REVIEW: It Started with a Scandal by Julie Anne Long
Dear Ms. Long,
At one time, I was a big fan of your historical romances. I discovered you with Beauty and the Spy and eagerly awaited the publication of each book in the Holt Sisters trilogy. When you switched publishers and embarked on your Pennyroyal Green series, I kept reading, even though annoying copyediting errors began to appear in your books. I was still able to enjoy I Kissed an Earl, for example, so much so that I gave it an A- review.
I hit a stumbling block with How the Marquess was Won, a book I didn’t enjoy much. In hindsight, I think my C/C+ grade for that book was too generous, considering the effect it had on my desire to read more of your books.
I gave A Notorious Countess Confesses a try, but put it down a chapter or two in. I purchased It Happened One Midnight and Between the Devil and Ian Eversea when they went on sale for a buck ninety nine, telling myself I would get to them eventually, but I haven’t yet.
Recently though, a friend told me she’d greatly enjoyed It Started with a Scandal. With the publication of the long-no-really-long-awaited The Legend of Lyon Redmond finally on the horizon, I decided to come back to the series by giving It Started with a Scandal a real shot.
This book. I don’t even know what to grade it, because it annoyed me so much that I ended up having to skim it. The story premise struck me as preposterous. The novel begins when Elise Fountain is forced to take a position as housekeeper for Lord Lavay, a French prince of the Bourbon family who lost his fortune and much of his family in the French Revolution and is currently convalescing in Pennyroyal Green while recovering from an attack.
You see, readers, Elise, the daughter of a doctor, was cast out of her home by her parents six years ago for having an child out of wedlock, a boy named Jack whom she loves more than anything else on this earth.
More recently, Elise lost her job as a schoolteacher at an academy for wayward girls, due to “speaking out of turn” to a student’s family member. When the party she offended threatened to reveal Jack’s existence to the parents of the other students, the schoolmistress was forced to let Elise go.
The same schoolmistress did, however, obtain for Elise a recommendation from the Redmonds, for whom Elise has never worked. And using that recommendation, Elise has gotten a crack at a position as housekeeper to Lord Lavay, who is willing to hire her on a temp-to-perm basis but doesn’t expect much.
Lavay’s servants at first seem lazy and shiftless, and one of them, Dolly, borders on sinister. Elise finds sweet gifts from them like chestnuts in her bed and a dead mouse in one of the cabinets, but she’ll face them down and endure it all for the sake of her son, Jack, whose existence she hides from her employer.
Meanwhile, Lavay is grumpy due to being in constant pain (he was set upon by six men and managed to survive their attack, but not without consequences). He desperately misses the home he had in France before the Revolution, but to buy it back and to clothe his spoiled younger sister fashionably, he must acquire money.
Two options are open to him: Risk his life for the French government for a great reward if he succeeds in the mysterious dangerous mission they have asked him to carry out, or marry an heiress. The heiress in question isn’t unappealing, but she’s not half as appealing to him as his housekeeper, Mrs. Fountain, who soothes his weary spirit with apple tarts and willow bark tea.
Will Elise whip Lavay’s household into shape? Will she risk a second fall from grace to be with Lavay? Will Lavay discover that Elise has a son? Will Lavay discover that he loves Elise? Will the two find their happy endings and will, for God’s sake, Lyon Redmond appear in this book?
Years ago, I gave The Secret to Seduction a glowing “How did I love this book? Let me count the ways” review. So let me now count the problems I had with It Started with a Scandal:
First, there’s the fact that the schoolmistress of the school, despite knowing that Elise was mother to a son born out of wedlock, employed Elise as a schoolteacher at a school for wayward girls. Not only that, Jack lived in the school with Elise, yet the students and parents seemed to have no awareness of his existence. Did it not occur to the schoolmistress that if this were revealed, she could lose her business and her livelihood? Apparently not.
Second, Elise is being let go from the school for speaking out of turn to a student’s family member, yet despite the huge favor she’s already done Elise by allowing her to hide her child in the schoolhouse for six years, the schoolmistress is now willing to call in a favor from the Redmonds for Elise and ask them to recommend her to Lavay as a housekeeper. Does it not occur to the schoolmistress that this is going above and beyond for an employee, and also, that if it came out that she did such a thing, some parents might reconsider sending their daughters to her school? Apparently not.
Third, not only that, but the Redmonds, a respectable family who have no relationship to Elise, and don’t seem to know her from Adam, say yes to such a proposal. Does it not occur to them that Elise is (A) already being dismissed from one job due to rudeness, and (B) hasn’t worked as a housekeeper before, and (C) since they’ve never employed her, their recommendation is meaningless? Apparently not.
Fourth, this recommendation manages to be from the Redmonds but not from any one specific Redmond. Does it not occur to Lavay to ask Elise when he interviews her which Redmond she has worked for and in what capacity, and how that Redmond can speak knowledgeably about her skills? Apparently not.
Fifth, does it not occur to Lavay to ask Elise why she, the daughter of a well-to-do doctor, was working as a schoolteacher to begin with? Elise tells him there was a change in her circumstances. Isn’t her curious what kind of change? Doesn’t he need to know that before he hires her? Apparently not.
Sixth, there’s the fact that Lavay doesn’t realize Elise has an illegitimate son though the child lives under his very roof, and the servants are trying to get rid of Elise. Chestnuts and dead mice are all very well, but does it not occur to them that they could just tell Lavay that Elise is a fallen woman? Apparently not.
I could go on with this—for example, there’s no explanation whatsoever of how Elise supported herself and cared for her child when Jack was a newborn and she was recovering from giving birth. The whole idea of hiding a six year old from the owner of the house he lives in, who lives in the same house, seems utterly absurd. Then there’s the fact that there the forty hour week didn’t exist in the Regency era, so where does Elise find time for her son, or for singing at the pub?
But that’s only the tip of the iceberg, really, when I consider that the way Elise obtains livery for the footmen. This might be considered a spoiler, so I’ll hide it.
Spoiler: Show
Earlier Julie Anne Long books were also on occasion illogical or anachronistic, but I never found it as glaring as it is here. The thing that makes me really sad is that what carried me through some of those books was the writing style. Now either that has changed, or else I have, because I found the writing a lot less appealing than I have in the past.
Take for example, this excerpt:
Spoiler: Show
It comes late in the book, so this excerpt might be considered a spoiler, but out of eight paragraphs in a row, seven are less than ten words long. I can’t help but feel insulted when I come across so many short paragraphs so close together. It makes me wonder if the author doesn’t trust me to be smart enough to handle complex sentences.
I will say this for the book – the last third did move me emotionally. It was quite affecting, and somewhat romantic, and it wrung some tears. But the rest of the book was so irritating that I had to skim to get there, so It Started with a Scandal gets a DNF.
Sincerely,
Janine
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I thought the book started slowly, but it picked up midway through. I’m surprised it was a DNF for you. While there were a few problems in the novel, I’d still give it a solid B. I really liked the scenes between Lavay and Jack and this influenced the grade for me. My favorite books in the series are What I Did For a Duke and The Notorious Countess Confesses.
I have a different interpretation than you on a few points. As I recall, Lavay never thought Elise worked for the Redmonds, nor did Elise imply it. She specifically told him her experience with running a household was from living with her parents. Also, I never read anywhere in the book that Elise’s father was well-to-do. The author merely stated that he was a doctor. From the historicals I’ve read, not all doctors are wealthy. So while they were probably comfortable, the phrase well-to-do implies wealth. Lavay assumed Elise was married or widowed, so I’m not sure being a doctor’s daughter was really relevant to the interview. If anything, since she was working as a school teacher, he would have assumed that she didn’t make a prosperous marriage.
I think Elise was hoping Lavay & Jack’s paths wouldn’t cross until she was safe in the job. It wasn’t really a secret. I agree with you, however, that it’s unlikely the servants wouldn’t have told Lavay that there was a child in the household. Also, since a child eats, wouldn’t an employee have to tell the employer there’s an extra mouth to feed in the household? I was actually more surprised by how long it took Lavay to discover Jack. I think it was past the 200 page mark. I also would have liked for Lavay’s sister to make an earlier appearance.
Finally, in the past books, wasn’t it inferred that the School for Recalcitrant Girls had a wealthy patron/patroness? I could be wrong about this, but I’ve always wondered if Olivia supports the school. I assumed that one of the Redmonds was secretly supporting the school and might have interacted with Elise and this is why the recommendation was given. Granted, this is a vast leap in conjecture since it’s never explicitly addressed in this book or the series.
I second Kim’s comments.
Also, since Elise was known as Mrs. Fountain, it is very likely her son would have been assumed to be legitimate by anyone who knew he existed. There was even a point in the book where Lavay questioned Elise on whether or not she had a husband.
I really enjoyed this one, but I really like Long’s writing to the extent that the typos and misused words don’t bother me all that often since I find her language just gorgeous in general as well as lively, with a great balance between emotion and humor.
My only real qualm reading this book was that I recently read (and loved) Neville’s “Duke of Dark Desires” which has a really similar set-up and I was feeling a little deja vu, but that didn’t last very long since the characters were so different.
@Kim: I’m glad you enjoyed the book more than I did. FWIW, I have another friend (not the one I mentioned in the review) who is reading it now and enjoying it so far. So it’s very possible that I am an outlier on this one. And I agree the Jack/Lavay scenes were good. What I Did for a Duke and I Kissed an Earl are my favorites in the series.
True, Elise never implied she worked for the Redmonds. But how is their recommendation relevant if they don’t have some experience with her? Lavay should have asked which Redmond recommended her and how she knew that person.
And you’re right, it wasn’t stated that her doctor father was well-to-do, but I inferred that from her expensive hairbrush and from the fact that she felt running her father’s household qualified her to run Lavay’s.
I thought he didn’t assume that until after he learned of her son’s existence. I had the impression that seeing Jack threw him for a loop because up until then he assumed there wasn’t and there hadn’t been a man in Elise’s life. Housekeepers went by “Mrs.” without regard to their marital status so I didn’t read this as an assumption that he made during the job interview.
My reading is that she was hoping that because Jack was born out of wedlock, so I did see it as a secret, but I agree with you that it’s open to interpretation.
Yes! I had this thought too. Especially with how budget-conscious Lavay was, he should have noticed another mouth to feed.
Agreed on both points.
I had forgotten all about the school patron thing! This is the kind of thing that, had it been explained better in this book, might have helped with one of my concerns.
@pamelia: I used to find Long’s language gorgeous too, and it makes me sad that I don’t anymore. I found some of the metaphors in this book awkward. I can’t tell if her writing has changed, or if my taste has…
At the time, appearing to be less than strict with sin, left the impression that you were also a sinner, or in sympathy with sin. Thus, associating with a “fallen woman” was a hint that the associate might also be fallen, loose, or easily led astray. There was only one job for fallen women — the world’s oldest.
@SAO: Admittedly, I’m not an expert on the time period, but I had that sense too. That’s why the schoolmistress’s willingness to employ Elise was hard for me to buy.
Janine, I loved BEAUTY AND THE SPY, but would have had the same objections with this new book. I’ll believe anything, but it has to make sense for the world/time in which it’s written and this doesn’t seem to.
In Downton Abbey terms: If Elise is going to be Mrs. Hughes, a position with enormous responsibility, she has to know how; she can’t just slip into the role. Lady Grantham may live in the big house, but I’m willing to bet she wouldn’t have a clue about how to run it. That’s an example of where I need things to make sense.
What I Did for A Duke is one of my favorite historical romances. Thanks for the Beauty and the Spy rec. Haven’t found rest of the Pennyroyal Green series as appealing as WIDFAD.
I’m curious, it moved you to tears but got a DNF? I hate historical inaccuracies and ridiculous plot contrivances as much as the next person but any book that moves me to tears would get a high rating indeed since I’d put emotional connection over suspension of disbelief.
@Darlynne: Thanks. I love your Downton Abbey analogy.
@Rachel: I cry during sappy television commercials, so wringing a few tears out of me isn’t such a feat. It wasn’t enough to make me go back and reread the sections I’d skimmed. Also, to give it a letter grade would imply that I read every word, and I don’t want to misrepresent my reading experience.
I could not disagree more about this author. I adored both “What I Did for a Duke” and “How the Marquee was Won”. Just purchased this one but have yet to read it. I noticed that I agree more with other reviewers on this site about my taste in books than Jane so I’m not giving up on this author yet. I think her writing style is luscious.
Oops!. Janine!
@Judy W.: I hope you enjoy the book. I would never want you to give up on an author you consistently enjoy based on one review. I wouldn’t do it myself! FWIW, the friend who recommended this book to me felt it was one of Long’s best — so hopefully you’ll feel similarly.
I just want to know how many times the word “ironic” was used. I read too many of the author’s books back to back and that was the one literary tick I kept noticing – every book had a character finding something ironic. Every. Single. One.
The resolution with her parents didn’t work for me. Since they were apparently the kind of people to throw their destitute pregnant daughter out on the streets? Not that it was an uncommon way to deal with things at that time, but still.
@Rachel: I did a couple of searches and found 23 instances of “irony,” “ironies,” “ironic,” or “ironically.”
@Catherine: I didn’t have an issue with that. The explanation of the parents being proud worked for me.
I read an Amazon review that I thought made a couple of good points I didn’t think to mention in my review — that Lavay was a very different person here from the Lavay he had been in I Kissed an Earl and that Elise had too many talents and skills.
I liked it immensely.
As far as the Mrs Hughes analogy, well that’s the thing…..there was no Lady Grantham to keep an eye on her home.
And as far as Elise having too many talents…..SHEESH! I liked talented heroines, they are more interesting than the ones who are barely educated.
In spite of the structure of the book and the class issue….it worked for me. I imagined they moved to America and lived HEA in New Orleans.
I would give this a solid B. Julie Ann Long is an auto buy for me although some of her novels work better than others. Sort of amazed that someone did not like How the Marquess was Won. That is an A+ for me with humor and emotion. What I Did for A Duke and Like No Other Lover are also A books. I think the short paragraphs are a stylistic choice to build a mood not an insult to the reader.
As far as Ms. Endicott doing her a favor, if you’ve read all the books in the series you get the impression she is not an ordinary school mistress. In fact, I sort of hoped she would get her own story. Perhaps she and Landsdowne will be the secondary romance in Olvia and Lyon’s book.
@Teresa: Re. How the Marquess was Won, I had a number of issues with it, but the ones I remember most years later is how annoying the heroine’s cat was with its cutesy ferocity and how ridiculous that anachronistic dance move by the hero that was copied by everyone else was. The earlier books, though they often had anachronisms, didn’t feel so deliberate in employing them. But besides this, I didn’t warm to the hero all that much. I think I gave the book a C+, but in hindsight I would grade it lower.
Of course the short sentences are a stylistic choice and not intended to insult a reader, but it’s a stylistic choice that falls flat with me because it reads like spoonfeeding. More generally, I find that Long’s stylistic choices aren’t nearly as appealing as they were in What I Did for a Duke and earlier books. If you click on the link in the 13th paragraph of this review, you’ll see I once loved this author’s style. But the writing in the more recent books seems sloppy in comparison.
I’ll probably give Lyon and Olivia’s book a shot anyway, because I loved Lyon when he appeared in I Kissed an Earl.