and forced into the life of the his grandfather's heir, including being sent to school in England and then on to university. By the time his education is finished, his mother is dead, as is his grandfather. Embittered by his exile from everyone and everything he has ever known, he vows never to go back to Wales. And yet, he is drawn back by homesickness and finds himself trying to protect his birthright, help his tenants and neighbors and bring some sort of justice for the farmers of the area. This was not a usual Mary Balogh tale, although there is a romance, of course. I enjoyed the details about Wales and about the Rebecca Riots.
October 5, 2017
3.5 * but rounded down, not up to 4. It is rare for me to rate a Mary Balogh book less than 4 stars but the amount of eye rolling I did with this book makes it necessary. There is a lot that I did like about this book though. It is the story of Geraint, Earl of Wyvern and Marged and takes place in 1840's Wales during a time of turmoil known as the Rebecca Riots. There is also a secondary romance featuring Aled and Ceris. I actually wish that this secondary romance would have received more page time because I was more invested in their story than Geraint's and Marged. That might have been because Marged was so difficult to like. I blame Marged for all the eye rolling I did. Her feelings for Geraint alternated between "I hate him" to "but I love him" up until darn near the last page. It was exhausting to me. Also, her seeming inability to see anything in the dark (to say more than this would be spoilerish).
Another reason to like this story is the authentic atmosphere Balogh created through descriptions of Wales, using the background of the real-life Rebecca Riots, and her use of Welch phrasing such as:
"Ceris,", Aled said. "We will step outside together and talk about it, is it?"
I really appreciate when an author makes an effort to create a setting that truly feels like a historical. Not everyone does.
So, not a top favorite Balogh read for me, but still an above average read if for nothing else, what I learned about this time in Welch history.
Another reason to like this story is the authentic atmosphere Balogh created through descriptions of Wales, using the background of the real-life Rebecca Riots, and her use of Welch phrasing such as:
"Ceris,", Aled said. "We will step outside together and talk about it, is it?"
I really appreciate when an author makes an effort to create a setting that truly feels like a historical. Not everyone does.
So, not a top favorite Balogh read for me, but still an above average read if for nothing else, what I learned about this time in Welch history.
April 19, 2009
Set in Wales, this book explores the role of the tenant farmers who had to deal with increasing farm rents and gate fees that made it costly to get their goods to market. It paints a beautiful word portrait of Rebecca, the Welsh rebel who led the farmers in tearing down toll gates and getting the attention of their English neighbors, who finally set up a commission to study the problems and resolve many of them. As usual Ms. Balogh does an excellent job of creating a host of believable characters to love.
February 10, 2021
A fascinating story about English oppression in Wales in the 1800s. Geraint is the new Earl of Wyvern though he grew up as the despised bastard in the small village near the Earl's manor. His only friend was Marged who now hates him because she blames him for her husband's death.
It's a grand tale about the history of those times with the Welsh masquerading as 'Rebecca' to stop the English toll roads that impoverish the poor countrymen. The romance is fine also, but I mostly enjoyed the history. A very fine book for anyone who wants to learn a little history with their romance.
It's a grand tale about the history of those times with the Welsh masquerading as 'Rebecca' to stop the English toll roads that impoverish the poor countrymen. The romance is fine also, but I mostly enjoyed the history. A very fine book for anyone who wants to learn a little history with their romance.
October 16, 2012
This is one of Mary Balogh's early books I found in a thrift store. It's set in Wales during the Rebecca Riots. One of the reasons I only read historical romance is for the history I learn and this book is a perfect example. Contained within are wonderful characters who are struggling to survive in a difficult political situation. People fall in love, no matter the turmoil of their surroundings. Brilliantly written.
April 28, 2024
This is one of those stories you shouldn't start reading at night if you're planning on getting any sleep.
A young Welsh earl had been raised in poverty, and then whisked off to England for schooling once his grandfather learned he was a legitimate heir. Forbidden to communicate with anyone back home for many years, he finally returns on a whim to find that all is not well, that the people are exploited and abused, and that his wealthy neighbors resist any actions to improve their lot. (His steward, who has run the estate for years, is no better.) His tenants all hate him, thinking he is responsible for their plight. He devises a plan to help, writing letters to the press and others in London, and also taking on a secret double life as the masked leader of the resistance. (Like The Scarlet Pimpernel and many other secret heroes, including Zorro, Superman, Batman, and many more)
There's plenty of excitement and tension, plus a couple of romances that run into complications. An enjoyable read, very hard to put down.
A young Welsh earl had been raised in poverty, and then whisked off to England for schooling once his grandfather learned he was a legitimate heir. Forbidden to communicate with anyone back home for many years, he finally returns on a whim to find that all is not well, that the people are exploited and abused, and that his wealthy neighbors resist any actions to improve their lot. (His steward, who has run the estate for years, is no better.) His tenants all hate him, thinking he is responsible for their plight. He devises a plan to help, writing letters to the press and others in London, and also taking on a secret double life as the masked leader of the resistance. (Like The Scarlet Pimpernel and many other secret heroes, including Zorro, Superman, Batman, and many more)
There's plenty of excitement and tension, plus a couple of romances that run into complications. An enjoyable read, very hard to put down.
April 12, 2020
This was a reprint from the 1990’s. I hate when they do that. Even tho I did not remember this book. And also because she writes so much better now than she did 30 some odd years ago.
In Wales in the 1830’s there was an uprising among the working folks against the aristocracy who were taxing the lives out of them and treating them cruelly.
The Rebecca Riots were the revolt against the landed class, where a disguised group of put upon individuals tore down toll booths and damaged property. This book tells the tale of one village and a boy raised there who returns as a man. The love story is unbelievable and takes forever. I could not believe that the heroine was such a twit that she couldn’t recognize that her hero and the guy she hated were one and the same. Dumb and boring but I finished it.
In Wales in the 1830’s there was an uprising among the working folks against the aristocracy who were taxing the lives out of them and treating them cruelly.
The Rebecca Riots were the revolt against the landed class, where a disguised group of put upon individuals tore down toll booths and damaged property. This book tells the tale of one village and a boy raised there who returns as a man. The love story is unbelievable and takes forever. I could not believe that the heroine was such a twit that she couldn’t recognize that her hero and the guy she hated were one and the same. Dumb and boring but I finished it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2024
I have read most of Mary Balogh’s books and novellas, and have enjoyed them all. This is one of those books I’ll never forget. The story is set in 1842-43, during the Rebecca riots in Wales. It is heartbreaking to learn of how the working people were mistreated.
This troubling setting is made palatable because her characters become real people to the reader, people to love and sometimes to despise. An imp of a nine year old boy plays a strong supporting role.
Balogh charms the reader with the Welsh people’s love of and their excellence in singing, the importance of community and the church in their lives, and with the beauty of their land.
This troubling setting is made palatable because her characters become real people to the reader, people to love and sometimes to despise. An imp of a nine year old boy plays a strong supporting role.
Balogh charms the reader with the Welsh people’s love of and their excellence in singing, the importance of community and the church in their lives, and with the beauty of their land.
April 17, 2019
This should have been MM historical romance between Geraint and Aled. It's usually easy for me to like the lead female character in most romance books, but since I've started my pointless Mary Balogh books marathon, I keep failing to relate to any of them. I guess I just see the formula now and it's annoying to see the same plot over and over. I should stick to the Bedwyns. They're a sure thing for me. And the Survivors' Club. The recent ones are better. The good writing by Mary Balogh is always a pleasure to read, though. So there's that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2022
4.5/5 stars as an historical novel. I know little of Welsh history and of the Rebecca Riots nothing at all. But Mary Balogh brought the history and events to life. This, along with LONGING, is a love letter to Wales.
2/5 stars for the romance. The heroine's (Marged) bitterness was too much for me. I just felt rather sorry for the hero (Geraint).
4/5 stars overall as this was more an historical novel with romance elements than a romance novel in my opinion. I also quite liked the character of Idris Parry, a nine year old scamp who brought a bit of levity to a rather serious book.
2/5 stars for the romance. The heroine's (Marged) bitterness was too much for me. I just felt rather sorry for the hero (Geraint).
4/5 stars overall as this was more an historical novel with romance elements than a romance novel in my opinion. I also quite liked the character of Idris Parry, a nine year old scamp who brought a bit of levity to a rather serious book.
July 19, 2017
A worthy companion to Longing (what a terrible, superficial title for a great book). This one is set in the same period, but in West Wales. For the whole book, I could not figure out how everything could possibly end well, given difficulty of everyone's situation, without losing credibility. Yet somehow the author managed it. Well done!
April 14, 2020
An excellent story. Mrs. Balogh was born in Wales and her Wales' stories are always well done. Truly is no exception. The story and romance are intertwined with the Rebecca Riots, taking place in rural Wales by tenant farmers protesting against the payment of tolls to use their own roads in the 1800's.
The characters are well developed and make it a special read. BD
The characters are well developed and make it a special read. BD
July 6, 2020
I think this might be the best book by Balogh I have read. It also brought back the real meaning of historical romance, rooted as it was in a historical event. Once upon a time I learned a lot of history from that genre. I had never heard of the Rebecca Riots and that was a moving force in the story and the characters. The book truly caught me up.
April 27, 2020
A Fun Read
I found the characters interesting with enough background to help in understanding their motivation and personalities. Just the right amount of love making to keep on reading
I found the characters interesting with enough background to help in understanding their motivation and personalities. Just the right amount of love making to keep on reading
Read
May 6, 2020DNF'd at 37%. This is possibly the least convincing romance I've ever read--maybe because the author is focusing the tension between our hero and the townsfolk. Which includes the heroine. So how this romance is supposed to work is beyond me.
May 14, 2020
I didn't enjoy this book as much as Mary Balogh's more recent titles, and found it slow going with characters that I didn't love. I did however enjoy learning about the Rebecca riots in Wales, a part of history I had never heard of before.
June 5, 2021
-4 stars. more than just a simple love story. fiction based around the true 'rebecca riots'.
"thank you for the help." she was pleased to hear that she sounded more as if she was telling him to go to hell.
"sometimes people would prefer to fight a hopeless cause than not to fight at all."
"thank you for the help." she was pleased to hear that she sounded more as if she was telling him to go to hell.
"sometimes people would prefer to fight a hopeless cause than not to fight at all."
August 8, 2024
This book was so interesting historically as well as being beautifully romantic, made more so by the romantic wild setting in Wales. One of my favourite books by Balogh and generally overlooked and underrated.
March 15, 2018
I loved this book. Actually I find Miss Blogh's books located in Wales very enriching and heartfelt.
April 18, 2020
Originally published in 1996, this novel features the people and countryside of Wales...and makes me want to visit.
Not during quarantine, of course, but after!
Not during quarantine, of course, but after!
April 20, 2020
Good story
Interesting bit of history tied neatly to a romance. Mary Balogh did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life
Interesting bit of history tied neatly to a romance. Mary Balogh did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life
May 28, 2020
Loved it
I have read many Mary Balogh books and enjoyed them all.
but this book I loved and will tell my other reading friends
I have read many Mary Balogh books and enjoyed them all.
but this book I loved and will tell my other reading friends
November 2, 2020
Excellent Book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews