A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer
Started/Finished Reading: March 2, 2008
The story is not as gripping as other books I’ve read before but what I appreciate most in this novel is that the plot is no fairy tale. It does not delude the readers about one-true-loves. In fact, it illustrates two different kinds of love: the passionate and the long-lasting, comfortable sort.
Adam, faced with a ruined estate and debts left by his father, the late Viscount, sacrifices his love for Julia in order to marry the heiress Jenny. Jenny, though rich, is plain and practical and is no beauty. Even Adam, though with his merits, is not the handsomest man that walked upon the earth. There had to be something other than attraction to make their relationship work because even though Jenny loved Adam, it was one-sided. He came to treasure her as someone whom he learned to trust and depend on and not as the woman he wished he could have made his wife. I think that it is this unusual circumstance — a marriage of convenience that did not grow mutual passion between the hero and heroine — is what kept me interested in the story.
I like the way the book ends. The relationship between Jenny and Adam has developed and changed greatly, though it seems it will never be lust-filled like other historical romances I’ve read. This is reality. Adam is no Prince-upon-a-white-horse and Jenny is no beautiful damsel. Their relationship is not perfect, their marriage not the most ideal either, but it works out because everyone knows that we can’t have everything we want and in reality, we have to make do with what we have.
Tags: Georgette Heyer