Editorial Review:
In this novel we are given a sequence which brings two people together by circumstance of a riding accident and leads to forbidden attraction. For several years Nicholas Duke of Trenton will harbour a secret passion for a bedraggled young miss who turned up on his doorstep one dark night. In true knightly spirit he offered young Hannah sanctuary and by morning she was gone. Unbeknown to Nicholas, Hannah’s life is not as imagined. A cruel governess has charge of Hannah and corporal punishment for the slightest misdemeanour is administered with the pleasure of a sadist. Hannah’s life is utter hell and what happens in the interim is left to reader imagination as the story closes on the first chapter. The story resumes with her first coming out ball where her married sister and her uncle present her to society. Nicholas on seeing her again is smitten and pursues her hand in marriage. Sadly his life is complicated by a clingy mistress, and the way in which he attempts to terminate the relationship bodes ill for Hannah. How could Nicholas be so blind as to leave Hannah at his country estate and employ a companion for her, a companion recommended to him by his former mistress? A good question and although this book is not a comfortable read, one feels compelled to turn the page to be sure Hannah survives the reappearance of her former governess. Here is where I will end and assure readers of a happy ever after. It cannot be said this novel is Austenesque in content. Hannah’s story is more in keeping with Jane Eyre’s early experiences. All the same, it is a fictional dark suspense story set in Regency England where having a mistress was a matter of course for men of all persuasions. It therefore falls within the realm of the more open Jane Austen Regency Award in which a juvenile heroine blossoms to womanhood in dire circumstances. It is agreed Dangerous Desire by Lesley Field is hereby awarded the Jane Austen Regency Complimentary.
