Wild Swan

I'm happy to see the work of the late, beloved Celeste De Blasis finally available in digital format. I'm curious to know if this small publisher, Bookouture, will attract any new readers or if they'll rely on people like me, who still have our hard copies of this book from 1984, but are happy to pick up an e-version that we can read without our glasses (thank goodness for adjustable font size settings).

Frankly I doubt that anyone has the time or patience these days for a 700 page historical novel that, in addition to the main narrative, devotes pages and pages to describing horse breeding, the Missouri Compromise of 1819, and the election of John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson. But if you skim through all of that detail, you will show more get to the heart of the story, the indomitable Alexandria Thaine Carrington Falconer. De Blasis was ahead of her time in featuring strong-willed female characters who didn't take shit from their men, and who found a way to make their mark despite the restrictions of their era. She may still seem old-fashioned to today's readers; she's younger than both of the heroes in the book, and her sexual awakening comes about at the hands (and lips) of the more experienced men. But compared to many of the more traditionally passive or flighty female characters in 1980s historical fiction, she was a breath of fresh air and an inspiration to a young woman like me. De Blasis' singular heroines were the reason why I purchased all seven of her books in hardcover and why they are still on my keeper shelves more than 35 years later.

I'm not sure why the publisher had to change the name of the book from its original [b:Wild Swan|9764|Wild Swan (Wild Swan Trilogy, #1)|Celeste De Blasis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389514818l/9764._SY75_.jpg|12554], or why they had to add the ridiculous qualifying description. Yes this book is epic, spanning 18 years and two continents. I guess it's heartbreaking - characters die and are separated from their true loves, but by the end of the book Alex is happily married to the man you know she belongs with. There are two more books in the "Swan" series, [b:Swan's Chance|1137668|Swan's Chance (Wild Swan Trilogy, #2)|Celeste De Blasis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389515126l/1137668._SY75_.jpg|2667587] and [b:A Season of Swans|325659|A Season of Swans (Wild Swan Trilogy, #3)|Celeste De Blasis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387741786l/325659._SY75_.jpg|316308] that focus on Alex's children and grandchildren through the Civil War and several decades beyond. I hope Bookouture publishes them as well because I'd love to add them to the digital shelves. I doubt that there is much of a new audience out there for this author's books, but I could be wrong. In the coming pandemic winter of 2020-21, maybe a long, dense, sweeping historical that takes weeks to read will be just what the doctor ordered. Either way, I'm thankful for the blast from the past.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. show less

A Wild Hope by Celeste De Blasis is a 2020 Bookouture publication.

Well, they sure don’t write ‘em like this anymore… Sigh…

This sweeping saga was originally written back in the 1980s, back when epic historical tomes were commonplace. Sadly, many of these books have simply faded into obscurity along with the authors who wrote them.

Thankfully, some publishers have chosen to digitally format a select few of them- giving them new titles and covers and offering them to a whole new audience.

For those of us who were fans back in the day, this is also an opportunity to revisit some of our old favorite authors and some of their work again… and in a format that is a little easier on the eyes.

For anyone concerned about content- not show more every single historical romance novel written in the 1980s was a ‘bodice ripper’. Yes, this book is a romance and there are explicit sex scenes- more than I felt was necessary, and there are moral issues, like adultery, but it is also a story that would appeal to historical fiction fans. For it’s time the novel incorporated issues into the story, like race, and feminism and features a strong female lead character, which should appeal to the modern reader.

I really miss these sweeping sagas. There’s nothing like being swept away into another time and place and following the characters through all the tragedies and triumphs in their lives. I also love that the story will continue in the next book and will once again feature characters from this novel and lead the reader into future generations. That’s something we don’t get much of these days in historical fiction or romance and kind of miss that too.

This is a long book- and because our attention spans are shorter these days- I did get a bit impatient a time or two when I felt the pacing lagged and there didn’t seem to be much going on- but at the same time, I enjoyed the long span of time the novel covered and all the various locations, and layers of emotions involved.

Overall, I loved getting lost in this novel and it was so nice to read a book by Celeste De Blasis again, after all these years. Looking forward to book two in the trilogy!!

5 stars show less

Wild Swan begins in 1813 as thirteen year old Alexandria (Alex) Thaine's grandmother sends her to live with distant relatives on the west coast of England to get her away from her hateful mother. In Devon she thrives with the Falconer family and especially forming a lifelong bond with the younger son Rane. Rane decides to wait until Alex is old enough before he asks for her, but in the meantime Alex's sister dies and her mother calls her back to help raise her two infant twins. The twin's parent St. John (pronounced sinjon) returns badly wounded from the Napoleonic wars, Alex nurses him back to health and a bond is formed between them and the children that leads to a marriage (albeit not sanctioned by the Church of England), unbeknownst show more to Rane who waits until Alex is 16 and arrives too late to propose marriage to the already "wed" Alex. Wah!

Alex eventually makes a good marriage with St. John and to get away from family influences they make their way to Maryland to strike their fortune at horseraising/racing. Alex faces quite a surprise when she finds herself face to face again with Rane who also left England to find a new life away from memories of his love for Alex. At this point the story takes up with Alex and St. John's efforts to purchase land (named Wild Swan) and start raising thoroughbred horses and life on the racing circuit, that eventually leads to the aquisition of a mad horse that has dreadful consquences on St. John, Alex and their children. More than that, I'm not telling.

All in all a highly enjoyable read and I had a hard time putting it down and lost more than an hour or two of sleep (always a good sign??). Despite being typed as a romance, this novel was packed with plenty of historical details to place it a step or two above the norm, especially as the author dealt quite nicely with the slavery issue and the St. John's opposition to same. My only minor quibbles are that unless you are a "horsey" person (which I'm not) there are some spots that become a bit slow (but you can skip them) and the sex scenes, while not gratuitous, were a bit...well...ahem....just a tad too detailed for my tastes (especially one scene - you'll know when you get there). If it had been a "true" bodice ripper than I wouldn't have minded, but eventually enough is enough. Outside of that, it was a pretty darned good read and there are two books that complete the story, Swan's Chance and A Season of Swans. show less

This is a classic novel that starts a well-loved trilogy.

It begins early in the 19th century in England, during the Napoleonic Wars, and ends in the Federal period of U.S. history. It explores issues of the nature of love and marriage, society's judgments of outsiders, class conflicts and resolutions, slavery, and smuggling. It also explores horse breeding and racing in England and America in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

The length makes it a leisurely exploration of the lives and times of the characters, at a pace we don't often get to enjoy in novels published today.

The one outstanding problem that I had with this novel was that much of the plot--and the commentary on the nature of marriage--was based on a false, or show more rather mistaken, premise. The infamous "marriage with deceased wife's sister" prohibition law did not come into effect in England until 1835-- which is at the end of this novel, not its beginning. During the time the novel is set, such a marriage was not prohibited by civil or ecclesiastical law: instead, it was voidable. That meant that either party could get an annulment on those grounds if they chose, but the marriage was presumed valid and the children were legitimate. (Jane Austen's brother legally married his deceased wife's sister in England in 1820.)

But setting aside this inconvenient problem, the novel stands on its own merits as a rich exploration of creating family, life, status, friendships, trust, and their rewards. show less

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

It has been sometime that I read this novel. At the time I was impressed by the lives and hardship that the Chinese women endured. I must take time to re read it.

One of the first books I couldn't put down.