Fool's Gold

by Zana Bell

[Leah]

When we first meet Guinevere it would seem that she has not been named Stanhope lightly. Like her real-life namesake, Lady Hester, she is determined to be in charge of the situation and not allow a mere man to boss her around or insist on her behaving in conventional ways. Having had his fingers burned by the English aristocracy in the past, Quinn gives as good as he gets and is happy to leave her to suffer the consequences of her arrogance – for a while.

But this a romance, so it is not long before he comes to her rescue and, although she is grateful, her independence, his prejudices and a series of misfortunes and misunderstandings mean that they are separated just as they’ve begun to appreciate each other and we’ve got used to their banter. And the next time they meet, she has been transformed into the (rather incompetent) maidservant Gwen and he, as a friend of Jack, the son of the rich Christchurch household where she works, is a visitor. With a little help from Quinn, but ultimately a lot more from a new friend, Stella, and her own determination, Gwen makes her independent way in this new country, casting aside her old dreams and helping Quinn to realise that he has been blind to his own for many years.

The love story at the heart of this works because both characters have their faults. They share a certain amount of stubbornness and pride, so there is often less separating them than they imagine and this, together with their banter, makes for an entertaining will-they / won’t-they ever get together situation that only occasionally leaves you wanting to bang their heads together. The supporting characters are also rounded. Stella is fun, but useless; Jack besotted but hesitant; little Ben childish but determined; even Gwen’s long-term suitor and her louche one-time employer, who would be cardboard villains in another piece, are painted sympathetically.

The goldfields and the town which supports them are contrasted with the much more civilised Christchurch. I have no idea how accurate the portrayals are, but they seemed to match well with what I would expect – a little more tolerance of trade in high society than ‘at home’; still some rules of behaviour, however rough, in the male-dominated world of the goldfields. There might have been a few historical errors or implausibilities, but I didn’t want to stop the story in order to check those, or the natural history, or the mechanics of photography at the time which means I must have been caught up enough in the story not to care.

So why not a full five out of five? After all, I liked the characters, wasn’t put off by detail, enjoyed the dialogue … I think that maybe it was just a little predictable. Once it moved to the safety of Christchurch, although there was still conflict and the danger of penury still loomed, it felt like it could have been set in many other places and that the opportunity provided by the circumstances of the time was wasted. However, would still recommend, and will read another book by this author if it chances across my path.

Reviewed by CatherineThis review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read