Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Anyone familiar with Maya Rodale’s current Keeping Up with the Cavendishes series can’t fail to have noticed that the plots of the previous books in the series (Lady Bridget’s Diary and Chasing Lady Amelia) have been loosely based on famous films**. The plot of Lady Claire Is All That, the third instalment, is no exception, deriving a storyline from the 90s movie She’s All That, which in turn borrowed its plot from Pygmalion.
The basic premise is that of high-school jock – in this case an incredibly handsome, ridiculously wealthy, hugely popular marquess – meets and falls for high-school geek – here, a new-to-London American lady who is obsessed with mathematics and widely thought to be rather odd. It’s a fun, fluffy listen for the most part, but amid the froth, Ms. Rodale manages to make some pertinent points about sexism and feminism, and to include some moments of insight and introspection on the parts of both hero and heroine as they come to realise they need to make some major re-evaluations of their sense of self and plans for the future.
Lady Claire Cavendish is the oldest of the three sisters of James Cavendish, the American horse-breeder and trainer who unexpectedly inherited the title of Duke of Durham. The family has recently arrived in London (the three books in the series so far take place more or less concurrently, so can be listened to in any order) and while not snubbed outright – James is a duke, after all, and a wealthy one at that – there is no shortage of people prepared to titter behind their hands and poke fun at the unconventional behaviour of “those Americans”. The middle sister, Bridget, is desperate to fit in; the younger, Amelia, wants to be outrageous and Claire… doesn’t really care all that much. The only reason she has come to England is to meet Blake Auden, the Duke of Ashbrooke (The Wicked Wallflower) in the hopes of getting to speak with him about his invention – the Difference Engine – and advanced mathematics. She has cultivated a reputation for being an oddity and a bluestocking, and has quickly perfected her method of getting rid of any unwanted admirers – she talks at them about maths until they go away.
Maximillian De Vere, Lord Fox, is one of society’s darlings. He’s gorgeous, fit, rich and charming… women swoon over him, and he knows it, so he’s at a complete loss to explain why his equally gorgeous, charming fiancée just upped and left him to run away with an actor. For just about the first time in his life, Fox is confused and a bit vulnerable, which is why, when a friend needles him about the abrupt ending of his engagement, Fox brags that he could easily pick any young woman and turn her into a darling of the ton. His friend scoffs and a wager is made – but with the proviso that he, not Fox, gets to pick the recipient of Fox’s attention. Who gets picked? Yep. Got it in one. But it’s too late to back out and besides, Fox is and always has been one of life’s winners. In spite of a few misgivings, Fox’s arrogance carries the day and he even goes so far as to make his beloved dog – the best hunting dog in England – part of the wager.
When he approaches Lady Claire, however, he starts to realise the enormity of the task he has set for himself. She quite obviously has no interest in him, and while Fox freely admits he’s not the sharpest tool in the box, he does quickly work out that if he’s going to stand any chance of winning the bet, he’s going to have to change his approach. The way to Claire’s heart is clearly though her brain and love of mathematics, so incredibly, just a few days later, he’s introducing her to Ashbrooke and listening to them converse animatedly about things he can’t begin to understand, and escorting Claire to a maths lecture at the Royal Society.
As Claire and Fox spend more time together, it becomes harder and harder to ignore the intense attraction that has sprung up between them. When they’re together they can hardly keep their hands off each other, and when they’re apart, almost all they can think about is their next meeting. Claire is astonished to discover that she could be attracted to a man in a way that is not based on intellectual equality, and I admit, one of the things I disliked about her was the way she persists in thinking that Fox isn’t clever enough for her at the same time as she’s happy to snog and grope him at every available opportunity. But Fox isn’t stupid; it’s clear quite early on that his is a different kind of intelligence to Claire’s and he’s definitely bright enough to realise that all Claire is interested in is his body and to be hurt by it. Which, it has to be said, is a nice bit of role reversal.
Neither Fox nor Claire is perfect, and what Ms. Rodale does very well is to show the gradual evolution of their perceptions, both in terms of how they think of themselves and how they see each other. Claire comes to appreciate Fox for his good nature and honesty; Fox is fascinated by Claire’s intellect and realises that he loves her for what and who she is and that he doesn’t want her to change, even if it means losing the wager.
Lady Claire Is All That is an entertaining story, but I do have some criticisms. For one thing, Claire is a bit self-obsessed and is the sort who needs to keep reminding herself and everyone else how smart she is in order to validate her own sense of self-worth. Fox’s continual references to his being a “winner” get old quickly, the ending contains more cheese than you’d find at Fortnum and Mason, and there’s no denying that if you’re looking for historical accuracy in your historical romance, Ms. Rodale’s books aren’t really the place to go looking for it. But in spite of those things, it’s well-written, warm and funny, and the chemistry between the leads is delicious.
It’s always testament to the narrator’s skill when I find myself rating the content of a book more highly in audio than I did in print. Saskia Maarleveld does a terrific job here, the nationality of the heroine clearly informing her choice to perform the narrative using an American accent – which sounds spot-on to my English ears – and switching effortlessly between American and English accents when called for. The one time that choice jars, however, is when we are being told the story from Fox’s point of view, because it means that his thoughts are delivered in an American accent, and it doesn’t sound right. I could have wished that she had opted to perform the sections from Fox’s PoV in an English accent, but that’s just an observation rather than something that affected my overall rating. Oh – and one last thing on the subject of accents – which isn’t the narrator’s fault – is the fact that the word “Fox” when said using an American accent frequently sounds like a widely used four-letter word. Oops.
Ms. Maarleveld differentiates very effectively between all the characters, making it easy to tell the difference between the three Cavendish sisters, and between Fox, Ashbrooke and the other male characters in the story. She performs the romantic scenes with style and conviction, and I particularly enjoyed her interpretation of Fox, who sounds every bit the attractive, charming man he is meant to be. Lady Claire Is All That is an engaging, lighthearted listen that is sure to fit the bill when you’re next in the mood for a bit of romantic fluff.
** Bridget Jones’ Diary and Roman Holiday
[section label=’Audiobook Information’ anchor=’Audiobook Information’]
Caz
AUDIOBOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: Lady Claire Is All That
AUTHOR: Maya Rodale
NARRATED BY: Saskia Maarleveld
GENRE: Historical Romance
STEAM FACTOR: Glad I had my earbuds in, but at the tame end
REVIEWER: Caz [button type=’link’ link=’http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LDDH6XQ/?tag=audiogalsnet-20′ size=’btn-lg’ variation=’btn-default’ target=’blank’]Buy Lady Claire Is All That by Maya Rodale on Amazon[/button] [section label=’Excerpt’ anchor=’Excerpt’]EXCERPT:
