- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press (Dec 1 1995)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312301073
- ISBN-13: 978-0312301071
- Product Dimensions: 22.3 x 13.8 x 1.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 322 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,102,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Veteran author Hodge (Escapade) keeps this deft historical romance set in 19th-century Portugal moving at a crisp pace. Summoned from safety in England by her cruel and dour father, Caterina Gomez?half-British, half-Portuguese, in her late teens?is escorted to tumultuous Oporto, Portugal, by her cousin Jeremy Craddock and a female friend. Against a mise-en-scene of war and intrigue involving French, Portuguese and British forces, the three become enmeshed in romantic and political adventure. Jeremy is enthralled by a shady American masseuse while Caterina, who's soon threatened with life in a convent, naively agrees to gather information for rebel leader Luis Sanchez, with whom she had an affair at age 13. Meanwhile, the Duke of Wellington is to be the honored guest at a planned gala for Caterina, who has been told by Luis's grandmother not to trust her grandson. Though the narrative and characterization are occasionally sketchy, Hodge builds the tension to a dramatic (if not surprising) denouement and ably resolves all the story lines in time for a subtle ending.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
When teenage Caterina Gomez returns from England to Portugal, she comes back to a beloved homeland, a distant father, and a scandalous past. Traveling with Caterina are her cousin Jeremy Craddock, a young Englishman seeking a cure for his ill health, and her dear friend Harriet Brown, who is on the run from an arranged marriage. This unlikely trio arrives ian a Portugal rife with tension, for the country is at war with France, and Oporto, recently liberated, is a city in ruins and full of bitter memories. Caterina's hopes for happiness are initially frustrated, for her father seems determined to see her married or in a convent. Then the note arrives, a voice from the past that changes everything and send Caterina into the center of political and romantic intrigue. Drawn into the tangled web that binds the Portuguese and English communities together in an uneasy alliance, she discovers that no one is quite what he seems. Characterized by Jane Aiken Hodge's trademark blend of historical detail and adventure, Whispering tells the story of a young woman's search for truth and independence in a society that wants to deny her both.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best of the author's works, April 28 2010
By real-life momma "R. Klempner" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Whispering (Paperback)
Two young women arrive in Portugal, in the company of one of their cousins. Each one has a mysterious past and hopes to find happiness in Oporto's English colony. However, they soon discover that nothing is as it seems in Oporto, least of all their childhood memories.I have mixed feelings about Jane Aiken Hodges' books, but this one I liked immensely. You are captured by the characters, intrigued by their mysterious pasts, and want to know what will happen next to them. You really root for them. I also found all the details about the setting (200 years ago in Portugal) fascinating.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Romantic suspense lite (very lite), Aug 13 2011
By Michele - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Whispering (Paperback)
Whispering is a novel set in early 19th century Portugal, as Caterina Gomez, her friend Harriet and her cousin Jeremy travel from England to the city of Porto. Caterina has been summoned by her father back from exile in an English convent, her friend Harriet comes along as a "chaperone" and to escape an unhappy life of her own, and Jeremy is going to seek treatment from a "healer" for his falling sickness (epilepsy).Almost from page one it is evident that none of these characters are quite what they seem, as they each have hidden agendas and secrets to hide. That situation is compounded once they reach Porto, a city rife with tension as Napoleon and Wellington wage their battles closer and closer to Portugal's borders. Here the cast of characters is expanded and, again, each is obviously not quite what they seem. The city of Porto is insular (and particularly its English community), with everyone suspicious of everyone else, and gossip travels faster than the speed of light. Caterina very quickly discovers that life in the controlling household of her father is even more restricted and oppressive than at the convent back in England. Nevertheless, this headstrong, feisty and outspoken young woman soon gets herself wrapped up in the dangerous intrigue that is everywhere in the city.
At only 215 pages, I knew there probably wouldn't be a lot of depth to the story. Even so, the detachment I felt from the characters (who were all one-dimensional, or two-dimensional at the most) was disappointing. Both the romance and the suspense were very tepid, and the climactic scene was particularly weak; it was too melodramatic and having the Duke of Wellington step into save the heroine was more than a little contrived.
This wasn't a terrible book, just a very unremarkable one. It was my first by Jane Aiken Hodge and will likely be my last, since I wasn't impressed enough to want to try any more of her books.
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