One day in 2027 Shanna will officially become a true “classic” in lieu of just a “bodice-ripper” or “historical-romance”. Until then, I will just have to refrain from tagging it as such for my personal GoodReads bookshelf. But, just so you know, it is one. A classic.It is also the only historical romance book my husband ever listened to, against his will and with strong protestations, as read by me. We were going snow skiing, back in the days when we couldn’t afford to fly, and it was a 14 hour road trip; one in which, with his manically determination, he would only stop once and only for gas. I used one hand to pack the cooler, while I kept the other hand holding the book, eyes glued on the pages of Shanna and Ruark’s incredible story. As I made it out to the car that night, I was already gripped by KEW’s tale (and half in love with Ruark) and dying to know what happened next. When it occurred to me: there I was, with a captive audience! I had to go back to the beginning so my husband would not be lost, but I didn’t mind.Midnight, November 18, 1749LondonNight gripped the city with cold, misty darkness. The threat of winter was heavy in the air. Acrid smoke stung the nostrils and throat, for in every home fires were stirred and stoked against the seaborne chill that pierced to the bone. Low-hanging clouds dribbled fine droplets of moisture which mixed with the soot spewed forth from London’s towering chimneys before falling as a thin film that covered every surface.The miserable night masked the passage of a carriage that careened through the narrow streets as it it fled from some terrible disaster…From that moment on, I was in that carriage, surrounded by that dark night, jolting over those cobblestones. And so was my husband. For this is not only a romance book, but a high-adventure story. My spouse has been always a sucker for swashbucklers like Sea Hawk and Captain Blood and this had all those elements: prison, the threat of the gallows, escape to an exotic island, an ingenious and dashing hero, amazing secondary characters, rat-infested dank holes, sailing ships and pirates. And with the additional scenes in the untamed backwoods of a fledging country and a nice little mystery sub-plot. Plus, Shanna is a bitch! For it is really the Taming of the Shrew - only with tons more sex - so there was a lot more he liked about it than I!True, I stopped to ski, then went on to read while he continued his marathon hot-dogging down those snowy slopes of Sun Valley, Idaho. However, he didn’t piss and moan again when I picked it back up for the ride home, to continue on from where I’d left him in the story. And I didn’t mind re-reading that part again either. :-)Maybe it’s time for another re-read!
The Gold Standard for Historical Romance...and more!This was my first by the queen of the modern historical romance novel, Kathleen Woodiwiss, and it won't be my last. I highly recommend this one. I must be the last to discover this wonderful writer, but I'm glad I did.Set in mid 18th century London, the Caribbean and Virginia (the colonies), Shanna tells the story of the strong willed Shanna Trahern, the only daughter of a successful British merchant who has retired with his wealth to his Caribbean island, Los Cammellos, where he is governor and has a thriving plantation and trade business. The wife he loved has died by the time the story begins and he wants grandchildren from Shanna and he wants them now! Shanna's father gives the independent beautiful young woman, who has rejected all her suitors, one year to find a suitable husband or he's picking one for her, preferably one with a title. She spends that year in London enjoying herself. But nearing the end of the year, she decides that in order to avoid her father's picking a man for her, she'll take a husband from among those in Newgate Prison facing the gallows. (Isn't that clever?) Her goal is to be an instant widow with a good name. In her quest, Shanna finds Ruark Beauchamp, a convicted murderer, and she marries him. When she first sees him, he is dirty, bearded and unkempt, living in prison squalor. At the wedding, after her man has cleaned up Ruark, she discovers a handsome, intelligent and virile man who is a bit overwhelming. Ruark's price for giving her his name is one night with her after they are wed--a marriage in truth, however brief. He only gets a bit of it before her scheme is to deprive him of his bargain comes about. With hatred and anger in his voice, as they drag him away, he vows to hold her to their bargain if God grants him mercy from the hangman's noose. And unbeknownst to Shanna, that mercy is granted.This romance is wonderful. At 666 pages of well told, detailed, historically accurate, page turning romance, it's a keeper, too! The hero's love for his woman never varies (which I love). He is a man I'd give up decades for. Kathleen Woodiwiss could certainly write well! This is on my Top 20 list!
Do You like book Shanna (2015)?
So I decided to do a re-read on this older gem of a book. I originally read it back in the 1978 range and I was about 13 years old when I read. No, my mother didn't know I read it. Still has the original store price sticker on it. Here is the deal, doing old re-reads can be a tricky thing. Some books don't hold up to the test of time and this one didn't for me. I am leaving my rating as it stands. But Shanna was so immature and bi-polar, I don't know how Roark stood her. I kept begging him in my head to drop kick her into the ocean and go find someone who would love him without all the drama. I felt like this for 2/3s of the book. The last 1/3 was as really as good as I remembered it. :-)
—Keri
The first romance novel I ever read. I must have read it at least a dozen times over the years. KW set the standard for other romance novels to hold up to, in my opinion. Shanna is a spoiled only child who is given an ultimatum by her father--get married or he will find someone for her. So, she finds someone to marry--in prison. She chooses a condemned man to be her husband and he agrees but only if she promises him one night with her. They get married and her husband realizes she intends to renege on the deal so he starts to take her in the carriage. They are interrupted and he is hauled off back to prison. She thinks he has been hung and now she is a widow. She sets off for her island home confident that her father will leave her alone for now. Imagine her surprise when she sees a man on the island who looks like her husband...who was not hung and is alive. And still wants that night with her...What follows is a wonderful romance of how a man convinces a strong-willed woman to take a chance on his love. Sigh. Still my favorite book....
—Priscilla
I've just re-read this one for the first time in recent memory -- it' still my all time favourite historical romance. BUT...I can sure see why so many people don't like Shanna. She's a spoiled b**ch and I would have slapped her silly before the end of part 1. And I don't quite understand why Ruark fell so deeply in love with her - she doesn't show many redeeming qualities until the last quarter of the book.What I love about the book I think is the sweeping saga of it all. And Woodiwiss' writing. What's that phrase - "evocative prose"? It fits. From the opening pages I could visualize everything she was describing like it was a movie - the carriage travelling over the cobblestones through the foggy, wet streets of London on the way to Newgate gaol. I was in the carriage. And when she meets Ruark for the first time in his cell, I was there too. It remains that way for me through the entire book. I love the descriptions, the language, the detail, even the dialogue. I consider most KEW’s books more Georgian than Regency (mid to late 1700s) with powdered hair, shoes with buckles and ruffles on men’s shirts so I don’t mind the flowery turns of phrase. It’s all part of the way KEW takes you into the story.Shanna takes you from London, across the Atlantic to Los Camellos, on a pirate ship bound for a hidden island in the Caribbean to the untamed wilderness of Virginia. The descriptions are vivid and her characters fully fleshed out and well-drawn (for me, anyway) so that by the end of the book you feel as though you know them all. You certainly get to know Shanna and Ruark – KEW shows us each of their POV so that you know how much Ruark loves Shanna (although unfortunately not why) and you can see how much Shanna struggles with recognizing and admitting her love for Ruark (that love being the only good thing about her through much of the book).The book takes place over the course of a year or so following Shanna’s return from London to Los Camellos. It felt realistic to me – there are stretches of time where Shanna tries to stay away from him and there are other happenings on the island that keep them apart (mostly due to Shanna’s unrealistic expectations of Ruark and what she wants from him) but their arguments are realistic and their assignations very sigh-worthy. (Lots of sneaking into each other’s rooms at night). Except for Shanna’s stubbornness, which is much more apparent reading this as an adult.I would recommend this book for anyone who loves a chunky (666 pages), historical romance. The prose is descriptive, (oh all right, PURPLE) the story is epic in scale and hero is to die for. I fell in love with Ruark Deverell Beauchamp when I was 11 years old. His book is still my all time favourite.
—Tammy Walton Grant
