Educating Caroline

Starred review from October 29, 2001
Brimming with the warmth and charm of a playful puppy, Cabot's (Lady of Skye,
etc.) Victorian-era romance turns the tired theme of a young woman's sexual awakening into something fresh, funny and sensual. Never prurient, this spirited romp offers seduction scenes that are scintillating yet subdued and protagonists with whom the reader can easily identify. When Lady Caroline Linford finds her fiancé, Hurst Slater, the Marquis of Winchilsea, in flagrante delicto
with Lady Jacquelyn Seldon, she does what any sensible woman of her era would do—nothing. Caroline even goes out of her way to keep Jacquelyn's fiancé, wealthy firearms manufacturer Braden Granville, from discovering the pair. Nevertheless, Braden, who worked his way out of London's worst crime-ridden ghetto only to be reviled by society's elite, knows he's being cuckolded, and he's determined to discover the identity of Jacquelyn's lover so that he can call off their wedding. Caroline, however, feels obliged to marry Hurst since he saved her brother's life a year earlier. To make him love her, Caroline resolves to become an expert in lovemaking, and she turns to Braden, the Lothario of London, for instruction. A subplot involving a vicious ring of card sharks helps flesh out Caroline and Braden's romance, and supporting characters such as Caroline's friend Emily, a Suffragette who's fond of chaining herself to things, and Braden's quirky cronies—Weasel, Wormy and Crutch—add zing to an already intoxicating tale. (Nov.)Forecast:Cabot (aka Meg Cabot and Jenny Carroll) is a writer of remarkable skill, and it's only a matter of time before her historical romances are embraced as readily as her young adult titles (The Princess Diaries; The Mediator). Strong word of mouth and glowing reviews should help propel her latest into the limelight.