Nicholas

May 14, 2012
Capt. Nicholas Price, the new Lord Stafford, is a boor, and schoolmarmish Emeline Wilson, one of his tenants, is a shrew. It’s the premise of many an engaging romance, but Holt (Dreams of Desire) fails to provide a crucial element: sympathy. In 1813, Nicholas unexpectedly inherited an earldom; a year later, all he can think to do with his wealth is flaunt debauchery before Regency London. Women exist for “one thing and one thing only,” and when Emeline confronts him about the tenant situation on his estate, Nicholas duly tries to use her. She goads him into visiting his property instead, but too late: the villainous land agent has burned down her house. Nicholas, belatedly appalled, gives Emeline and her sisters houseroom, and then things really heat up. Nicholas’s eventual about-face is unconvincing, the historical details are often improbable, and the amorous and parental exploits of Nicholas’s kindly brother tend to overshadow the main romance.