Beyond the Sunrise

Rosalyn Landor's superb accents conjure the setting of eighteenth-century England for this historical romance. Seventeen-year-old Robert Blake first meets French Countess Jeanne when she's 15. Though they're attracted to each other, Jeanne's father forces her to reject Robert, who is illegitimate. The two don't meet again until 11 years later. Landor's persuasive range of voices reflects the genders of the couple as well as their contrasting personalities. Well-timed pacing heightens the intensity of the duo's shifting feelings and the passion of the sexual encounters between them. Even when the narrative becomes a little bogged down in the logistics of troop movements, Landor's dynamic performance keeps the story engaging. M.F. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

November 2, 1992
Balogh's ( The Secret Pearl ) new epic love story is a winner. In 1799 in England, the illegitimate 17-year-old son of an English marquess meets a 15-year-old French countess at a ball; they fall in love but--because of their respective social status--are forced to part. Eleven years later, they meet again at another ball, this time in Lisbon. Robert Blake is now a captain with the British army and widow Joana da Fonte is Marquesa das Minas. Although only one recognizes the other, both fall in love again. The part each plays in the French-Iberian conflict, however, appears to conspire against their happy ending. Their differing stations in life are also still an issue, as Robert warns Joana: `` . . . no bridge . . . can connect our lives . . . permanently. Neither of us would be happy in the other's world once the first gloss had worn off our passion for each other.'' The way in which Balogh resolves her story makes for absorbing reading right up until the end.