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| Plot Summary of A Civil Contract |
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"An impoverished Viscount contracts an alliance with the wealthy daughter of a merchant in order to save his family home. Her secret: she has loved him for years. His secret: he still thinks he is in love with a friend of hers. Heyer's secret: the ability to write three-dimensional characters for whom the writer can feel affection (the protagonists) and exasperation (his Mother and her Father), while providing a very detailed account of the Regency era, including England's fight against Napoleon."
Shell, Resident Scholar
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"Adam Deveril, Viscount Lynton returns from the war upon the death of his father and finds his family on the brink of financial ruin. He must either sell his family's estate or marry money. Even though he is in love with someone else he marries Jenny, a rich plump daughter who has received the best of everything all her life. Her father is a kindhearted uneducated man who flaunts his wealth and keeps giving them large expensive gifts which infuriates Adam, who feels bought and paid for. Jenny loves him and tries to make him comfortable in her practical way. Over time Adam discovers that his marriage to Jenny, though not a great romantic love match, is real life and imminently suitable to him. "
Deborah Stoops, Resident Scholar
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"Viscount's father dies leaving nothing but debts. To save his family home he agrees to marry an heiress from the merchant class and gives up any hope of marrying the beautiful & aristocratic love of his life. The book is about the life and marriage Adam and Jenny build together from this foundation and with these odds. Jenny's motivation is the deep, passionate love she has felt for Adam ever since he was a convalescent officer who spent his leave falling in love with the beautiful aristocrat (what'shername). When she discovers he has agreed to an arranged marriage with her to save his family from 'ruin' she agrees to the marriage and spends the book learning how to make him happy and alleviate his pain at giving up his lost love. She is never whiny or self sacrificing; she doesn't pose but is eminently practical and unimaginative. In the course of the book Adam learns to love his rich wife and even feels affection for his overbearing, vulgar and very kind hearted father in law. His love for Jenny is not the wild romantic love he felt for what'shername but it is solid, warm and true. At the end of the book he takes Jenny in his arms and tells her he loves her after realizing that if he could change the past he would not..not if it meant removing Jenny from his life. The book is about basically decent people and what they do and how they treat each other under trying circumstances and in a situation where neither of them gets exactly what they want. It is a wonderful book full of true life lessons. One of my favorites."
, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of A Civil Contract |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- Regency era
Love Triangles/Polygons
Yes
What kind:
- one man-two women
Marriage/Married
Yes
Marriage subplot:
- marriage of convenience spurring real love
Hidden Identity/Secret Motive
Yes
Is really...
- after his/her money
Main Male Character
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
Age/status:
- 20's-30's
How romantic is this person?
- not very romantic
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- missing body parts/abilities
Main Female Character
Age/status:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- homemaker
How sexual is this person?
- naive virgin
How romantic is this person?
- somewhat romantic
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- farm
Misc setting
- Fancy Mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
What % of story is romance related?
- 80%
How much dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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