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'Passion' is a fictionalized account of the lives of four women and their male counterparts. The women are Mary Shelley, Fanny Brawne, Augusta Leigh and Caroline Lamb. The men are Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and John Keats. It is a sprawling story that encompasses their lives during the highs and the lows. The book begins slowly as the author chronicles the women’s childhood but picks up pace as they meet the men who will change them. Mary Shelley whose mother, Mary Wollstonecraft passes away after giving birth to her hooks up with the Percy Shelley and runs away with him. Caroline Lamb marries William Lamb but falls heads over heels in love with Lord Byron. After their tumultuous affair ends with Caroline practically stalking Byron, he engages in a relationship with his half-sister, Augusta Leigh. Fanny and her ill-fated romance with John Keats are explored.
'Passion' is very difficult to put down once we get beyond the beginning. Once the author has established the characters and brings them together – it becomes a page turner. The women’s personalities are fully developed while the men seemed to fade in comparison. This was easy to understand as the book’s emphasis is on the women. The reader can understand the depths of their feelings especially toward the men in their lives. The interaction between them is compelling with the emotions and desires that exists among the players. The research is in-depth and it shows throughout the book. It is hard to tell what actually occurred and what is fiction but a good book will make the reader want to find out more about these people. Passion easily accomplishes this and more as the reader is transported into this time period where some of the most famous romantic poets lived. This is historical fiction at its best as the author weaves a story that is brimming with joy and sorrow.
Reviewed by Susan Tam
for The Road to Romance
March 25, 2006
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