ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL

Author: Cathy Maxwell ISBN: 0061082783 9/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: Avon
Time Period: Regency - 1811 England

Lady Julia Markham was the toast of London Society -- until an ill-advised attempted elopement ended in betrayal and left her good name in tatters. Now ruined, penniless, and desperate, she has agreed to wed the magnetic and possibly dangerous Brader Wolf. A dashing, phenomenally successful self-made businessman, Brader wants this union to help gain him entry into the drawing rooms of the aristocracy, nothing more. Julia, however, is a woman of rare passion and daring, irresistibly drawn to this enigmatic, infuriating man, and no mere marriage of mutual convenience will do. But how far will the spirited beauty have to go to satisfy a heart that will settle for no less than the love of a lifetime?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

As re-releases go, Cathy Maxwell's ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL tops the list as a book you long to see out again after ten years. It truly is a classic worth revisiting.

Inside the book, Maxwell writes a note to her readers describing the theme of the book as a true "Beauty and the Beast" story. That is the best description for a love story fraught with deception, tension, and suspicion, with a healthy dose of love and lust to finish thrown in. Theirs is a great love story with a heroine, Lady Julia Markham, strong enough to finally come into her own mind after some horrible past issues, and a hero, Brader Wolf, who truly is her best match despite his social standing. "Beauty and the Beast" fits them to a tee, but no such catch phrase sums up the type of family Julia puts up with!

This family takes the cake and makes the book! You will never meet a more unscrupulous cast of characters. They will do—and have done—ANYTHING in order to keep their blue blood status with the ton while they fraud and shame the people they fleece for their gambling habits. Every last one of them. Even Julia became embedded in their devious plot until it backfired and she realized just what sort of family she had the misfortune to be born into.

I am amazed at the depth of character created in Lady Julia and a few of the others. Julia is now one of my all time favorite heroines. I am also amazed at how wonderful this story is. The tension and indecision Julia faces in choosing between a family who wants only to use her, and a husband who is less than perfect in the ton's eyes, shows the way it really could be during that time period. ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL is a beautiful read.

Shannon Johnson