The Proposition

I'm a fan of the My Fair Lady story line and I especially love that Winnie was just an incredibly smart lady, but found that her push-and-pull with Mick went on just a bit too long. I could understand her hesitation, and had a great deal of empathy, but her transition came a little late in the story. Also, the extreme fairytale-ness of the ending was just too unbelievable. And they all lived happily ever after? I don't think so. I had to drop my rating a bit for it. I love rags-to-riches stories, like, a lot a lot, but just couldn't handle this one.

ETA: I take it about about not being able to handle the ending. The epilogue def makes it too pat, but I really like this story.

Edwina, a 29-year-old spinster, always thought she was unattractive, but Mick Tremorne could persuade her otherwise. The devastatingly gorgeous Mick, who works as a rat-catcher in order to support his 11 orphaned brothers and sisters, has a naturally aristocratic bearing, which is an enormous asset when he is persuaded to participate in a wager: can he, in six weeks time, pass himself off as a viscount? Edwina, the daughter of a marquess, supports herself by training people to fit into the ton. Her cousin, Xavier, who inherited the entailed ducal estates that would have passed to her father, has refused to support her, and even tried to cheat her out of her dowry.

The mysterious twins who proposed the wager and provide the financial show more support might have a nefarious agenda. If the masquerade is uncovered, Edwina could lose her place in society and Mick could be jailed.

This is a fairy story, utterly unrealistic even for an historical romance, but it's well-written and amusing. Suspend disbelief and enjoy. show less

Okay so this book was published in 1999. And we need to take this into account when reading it 25 years later. There are some problematic sex scenes with dubious consent but, as has been discussed extensively elsewhere, that was very common in romance novels of the time.

So removing that from this discussion, here are my thoughts. The tone of the book is gentle and that surprised me. I'm used to a much more agressive tone. So much so, that it didn't feel like a romance novel in parts.

I struggled with the characters' voices. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was an old fashioned RP male. I didn't find either character's voice attractive. I thought that I would like Mick's more once he lost the Cornish/Cockney accent but then he show more just sounded like a bore. But that is purely an audiobook issue.

I loved the character development, particularly Winnie's. To see her coming out of her shell and enjoying a drunken night out, dancing and flirting, was great. Too often historical romances get stuck in the respectability issue. The heroine is either a lady or a whore so it was lovely to see Edwina let her hair down with no 'dreadful' repercussions.

I also really enjoyed the focus on the details. Mick's love of animals for example. And how Winnie coped with her poor eyesight.

I believed the couple had strong feelings for each other and I wanted them to have a happy ending. I cried over Mick's plan to move to Newcastle to become a valet.

However, the ending itself was too trite. If the resolution had been woven more thoroughly into the story, like a mystery, then I could have lived with it. But it was too pat and too easy.

They were an adorable couple and the book is beautifully written.

I loved the leg fixation too... show less

Zero angst, but I loved it! The plain heroine is a bit insecure, but that eventually passes. What unique and different characters, I don't think I've ever read a hero like Mick. He's confident and sure of himself without being arrogant, is sweet and unselfconscious. It was fun watching him draw Winnie out of her shell. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, given this is a gender-switched version of My Fair Lady, but there is not a bit of strife between the MCs, the relationship is 100% open and sweet.

Ivory is always a cut above the rest and The Proposition is no different - if you have learned to love Ivory's ability to craft unusual characters, to convey character through the most interesting and delightful of quirks, to find beauty in the unexpected...The Proposition will not disappoint.

I loved the way that Ivory talked about Edwina, always describing her unusual features in such a way that the reader as well as Mick finds it so easy to see how beautiful she is. I loved the flaws in her character - her fear and nervousness - as much as I loved the moments when she was capable of overcoming them, in exuberant dancing or in her work.

Mick, too, is a delight - somewhat more the typical hero than a lot of Ivory's other choices, but I show more think that this might be in order to compensate for the fact that he's a rat-catcher...he's gorgeous, charming, loves live and has a knack for making the people around him happy.

It has been noted that this is a "My Fair Lady" story, and this is true, and a number of other reviewers have complained about the ending. I myself didn't have a problem with it, per se, but the ending is the weakest part of the book because it is so sudden. Most of the book is about Edwina letting go of her class hangups, so the turnaround is a little jarring.

For that alone, I have to say that this isn't my favorite Ivory - on the other hand, it is probably the most cheerful book I have read by her, and that's a plus of its own. show less

February 2024 review: oh god my original review is a little embarrassing - lol this book is absolutely not conventional (aside from the ending but I don't even think that so much now.) The fairytale/myth elements were more obvious for me during this read and I think because of that I don't have the same sense of disappointment about the ending as I previously did.

April 2023 review: I liked this! It is definitely one of the more "conventional" romances by Ivory. Like, it is a Blue Ribbon winner, Best All-Around. What I have come to love about Judith Ivory is how unexpected her books are and how far they stray from the conventional: from her characters and the choices they make, to her lack of epilogues or epilogues that refuse to tidy show more up all loose ends. When I say this is a conventional romance, I mean it is conventional for Judith Ivory iykyk. I would have loved if the ending was a little different - maybe a little more mysterious - but I adored both characters so much I don't really care that much.

Gosh I don't know how to say this without sounding like a complete dope, but I'm going to say it anyway - Judith Ivory is special. Everything she has written is special - even when it misses the mark in important ways - she has written books that are so important to me that I might cry in front of strangers when I think about it. show less

A retelling of Pygmalion or My Fair Lady, only this would be 'My Fair Gentleman'. Add in the fact that the two gentleman bettors are actually con men hoping to pass Mick off as the lost, via kidnapping, grandson of a Duke. Somewhat disappointingly plot-wise, Mick really is the lost gentleman. Hence, his appearance, intelligence, and gentle spirit can be attributed to his noble genes. You loose the commentary that nobility can be found in all classes of people.

Mick is a rat catcher with a leg fetish.