The Pride of the Peacock

My rating is an attempt at objectivity. Objectively speaking, this is a very well-written romantic suspense, heavy on the romance. I believe it to be everything that was beloved of romances in the 60's and 70's. It was very well plotted and a great deal of care was taken with both atmosphere and characterisations.

Thus ends objectivity. I disliked this book. It is the embodiment of everything I find tedious in romances, in spite of wanting to enjoy them. The whole misunderstanding / lack of communication trope makes me want to set fire to the book as I'm reading it. It would take an emotionally neglected and abused protagonist to find the romantic interest in this book romantic or heroic in the least. He was vain, arrogant and stupid. show more She was just stupid, although I give her credit for being a smart-ass.

The setting for the first half of the book was England, and the second half in an Australian opal mining town, during a time before combustion engines and electricity were a thing (no specific date is ever named in the book). I thought at first this would be a saving grace, because I'm moderately interested in opals. But Holt was apparently obsessed with them, and her characters were mad about them. There was so much obsessing and evangelising about the damn opals. Holt was too heavy handed and went too far; by the end she'd almost killed any interest I had in them at the start.

A true connoisseur of the romance genre might enjoy this for the nostalgia if not for the good story behind it (and it is a good story). Me, I'm going back to my wheelhouse of murder and mayhem for awhile, before getting back up on this genre-horse. show less

I have been reading Victoria Holt books all my life, so when I needed a “goto” I reached for this one. Her Australia settings have not been among my favorites, and as I got deeper into this one, I saw how it had not withstood the test of time. i grew impatient with the heroine, and the stuck-up hero, playing games instead of talking to one another. “And if he hadn't gone to the trouble of making me jealous, I never would have realized how much I loved him.” Run, Jessica. Run as far from this self absorbed man as you can.”

Not the most engaging of Victoria Holt’s novels.

The narrative plods along during the first half of the book with a tedious amount of rambling from old Ben the ex-opal miner. Elements regarding Jessica’s parentage proved more interesting but not strong enough to add any sparkle to the story.

The second part set in Australia appealed more to me, though as the plot reminded me of several other Holt novels, I predicted many of the events that transpire.

We have the usual long suspenseful build-up to a climax that’s over too soon.I often feel that this author doesn't squeeze the full potential out of dramatic/exciting/frightening scenarios. She's great at building suspense, creating mystery, but tends to resolve her heroine's most show more trying moments too quickly and too easily, as I feel she's done here - on two occasions especially.

Although I liked Jessica, the characters on the whole were not a strong ensemble.

Overall, an average read with potential to have been much better. show less

Una cautivadora historia sobre el engaño, la traición y la venganza. Un clásico del suspense romántico como solo Victoria Holt supo hacerlo. Jessica Clavering, nacida en el seno de una familia sentenciada a la ruina, siempre ha sentido que no encajaba.

I'm very happy to read Victoria Holt on kindle. I'm one of the people who devoured her books in the 80s and 90s.

It's such fun to re-read a book that you loved.
This story is classic Victoria Holt, a little gothic, some mystery weaving throughout the novel (here it's the Green Flash Opal), a love story with lots of downs, before the ups, family dynamics and societal expectations (which the heroine doesn't buy into).

I recommend this book to anyone, it's a classic.

I'm very happy to read Victoria Holt on kindle. I'm one of the people who devoured her books in the 80s and 90s.

It's such fun to re-read a book that you loved.
This story is classic Victoria Holt, a little gothic, some mystery weaving throughout the novel (here it's the Green Flash Opal), a love story with lots of downs, before the ups, family dynamics and societal expectations (which the heroine doesn't buy into).

I recommend this book to anyone, it's a classic.

I'm very happy to read Victoria Holt on kindle. I'm one of the people who devoured her books in the 80s and 90s.

It's such fun to re-read a book that you loved.
This story is classic Victoria Holt, a little gothic, some mystery weaving throughout the novel (here it's the Green Flash Opal), a love story with lots of downs, before the ups, family dynamics and societal expectations (which the heroine doesn't buy into).

I recommend this book to anyone, it's a classic.