This is a sequel to Poacher's Fall which is closer in scope and length to a novel, but isn't quite long enough to manage all of the different elements it contains, in the end.
Four years after the events of Poacher's Fall, Danny has been the groundskeeper for Philip's lands while also continuing to have a relationship with him, basically in the plain sight of all the servants. Philip's cousin, who will inherit his estate at Philip's death, comes to stay for Christmas, bringing along his wife, her sister and his younger brother, who is a fairly obvious fop at Cambridge. Meanwhile, Danny's younger brother is acting out and is quite suspicious of Danny's relationship with Philip.
The book is torn between being a novel of country manners and almost melodrama, with Danny and Philip both misunderstanding each other's intentions multiple times, and a couple of decisions that ignore pragmatism in favor of 'romance' in a way that I found both hard to believe and hard to sympathize with, oddly. I still enjoyed it, but I kept wanting the narrative to zig when it would zag.
Grade: B
Four years after the events of Poacher's Fall, Danny has been the groundskeeper for Philip's lands while also continuing to have a relationship with him, basically in the plain sight of all the servants. Philip's cousin, who will inherit his estate at Philip's death, comes to stay for Christmas, bringing along his wife, her sister and his younger brother, who is a fairly obvious fop at Cambridge. Meanwhile, Danny's younger brother is acting out and is quite suspicious of Danny's relationship with Philip.
The book is torn between being a novel of country manners and almost melodrama, with Danny and Philip both misunderstanding each other's intentions multiple times, and a couple of decisions that ignore pragmatism in favor of 'romance' in a way that I found both hard to believe and hard to sympathize with, oddly. I still enjoyed it, but I kept wanting the narrative to zig when it would zag.
Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment