WENDY’S AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: FOREVER REMAIN: ROXTON LETTERS VOLUME TWO BY LUCINDA BRANT AND PERFORMED BY ALEX WYNDHAM

(Roxton Family Saga#, 5.5)

Genre: Historical Romance (Georgian)

Cover Blurb:

This second volume of previously unpublished letters from the private correspondence of the Roxton family spans a twenty-year period, from the 1760s to the late 1780s, and includes extracts from the diaries of Antonia, Duchess of Kinross, and her younger son Lord Henri-Antoine Hesham. Also included are letters by the 5th Duke of Roxton, written in the final stages of his illness, and addressed to his youngest son Lord Henri-Antoine. The volume concludes with a letter by the latter’s wife, Lady Henri-Antoine Hesham, to her mother-in-law, the Duchess of Kinross, while abroad on her bridal trip. These letters complement the later chronology of the award-winning Roxton Family Saga: Dair Devil, Proud Mary, and Satyr’s Son. With a foreword by a late-Victorian descendant, Alice-Victoria, 10th Duchess of Roxton.

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FOREVER REMAIN is a companion to Lucinda Brant’s Dair Devil, Proud Mary and Satyr’s Son and therefore it is necessary to have read these books first. However, I cannot recommend this series highly enough and would urge anyone who loves an ongoing family saga with compelling characters, spine tingling romance and superbly researched history to read (or listen to) all the books, preferably in order.

Many historical romance writers try to please a modern market and consequently their books do not ring true. Lucinda Brant, however, transports us back into the time, the hearts and the minds of her characters – this is Georgian England and she refuses to compromise on the detail. We may not agree with the opulent way the privileged lived 300 years ago, but Ms. Brant deals in meticulous research and therefore her writing is based on fact and we are treated to unadulterated accuracy. Her characters are so real that I find myself believing in them to the point that I think about them as if they are people I actually know. Their homes, belongings, clothing, shoes, hair, even the lace and embroidery on their clothes are researched down to the finest detail. To appreciate the author’s attention to detail, visit her Pinterest boards and be prepared to be astounded by the extent of the work and research that goes into each and every story. She is not only a superb writer but also a perfectionist and unable to deliver anything but her best interpretation of how life was for the people in her Georgian world – rich and poor – behaved and lived.

As readers of this series know, Ms. Brant took a chance when she wrote very sensitively about one of our favourite characters dying. This is life – I myself have suffered this devastating loss and can speak with experience on what she has achieved here. In an ideal world we all live happily ever after, but of course this is not an ideal world. Nevertheless, because of Ms. Brant’s sensitive approach, we are not left unhappy with the loss of this character – rather she has dwelt on the positives whilst showing us that the world does keep turning and life does go on. The grieving process is handled with great empathy, and astutely she hasn’t written off this fascinating character; instead he is still very much in the background and talked of (and to) with love. Again, I agree with the way she has achieved this because when we have children our loved ones are never truly gone from this world and of course our memories can never be erased. Ms. Brant is a realist. Yes, she writes Historical Romance, but throughout the series she has constantly mirrored life – people die, they behave badly, they fall in love, often with ‘unsuitable’ people, and they sometimes have illnesses or long-term conditions which cannot be cured.

She has thought of everything and, when this volume of letters is ‘published’ by Alice-Victoria, 10th Duchess of Roxton, the time has obviously moved on and the family inhabits Victorian England where people and their values have changed, becoming more prudish and judgemental. So, when the letters are ‘released’, the translators have doctored and suppressed certain words and phrases in case they offend the reader of the time. For instance, in a letter sent from Mr Martin Ellicott (the fifth duke’s valet and trusted friend) to his godson Julian, he talks of his classic and rare, but risqué art collection. In another, from Theo Fitzstuart to his son Dair, he tries to explain why his marriage to Charlotte, Dair’s mother, went so horribly wrong. I must admit to wishing I could take a peek at the author’s notes to see exactly what had been ‘suppressed’!

Ms. Brant uses this volume of letters and diary entries to fill in some gaps in her stories. One such gap that always puzzled me, which I briefly mentioned above, began in Noble Satyr. Charlotte and Theo, soon to become the Earl and Countess of Strathsay and later the parents of Dair, Charles and Mary, were a young, innocent, courting couple in that book. By the time we reach Dair Devil, book 3 in the series, matters had obviously gone badly wrong. Charlotte is by now a spiteful, unloving mother and embittered woman, while Theo is living on a Caribbean island running a sugar plantation. He has not seen his legitimate family for many years and talks openly of his new love and illegitimate children. This couple were secondary characters and, quite obviously, their story would not have pleased readers, but it was important to know what had gone wrong and the letter from Theo to Dair explains all. Again, the author is reflecting life with its ups and downs – not all marriages are happy ones, not then and not today.

The letters are a wonderful addition to the books and are so exquisitely written that I cannot read (or listen) to some of them without a box of tissues handy. The most memorable for me are those written by Renard to his youngest son; oh, my goodness, these letters are beyond exquisite. The few examples I have used are only a small snapshot of this compelling volume and the letters have the effect of confusing my brain further into thinking…these people actually lived. I’m pretty sure Ms, Brant felt the same when she was writing them, because it is quite obvious she has poured her heart and soul into every word she has written.

I can only imagine how Alex Wyndham felt whilst reading the letters, but then he is a consummate performer and reads each letter from the heart. In each one, he adopts the same voice, tone and nuances for the characters (now the letter/diary writer) that he used when narrating the audio books and each one is easily recognisable. I wonder if he needed his tissues, too? With the depth of feeling imbued I would imagine so. I particularly appreciated his portrayal of the sick and dying Renard, 5th Duke of Roxton. In fact, I sniffed constantly! The reformed rake has, since his marriage, become a loving family man. He feels his children’s pain, especially his younger son who suffers with the debilitating ‘falling sickness’ (or epilepsy as we now know it). The duke is anxious to help his beloved Henri-Antoine manoeuvre his way through the obstacles he knows are inevitable with his affliction and is also all too aware that his own time is running out. He therefore sets out to lovingly guide Harry from beyond the grave with a series of letters to be opened at certain points in his life. Alex Wyndham adopts a slower paced, slightly gravelly voice for the sickly Renard whilst still retaining recognisable remnants of the younger Renard we first heard in Noble Satyr. I found the reading of these letters/diary entries profoundly moving and one of this actor’s finest performances of my experience.

MY VERDICT: The second volume of letters is the perfect companion to Dair Devil, Proud Mary and Satyr’s Son and one I can highly recommend.

REVIEW RATING: STELLAR 5 STARS

 

Roxton Family Saga (for more details click on the book covers):