The Frenchman and the English Rose

Camillo sets this dramatic standalone historical romance in the mid-18th century, during the French and Indian War. Catherine Bradshaw arrives in New York hoping to marry Jeremy Flint, a colonial who courted her in London. He has agreed to make payments to her parents to keep her father out of debtor’s prison if Catherine obeys him and provides him with children. The trip to Jeremy’s home is interrupted when their coach is held up by Rive St. Clair, a French army officer, who abducts Catherine but then treats her with kindness. Though Catherine is unaccustomed to the conditions she endures while travelling with Rive, she earns his admiration with her spirit and resilience, and Rive’s revelation of his motives—and his dislike of Jeremy—earns Catherine’s understanding. Romantic tension simmers between Rive and Catherine as they travel toward his home in an Indian village and Rive prepares for Jeremy to follow them. The danger Rive and Catherine encounter throughout adds magnetism to the blossoming romance and the plentiful historical details. (Dec.)