cover image Beloved Rogue

Beloved Rogue

Deana James. Zebra, $5.99 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-8217-4682-0

Stretching the boundaries of credibility way beyond their limits, James here describes the budding romance between prim Victorian maiden Maria Thorne and Cockney thief Jocko Walton as the pair scheme to rescue Maria's sister from the bordello in which she has been imprisoned by an evil peer. The implication that women can find true love at all socioeconomic levels (and with younger men to boot) is refreshing, but uptight Maria and slovenly Jocko are a particularly unconvincing pair. Moreover, while obviously trying to make a point about the sexual exploitation of women by hypocritical Victorian ``gentlemen,'' the novel descends with disturbing frequency into graphic descriptions of such exploitation. The plot is nonsensical, as is the behavior of most of the characters most of the time, but most disturbing is the author's apparent conviction that readers will be engaged by human suffering. (Sept.)