cover image Far Horizons

Far Horizons

Katherine Sinclair. Berkley Publishing Group, $4.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-425-12482-6

Intriguing characters and a complex plot set on three continents give this historical romance its entertaining moments. However, some readers may be disturbed by Sinclair's ( A Different Eden ) reactionary portrayal of females: a woman of low morals comes to a bad end; an independent woman makes herself a comfortable, albeit sterile, life; and a loyal, loving woman finds happiness with the right man. When 19th-century English shipping magnate Sir Adrian Fielding learns of Bethany Newton's marriage to the son he has disowned, he falsely accuses her of theft and she is transported to Australia. Sir Adrian's wife, Mary, secretly arranges for Alison Banks, a destitute young widow, to care for the infant daughter Bethany has left behind. Tragedy further tears apart the Fielding family when Sir Adrian's scheme to silence Bethany's brother about the identity of her husband goes awry and Tom Fielding, Sir Adrian's favorite son, is kidnapped. Bethany's dramatic escape from Australia to America with ex-highwayman ``Black Jack'' Cutler sets in motion a sequence of events that affects the lives and happiness of them all. (Jan.)