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Octavia
Little did Octavia dream that the lurid novel she penned in secret would become the most sensational scandal of the London season.
She was even less prepared to have her identity as the author revealed, and to be branded as a shocking adventuress. And when the man she loved accused her of using him as the model for her novel's villain, Octavia thought life could hold nothing worse than his cruel accusations.
But that was before she realized that the sophisticated drawing-rooms she had so accurately captured in fiction concealed a smooth-tongued traitor. For England was at war with France, and Octavia had unwittingly revealed more than the foibles of the aristocracy--she had exposed the treachery of a spy....
She was even less prepared to have her identity as the author revealed, and to be branded as a shocking adventuress. And when the man she loved accused her of using him as the model for her novel's villain, Octavia thought life could hold nothing worse than his cruel accusations.
But that was before she realized that the sophisticated drawing-rooms she had so accurately captured in fiction concealed a smooth-tongued traitor. For England was at war with France, and Octavia had unwittingly revealed more than the foibles of the aristocracy--she had exposed the treachery of a spy....
206 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
26 people want to read
About the author
Paula Allardyce
36 books5 followersUrsula Torday
aka Paula Allardyce, Charity Blackstock, Lee Blackstock, Charlotte Keppel
Ursula Torday was born on 19 February 1912 (some sources say her birth was in 1888 or 1914) in London, England, UK, daughter of mixed parents, her mother was Scottish and her father was Hungarian. She studied at Kensington High School in London, before went to the Oxford University, where she obtained a BA in English at Lady Margaret Hall College, and later a Social Science Certificate at London School of Economics.
In 1930s, she published her first three novels with her real name, Ursula Torday. During the World War II she worked as a probation officer for the Citizen's Advice Bureau, and during the next seven years afterwards, she was also running a refugee scheme for Jewish children, inspiration for several of her future novels like, The Briar Patch (aka Young Lucifer) and The Children (aka Wednesday's Children) as Charity Blackstock. She worked as a typist at the National Central Library in London, inspiration for her future novel Dewey Death as Charity Blackstock. She also teaching English to adult students. She returned to publishing in early 1950s, using the pseudonyms of Paula Allardyce, Charity Blackstock (in some cases reedited as Lee Blackstock in the USA), to sign her gothic romance and mystery novels, later she also used the pseudonym of Charlotte Keppel. Her novel Miss Fenny (aka The Woman in the Woods) as Charity or Lee Blackstock was nominated for Edgar Award. In 1961, her novel Witches' Sabbath won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. She passed away in 1997.
Her book "The Briar Patch" about the romance between a young woman and a survivor of concentration camps written under her pseudonym of Charity Blackstock was to have been made into a film in the 1960s directed by Irwin Kershner and starring George Chakiris and Tuesday Weld but it never came into production.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_T...
aka Paula Allardyce, Charity Blackstock, Lee Blackstock, Charlotte Keppel
Ursula Torday was born on 19 February 1912 (some sources say her birth was in 1888 or 1914) in London, England, UK, daughter of mixed parents, her mother was Scottish and her father was Hungarian. She studied at Kensington High School in London, before went to the Oxford University, where she obtained a BA in English at Lady Margaret Hall College, and later a Social Science Certificate at London School of Economics.
In 1930s, she published her first three novels with her real name, Ursula Torday. During the World War II she worked as a probation officer for the Citizen's Advice Bureau, and during the next seven years afterwards, she was also running a refugee scheme for Jewish children, inspiration for several of her future novels like, The Briar Patch (aka Young Lucifer) and The Children (aka Wednesday's Children) as Charity Blackstock. She worked as a typist at the National Central Library in London, inspiration for her future novel Dewey Death as Charity Blackstock. She also teaching English to adult students. She returned to publishing in early 1950s, using the pseudonyms of Paula Allardyce, Charity Blackstock (in some cases reedited as Lee Blackstock in the USA), to sign her gothic romance and mystery novels, later she also used the pseudonym of Charlotte Keppel. Her novel Miss Fenny (aka The Woman in the Woods) as Charity or Lee Blackstock was nominated for Edgar Award. In 1961, her novel Witches' Sabbath won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association. She passed away in 1997.
Her book "The Briar Patch" about the romance between a young woman and a survivor of concentration camps written under her pseudonym of Charity Blackstock was to have been made into a film in the 1960s directed by Irwin Kershner and starring George Chakiris and Tuesday Weld but it never came into production.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_T...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 17, 2017
The stage was set: 1798, England. The Reign of Terror on the continent had come and gone. A little-known Corsican soldier was steadily winning the heart of France: he would soon become the infamous Napoleon Bonaparte.
At the age of 25, Octavia Brown was the eighth and youngest daughter of a vicar. She was plain, plump and, for the most part, practical. The third eldest sister, Charlotte, had taken advantage of her situation; she used Octavia as an unpaid babysitter, governess and tutor. Except in this case, her sister was loved and cherished by her three charges and the feelings were reciprocated.
Octavia had cared fondly for the Frenchman, Philippe, the Marquis de Sarrazin, since she had first met him three years prior. A French émigré somewhere between 35 and 40 years of age, he had lost sight in his right eye at Quiberon Bay. Because of this, he wore a patch. His dark hair was streaked with white and his all-black clothes were shabby but clean. When riled, he was known to have a temper. No one would have considered him handsome for his nose was long and sharp, his eyebrows were heavy and his mouth was too wide. And yet...beauty was in the eye of the beholder.
With little else to do but take care of her nephew and two nieces, the smart and learned Octavia decided to write a book. It was written under a man's alias -after all, women were not expected to be intelligent- and the story became an instant success.
The characters' names had been changed but outward appearances were ever-present. It was about Octavia's observations within Charlotte's house: the constant parties and drawing room shenanigans as viewed while standing silently in a corner or sitting quietly at the top of the stairs. 'The confusion and laughter and chatter of a vast number of people, drinking and eating, gossiping, flirting, arguing, quarreling, with the background music of rustling silk, the clatter of crockery, the tinkling of glass.'
Octavia never meant to hurt anyone; it was a method she had used to release her frustrations. 'She had grown drunk on the heady intoxification of ink.'
I have read several of Paula Allardyce's historical romances. I can't say all of them earned 4 or more stars but the author's strength lies in her realistic characters. Not everyone is beautiful; the main protagonists' lives have lumps and warts. And beware! Ms. Allardyce writes with a bite.
As you would expect, Philippe and the others found out Octavia's secret at a most inconvenient time. From there on out, the plot saddled itself with minor suspense.
OCTAVIA was 'niblet reading' at its finest. Phrases and lone sentences that have you pause for thought. There were plenty of expressions and clusters of clever words. Some of her characters reacted with a vengeance. It was not always 'make nice' but it felt real.
Oh. Ignore the cover, Philippe and Octavia look nothing like what is shown.
A side note: as of yet, Ms. Torday's (Allardyce/Blackstock/Keppel) stories are NOT available in e-format.
At the age of 25, Octavia Brown was the eighth and youngest daughter of a vicar. She was plain, plump and, for the most part, practical. The third eldest sister, Charlotte, had taken advantage of her situation; she used Octavia as an unpaid babysitter, governess and tutor. Except in this case, her sister was loved and cherished by her three charges and the feelings were reciprocated.
Octavia had cared fondly for the Frenchman, Philippe, the Marquis de Sarrazin, since she had first met him three years prior. A French émigré somewhere between 35 and 40 years of age, he had lost sight in his right eye at Quiberon Bay. Because of this, he wore a patch. His dark hair was streaked with white and his all-black clothes were shabby but clean. When riled, he was known to have a temper. No one would have considered him handsome for his nose was long and sharp, his eyebrows were heavy and his mouth was too wide. And yet...beauty was in the eye of the beholder.
With little else to do but take care of her nephew and two nieces, the smart and learned Octavia decided to write a book. It was written under a man's alias -after all, women were not expected to be intelligent- and the story became an instant success.
The characters' names had been changed but outward appearances were ever-present. It was about Octavia's observations within Charlotte's house: the constant parties and drawing room shenanigans as viewed while standing silently in a corner or sitting quietly at the top of the stairs. 'The confusion and laughter and chatter of a vast number of people, drinking and eating, gossiping, flirting, arguing, quarreling, with the background music of rustling silk, the clatter of crockery, the tinkling of glass.'
Octavia never meant to hurt anyone; it was a method she had used to release her frustrations. 'She had grown drunk on the heady intoxification of ink.'
I have read several of Paula Allardyce's historical romances. I can't say all of them earned 4 or more stars but the author's strength lies in her realistic characters. Not everyone is beautiful; the main protagonists' lives have lumps and warts. And beware! Ms. Allardyce writes with a bite.
As you would expect, Philippe and the others found out Octavia's secret at a most inconvenient time. From there on out, the plot saddled itself with minor suspense.
OCTAVIA was 'niblet reading' at its finest. Phrases and lone sentences that have you pause for thought. There were plenty of expressions and clusters of clever words. Some of her characters reacted with a vengeance. It was not always 'make nice' but it felt real.
Oh. Ignore the cover, Philippe and Octavia look nothing like what is shown.
A side note: as of yet, Ms. Torday's (Allardyce/Blackstock/Keppel) stories are NOT available in e-format.
April 2, 2020
I am giving this 5 stars because I'm totally biased. Completely, 100% biased.
For one, because it has the happiest ending I've ever read in a book by Allardyce/Blackstock. Which in the grand scheme of happy endings is not particularly happy because the author always seems to make her character's lives as realistic as possible. In other words, her characters have as much of a HEA as we would in real life. Which is to say, if we're lucky, we'll have happy moments that most likely will be mixed in with sorrow and anger and so on.
Second, my absolute favorite Georgette Heyer book is Sylvester. I mention this because I find that many authors are heavily influenced by her works. "Sylvester" is a story that I have seen reincarnated many times over the years and among the authors. I have read "Sylvester" MANY times. I have also listened to the audio book several times even though it's abridged (grrr...abridged audiobooks should be outlawed). However, the audiobook version I love to listen to is read by Richard Armitage (beware, I believe there is more than one narrator out there). THE Richard Armitage who played the H in the fantastic BBC miniseries "North and South." You feel me? "Sylvester" was reincarnated into my favorite Gayle S. Buck book Cupid's Choice. At least, I would swear there is a lot of resemblance between them if you take out the "h as a secret writer" part. And THiS book by Allardyce is very much like Sylvester in overall theme.
The story has already been pretty well summed up by another reviewer. I would add the observation that in this book where the h is a writer (similar to Blackstock's "The Chance Encounter") there is a lot of insight and humor into being a writer. I suspect there's a lot of the author in these observations. There is a part towards the end that I feel sums up the humor that underlies a lot of the h's thoughts (made more humorous by the fact that she does not mean to be funny):
I am a particular fan of dark humor and found the book entertaining from beginning to end. And of course, not having a tragic ending helps a lot!
For one, because it has the happiest ending I've ever read in a book by Allardyce/Blackstock. Which in the grand scheme of happy endings is not particularly happy because the author always seems to make her character's lives as realistic as possible. In other words, her characters have as much of a HEA as we would in real life. Which is to say, if we're lucky, we'll have happy moments that most likely will be mixed in with sorrow and anger and so on.
Second, my absolute favorite Georgette Heyer book is Sylvester. I mention this because I find that many authors are heavily influenced by her works. "Sylvester" is a story that I have seen reincarnated many times over the years and among the authors. I have read "Sylvester" MANY times. I have also listened to the audio book several times even though it's abridged (grrr...abridged audiobooks should be outlawed). However, the audiobook version I love to listen to is read by Richard Armitage (beware, I believe there is more than one narrator out there). THE Richard Armitage who played the H in the fantastic BBC miniseries "North and South." You feel me? "Sylvester" was reincarnated into my favorite Gayle S. Buck book Cupid's Choice. At least, I would swear there is a lot of resemblance between them if you take out the "h as a secret writer" part. And THiS book by Allardyce is very much like Sylvester in overall theme.
The story has already been pretty well summed up by another reviewer. I would add the observation that in this book where the h is a writer (similar to Blackstock's "The Chance Encounter") there is a lot of insight and humor into being a writer. I suspect there's a lot of the author in these observations. There is a part towards the end that I feel sums up the humor that underlies a lot of the h's thoughts (made more humorous by the fact that she does not mean to be funny):
I am a particular fan of dark humor and found the book entertaining from beginning to end. And of course, not having a tragic ending helps a lot!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews