Evelyn Ruddick is fed up with people, particularly
men of the ton, thinking her to be mindless and frivolous just because of her
beauty and gender. Her brother Victor, who’d recently returned from India and is now
ardently trying to be a politician, is one such insensitive male, but good sister that she
is, gentle Evelyn is unable to refuse when he constantly sends her to cozy up with all
sorts of people in order to gain him political favor. It is during the performance of one
such sycophantic and distasteful errand that Evelyn comes under the scrutiny of
London’s premiere rake, the Marquis of St. Aubyn, ‘Saint’ as he’s
paradoxically known to everyone, particularly amongst the legions of female, well-bred and
not, married and unmarried, who’ve all at one time or the other graced him with their
favors. This encounter leaves her flustered, and him vaguely interested.
One day, Evelyn chances upon the Heart of Hope Orphanage, and is
delighted to finally find a place, a vocation, at which she can really work and make a
difference. But as luck would have it, Saint is the head of the board of trustees of the
orphanage, and he shrewdly bargains with Evie – her virginal favors in return for
permission to work at the orphanage. His kisses stir her profoundly, and she knows well
she should reject his outrageous demands. But she’s nevertheless determined to best
him at his own game, and teach this charming and arrogant scoundrel the true meaning of
compassion and caring. The interesting question now is – will he change her into the
wanton he desires so ardently, or will she make him become deserving of his nickname of
‘Saint’; can a leopard really change his spots, regardless of how tempting and
compelling the person imparting the lesson might be? Evie certainly hopes so, but as
bitter experience has taught her, men seldom do what women want.
Suzanne Enoch has crafted a most romantic and intriguing tale in ‘London’s
Perfect Scoundrel’. The story has one of the most rakish and unrepentant heroes
ever and Saint is an important redeeming factor in this otherwise familiar story. Saint
appears to have no worthwhile qualities or character at all, and indeed, he has no wish to
be redeemed. But along comes this demure young miss with ‘innocent’ virtually
stamped on her forehead and suddenly the two are engaged in a deadly battle of passion and
compassion. The most beautiful part of the story is the gradual change they bring about in
each other, and the way they go about doing it. As they’re both very strong-willed
people, and complete opposites to boot, the book has a lot of conflict in it - physical,
mental and emotional, and this is sensitively, and even humorously, depicted. Their verbal
battles, the war of words and innuendo and the sexual combat in which they indulge in, are
all greatly entertaining and amusing to read. The story is not unusual, but the
author’s enchanting handling of it certainly gives this oft-told tale a shining new
patina. Many characters from previous Enoch novels put in frequent appearances, and the
tantalizing hints given about their adventures is sure to make the readers long to read
her previous books, if they haven’t already.
In short, ‘London’s Perfect Scoundrel’ is a
greatly pleasurable read, and its readers are sure to enjoy themselves immensely.
Reviewed By Rashmi Srinivas for The Road to Romance
June 4, 2003 |
