A Castaway in Cornwall

Klassen (The Bridge to Belle Island) delights with a winsome love story between an orphaned young woman living on the coast of North Cornwall, England, in 1813 and the shipwreck survivor she nurses back to health. Eight years earlier, while Laura Callaway was away at school, her parents died, leaving Laura dependent on her kind Uncle Matthew and his family. Now 23, Laura occupies herself searching for flotsam from shipwrecks and writing to the family members of the drowned. After Alexander Carnell washes up on shore, he charms Laura from his sick bed with his handsome looks and good manners—but his accent and evasive manner rouse Laura’s suspicions that he isn’t who he says he is. When Alexander confides that he is a French navy captain and escaped prisoner-of-war anxious to return home and save his brother from prison, Laura agrees to help him find passage to Jersey and insists on going with him. In the midst of the ensuing high seas drama, their relationship develops at an unhurried pace. The appealing lovers are well suited in their mutual willingness to bend rules for a greater good, and Klassen steeps their romance in atmosphere and intrigue. The result is an entertaining and satisfying romance. (Dec.)