This book took me a very long time to read. I did enjoy it, but I got lost with some of the characters in the middle. ( )

This historical fiction novel focuses on the women who loved Shelley, Byron, and Keats, and how these three poets had a profound effect on their lives and loves.

It was certainly interesting. I knew little about these poets’ lives and I feel somewhat enlightened, at least as much as I can verify as truth, and I think Morgan managed to capture the attitude of the time very well and the inspiration for these poets’ greatest works. Some of the women were sympathetic characters, especially Mary and Fanny, but the novel spent far too much time on Caroline Lamb, who was the least interesting and had the least influence on any of the poets. I felt sorry for her in a strange sort of way, but during her parts it felt as though the plot wasn’t moving and I was far more interested in getting back to the other women. Fanny disappears for about 200 pages, which is a shame because I liked her.

Except for the fact that the plot is loose and doesn’t move much, it’s a good book. There is certainly a plot there, but the tension is occasionally ruined by a focus on other, less interesting characters. I understand that real life is not like a novel, but a novelist should structure the work to keep the reader interested, not focus on characters whose importance to the book faded halfway through.

I liked the variety of prose styles; occasionally Morgan tosses in a first person perspective or a play, which seems like it could be too clever but worked well. I liked her writing in general and I liked some of the characters. Another good historical fiction, but not great.

http://chikune.com/blog/?p=47 ( )

Despite its unfortunate title (which sounds like something by Danielle Steel), Passion is a wonderful historical novel. (I agree with the reviewer who said this is NOT really a historical romance.) I was so delighted by it that I sought out everything I could find by Jude Morgan, and I've been recommending this book to anyone I know who loves historical fiction.

Personally, I liked the shifting narrative, and I think that Morgan did an excellent job of creating believable, individual voices for each of the women: Mary Wollstonecraft, Lady Caroline Lamb, Augusta Leigh, Mary Shelley, and Fanny Brawne (with extra appearances by Claire Clairemont and a bevy of Byron's other lovers). I agree that the sections on Keats and Fanny were the least successful; I suspect this is because Keats was really not really a part of the social circle of Byron and Shelley.

Overall, Passion ranks very high on my list of favorite historical novels. Highly recommended. ( )

An account of the women sharing their lives with Lord Byron, Shelley and Keats. A very good description of the middle/upper class of that time with emphasis on the women, their social surroundings, morals and ethics of that time, some politics. You get a look at the literary and social scene, the Prince Regent, Beau Brummel, Napoleon, Waterloo and so on and so forth.
Although its central theme is romantic relationships, I would not class this as a romantic novel, but rather a historic one. I agree with previous reviews, that there is not a strong narrative thread. Which is probably the reason, why I started loosing interest about half way through. So, I enjoyed the first 300 pages very much, but thought that the book got a bit scattered after that. I did not like the chapters that were told by Caro Lamb - mostly because I did not like her talking directly at me. I did not think that worked very well.
And again I agree with earlier reveiws regarding Keats and Fanny Brawne. Their storyline felt like an afterthought and the book could have done without it.
I expected their stay at lake Geneva - where Frankenstein was "born" - to be the pivotal point of the book and was a bit dissapointed, how briefly it appeared.
It is a good story though and was worth reading. ( )

Novel of the Romantic poets - Keats, Shelley, Byron, etc. - and the women who loved them. Just excellent. ( )