The Charm School

The Charm School
2 Stars

Socially inept and isolated, Isadora Peabody is an ugly duckling in a family of peacocks. Deciding to make a change, Isadora finagles her way on to The Silver Swan bound for Rio and ends up charming the pants off the surly captain, Ryan Calhoun, and his eccentric crew.

To begin with, the book synopsis bears very little resemblance to the actual storyline. Isadora doesn't "sneak aboard"; she is hired as a translator. Ryan doesn't "barely register" Isadora; he is smitten virtually from the start. The crew doesn't "teach her the charms of a lady"; she befriends them and they treat her as an equal.

***Spoilers Ahead***

The basic premise of the story has potential, yet there are several elements that grate on the show more nerves. To begin with, the "hero" has sex with several prostitutes throughout his acquaintance with the heroine. Technically, they aren't together yet, but it is annoying.

In addition, Ryan and Isadora's first time together occurs when she is stoned out of her mind. Can we say "dubious consent"?

Isadora is supposedly an intelligent and well-read young woman, yet she believes herself in love with a superficial and vapid moron simply because he is handsome and popular? She has several TSTL moments that risk her life and constantly accuses Ryan of abusing her when it is obvious that he is trying to ensure her safety on board.

Ryan is supposedly a charming rogue but actually comes across as a self-indulgent, foppish playboy and womanizer who is determined to rescue the family of his childhood friend (whom Ryan owned and set free) from slavery. While this appears to be laudable, it is undermined by the fact that the focus is on how this quest is Ryan's responsibility, and the affect it has on his life. Journey has no agency of his own, which is paternalistic and condescending.

Overall, a disappointing read and I'm not interested enough in Ryan's down on his luck half-brother to continue with the series. show less

Yessss. Plain, chubby, super insecure spinster heroine. Lots of angst and self-discovery. Sweet.

I cannot believe it took me TEN YEARS to circle back to this book. While I wish skimming down wasn’t a part of Isadora’s transformation into a swan, I did appreciate her as a BBW heroine. And I like that this story has the condemnation of slavery as a major feature - too many HRs romanticize the past instead of being honest about it. And I like the realistic development between Ryan and Isadora, he doesn’t fall into instalove, their romance feels realistic and beautiful.

The Charm School is the first book in Susan Wiggs’s Calhoun Chronicles. Isadora has been labeled a wallflower by Boston society. As a woman who loves to read and learn and who has never been the prettiest in any room, she’s all but invisible, but she has a crush on Chad, one of her brother’s friends and the son of a shipping magnate who is a friend of her family and owns a vessel dubbed the Silver Swan. However, Chad barely even notices her. Frustrated by her lot in life, when Isadora meets Ryan Calhoun, a dashing Southern gentleman and the captain of the Swan, and discovers that he’s just lost his translator, she asks him to take her on as a replacement. When he refuses, she goes over his head to Chad’s father, who is show more persuaded to allow it in exchange for her acting as a shipboard spy. Thus begins Isadora’s sailing adventure to exotic Rio de Janeiro, during which she learns all about life on a ship and slowly starts to come out of her shell. She also develops an attraction to Ryan, but when he finds out that she’s sending information back to the owner of the ship, he’s quite put out about it. Still, once they’re in Rio, the beauty of the setting takes over and weaves a romantic spell around them. Soon Ryan and Isadora are falling for one another, but she’s spent so many years being teased and ignored for her differences that she finds it hard to trust in Ryan’s sincerity. For his part, Ryan eventually realizes that he’s madly in love with her, but he made a promise to his best friend, who is a former slave, to free his family, whatever it takes. However, doing so could cost him everything, including possibly his life.

Isadora was always the overly tall, plain, plump one in a family of attractive people, so between her appearance and her bookish nature, she’s never quite fit in with Boston society. As a girl, she went to live with a spinster aunt who was the only person who really understood her, but ever since her aunt passed away, she’s been back with the rest of her family. To just about everyone in their circle of Beacon Hill friends, she’s invisible, and that includes her crush, Chad. Tired of everyone ignoring her and thinking that perhaps Chad might take notice if she proves herself valuable to his father’s enterprise, which he’ll one day inherit, she finagles her way onto the Silver Swan. Based on her first meeting with Ryan, she thinks him little more than a shallow womanizer, even though he is very attractive. At first, they’re like oil and water. He’s not happy that she forced his hand and is especially annoyed when he finds out she’s spying for his employer, but in spite of their animosity, an attraction begins to take root. Once they’re in Rio, Isadora finds herself falling under a romantic spell and enjoying spending time with Ryan. Even after they make love, though, she still can’t quite shake off the feeling that he’s not being entirely sincere when he compliments her or expresses his feelings. And then there’s the matter of her crush on Chad, which hasn’t entirely dissipated in spite of the distance between them.

As the girl who was always different growing up and not particularly pretty, I felt an instant affinity for Isadora. I appreciated her bookish nature and her constant desire to learn new things. I also liked that she wasn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and help out on board ship in any way she could. It takes some time, but she eventually sees the depths in Ryan’s character, positive things that he doesn’t necessarily see in himself. I enjoyed watching her grow and change during the long sea voyage, gradually gaining confidence, and eventually finding the beautiful swan underneath the ugly duckling exterior. I think it’s precisely because she was slowly growing that I felt a bit frustrated with her when she still couldn’t believe Ryan’s compliments or even his declaration of love until the very end of the story. I was also a little annoyed that she still had a bit of a crush on Chad until almost the end, as well, and it took him outright treating her badly before she finally realized he was never the one she truly cared for. Otherwise, I liked Isadora. I just wish she’d warmed up to Ryan and believed his words a little sooner.

Ryan was born and raised on a Virginia plantation, where his best friend growing up was a slave boy named Journey. Together, they built a fort near the water, where they played, watched the ships, and dreamed of one day sailing on one. Ryan never really thought much about the cost of slavery until Journey married a young woman from a neighboring plantation, but was still kept from his wife and the children they eventually had together. It was then that he vowed to never own slaves and to do what he could to end the practice. When Ryan went off to college at Harvard, he insisted that Journey come with him, and once they were in the North, he gave Journey his manumission papers. Always something of a rebel, Ryan’s college days were cut short when he was kicked out of Harvard, but he talked his way into captaining the Silver Swan, thinking to finally live out his dream. But more importantly, he was determined to earn the money to buy Journey’s wife and children out of slavery and free them. He’s done well, making record time sailing the ship, but he just needs one more big haul to hopefully have enough. No matter how much he might feel sorry for her, he doesn’t have time to coddle a female on his ship, so he unequivocally tells Isadora no when she comes looking for a position on his crew. When she goes over his head, he’s really annoyed with her and his irritation only grows when he finds out she’s sending letters about him to his employer. However, in spite of everything, Ryan begins to see the intriguing woman beneath Isadora’s frumpy exterior. Slowly they become friends, and then once in Rio, it blossoms into much more. But afraid that his mission to save Journey’s family might end with him swinging at the end of a rope, he doesn’t feel he has anything to offer her in spite of having fallen in love. Although there were times I felt Ryan could be a little shallow and a bit high-handed, I still liked him. He recognizes Isadora as a fellow black sheep of the family and sees the beauty underneath everything on the outside. He was also instrumental in helping her find more confidence and stop worrying about what others thought of her.

I have to admit that based on the title and cover blurb, I went into reading The Charm School thinking it was going to be a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady type of scenario, but it only is in the most subtle of ways. The cover blurb mentions the ship’s crew being Isadora’s personal charm school and teaching her to be a lady, but most of that takes place in the background rather than as a major part of the story. At the very end, they enact an outward transformation (more ala The Ugly Duckling, which is excerpted throughout the book), but until then, it’s more about her inward journey to becoming more accepting of herself and what she has to offer the world. It’s also about Ryan and his mission to rescue his best friend’s family. I was a bit worried when I found out Ryan was a Southern gentleman, so I was pleasantly surprised by his abolitionist spirit. At every turn, he was very careful not to have anything to do with slavery, which was a quality I greatly admired. The romance between Ryan and Isadora is an extremely slow burn, almost painfully slow at times. I’ve never been a great fan of enemies-to-lovers romances, and this pair definitely kick things off at odds with one another. It wasn’t as bad as some books I’ve read, though, and they do gradually work their way into a friendship. If memory serves, however, they don’t even kiss until reaching Rio. Up until then, I wasn’t feeling a particularly strong connection between them, but once in Rio, things turned more romantic and heated up a bit, although the love scenes are pretty mild. Back on board the ship for the return voyage, though, the distance between them returned. Part of this is owing to them not being great communicators. Both Ryan and Isadora frequently misunderstand or misconstrue the other’s words or actions, which was a little frustrating for me. There was at least a time or two, I was wishing they’d just sit down and have an honest heart-to-heart. However, in spite of my occasional slight annoyances, I kept reading. All’s well that ends well, as they say, and overall, it was a pretty good story. The Charm School was my first read by Susan Wiggs, but I enjoyed it sufficiently that I’m interested in continuing the series. show less

This book takes places in 1850s Boston which is not a place or time period I usually choose for my historical romances. I was intrigued by the "ugly duckling" story line, and it paid off. It was really a joy to watch Isadora go from mousy, bumbling and invisible (but smart and funny) to confident, bold and comfortable in her own skin. I loved the voyage to Rio, and I am glad the voyage back to Boston was glossed over. I also liked the fact that the two main characters not only hated each other (mostly) on sight, but didn't immediately fall into one another's arms. Sure, it's all fairly predictable, but it's a romance novel. And great fun to read.

This is a reissue of a 1999 release.
What a wonderful story about love and transformation Susan Wiggs has penned in “The Charm School”. It combines the lure of “Pygmalion” with the fairy tale of “The Ugly Duckling” and even throws in a dash of anti-slavery activism. And it all comes together beautifully in a story that validates hopes and dreams of love and freedom.

Isadora is the ugly duckling. In her family of slim, pale blondes, she’s a full-figured, tall brunette; and in 1850s Boston high-society she was the fish out of water. Too well-educated, unwilling to merely smile and keep silent, Dora spent her teen years folding in on herself like an old accordion. Humiliation and embarrassment finally drive her to escape the show more only way she can…she decides to hire herself out as a linguist on a family friend’s trading ship.

Ryan, on the other hand, is beautiful, sexy, and full of charm. He grew up the privileged son of a southern plantation owner. It wasn’t until his childhood friend, Journey, was forced to live apart from his wife and children that Ryan came face-to-face with the true ugliness of slavery. In that moment, his life changed. His purpose became to free Journey and his family, whatever the cost. Now he’s only one voyage away from his goal.

Although not a fan of American pre-Civil War novels, I did enjoy this well-written novel. Ms Wiggs’ skillfully included many sailing and historical facts that I found very interesting. She balanced the seriousness of her subjects with bouts of humor; the hero and heroine first make love while under the influence of marijuana!! I’m pretty sure I can honestly say it’s the first time I’ve seen pot used as a plot device!

The author’s writing is vivid and descriptive. I easily imagined myself caged with the heroine in Boston and learning freedom onboard the ship and exploring Rio de Janeiro. The passion between the lead characters was believable and paced realistically. While I may never become a rabid fan of novels from this era, Susan Wiggs “The Charm School” has certainly made me a fan of this author. show less

Enjoyed this book: the feelings of a woman that does not meet her families Beauty standards, the crew of the ship realizing that Isadora could use their help and her taking it, the sense of humor of Ryan and his learning to be sensitive to her feelings, the encounters between Ryan and Isadora both when liking each other and their arguments, the strong belief of Ryan to correct slavery issues. Interesting to have an intelligent woman that her family supposedly loved her but not enough to truly help her in their own environment yet the crew could teach her. Nice settings of Boston, at sea and in Rio that each made the reader relate to being there. Enjoyed the love scene in Rio.

I seem to be on a romance kick. This one was about an "ugly duckling" who was born into the perfect socialite family, which of course she doesn't fit in too. As she tries to find her way in the world she decides to board a ship headed to Rio as a translator. Here she meets Captain Calhoun and his rowdy crew, along with his mom and aunt Rose who they visit while in Rio. Together the other characters along with the freedom of ship life help Isadora Peabody come out of her shell and turn into the beautiful swan that she really is.

The story dripped of cheese, but it did seem to charm the pants out of me. Overall it was a nice story with a good message, however, I felt that the message was beat over the reader's head over and over again.I show more did like that the two love birds didn't start out liking each other and it wasn't until towards the end where they really came together. This element added to the tension between the two, which was a nice change of pace from typical romance novels. show less