VICE AVENGED by Lolah Burford With Author Image

PUBLISHER: MacMillan, 1971, hardcover
Fawcett Paperback, 1972, pictured here
GENRE: Historical Fiction
AUTHOR'S BOOKLIST: link
MY GRADE: A

FROM PUBLISHER: In 18th-century England young men gathered in private clubs to devise mischievous and exciting schemes to while away their idle hours. So it was with Bysshe, the young Marquis of Gore and his friends. They were bored, very bored. What they wanted was a delicious new game--a shocking, sensational, dangerously different was to spice up their long days. And together they thought up an ingenious idea. One of them would ravish a virgin of good family, an innocent maiden to be chosen by lot. Only a game, they said. And so it was until the plan backfired. Suddenly the game had become a sadistic round of violence and vengeance.

This is the authors first book and is dedicated to author GEORGETTE HEYER. I love how in the 'author's note' before the story begins the author herself says, "Here is an eighteenth-century fairy tale, frankly unserious, frankly unrealistic, for a realistic, serious Age." Love it!

SPOILER SUMMARY: This is a bizarre tale, only 224 pages long but what a tale it is! It takes place in England in the 1700s but no specific year is given. Bysshe, Marquis of Gore, is somewhere around 26 years old. He and three of his friends are bored, bored, bored one night while sitting around in a gaming 'hell'. Viscount Lisle says to them that he'd like to do something that there's "some risk to", and something that ladies wouldn't care to wisper about in their salons. Then he said that he thinks they should 'seduce the quality', an unmarried girl.Each of the four men drew names. Byshee drew the name Cressida "Cressy" Daviot, twenty-two, someone he knew. The next night, May 1st, after leaving his parents home, he went to her home, guessed at which window was hers, climbed up a rope ladder he'd brought, climbed into her room and put a mask on.He went over to her bed, tied a cloth over her mouth and tied her hands and legs together, threatened to hit her with his fist if she made a sound, carried her over his shoulder and out the window, taking the ladder with him to his carriage. They traveled to nearby hills, layed her down on bearskin rugs and said this horrible thing to her:

"You will wonder why I have brought you here" he said in a level voice, "and I will tell you. I intend to rape you. You are miles alway from any house, or any road, or anyone who could hear you, scream you never so loud or long. Do you understand me? There is no one, absolutely no one who can hear you who will come to your aid- and there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can prevent my doing to you exactly what I fully mean to do. I have brought you here to do it, and never doubt I shall. Put all hopes of that aside."

He took her back home, changed her nightgown, kept the dirty one and cut off a lock of her hair (like a serial killer would do) as proof of what he'd done. Charles, one of Byshee's friends recognized the nightgown (yeah, right!) as belonging to his cousin, who's several times removed from the family. Charles felt bad about what happened so he sent a note to Cressy's father informing him of what happened.

Her father read the note the next day and told her twin brothers about what happened. They came up with a plan.... Cressy's father invited Byshee to a party at their home and had someone bring him into another room. Her father and brothers were waiting with weapons when Byshee came into the room. They gagged him and her father told him they knew what happened, didn't say how they knew, and that he was making Byshee marry her. (WTF?! Who want's their daughter to marry a rapist, I ask you?) Byshee refused then agreed after being threatened with a beating. Byshee was still denying he'd raped her so he wouldn't sign a paper saying he'd done it, but he did sign some other legal papers.

They brought Cressy in to see Byshee, she didn't recognize him, they told her he wanted to marry her but she refused and left the room. Her father told her who Byshee was and what he'd done and that he's making her marry him. Byshee is being held captive there and beaten every day until he signs the paper saying he raped her. But Cressy doesn't know a thing about the beatings. Byshee breaks down one day, tells her he's being held against his will and that they should marry right away. The entire family travel to France. (Why?)

After the wedding, the two of them traveled to Italy, where they spent three months. When they finally got back home, Byshee started using opium, which was 'fashionable' at the time.

One day at the club, Byshee confronted Charles and told him he knew he'd told Cressy's father about what he'd done. Charles denied it, called Byshee a liar, so they dueled and Charles got shot in the chest by Byshee but survived. Charles then told Byshee that Cressy was his cousin and that's why he'd told on him. Charles is about 20 years old.

Cressy's brothers and father kidnapped Byshee, put him on Cressy's brother Kit's yacht and spent six hours traveling to France. Once there, they locked him in a room with a window, chair and table. He cried. He was kept there about a week then was moved to a large one room apartment and was held prisioner there for months. The money for the apartment ran out, he was moved to a small room again and was kept there until about eight months later when he was set free.

He wandered around, came to a home, asked the people if he could bathe and shave and ended up staying there, helping to work the land. About seven months later, he sent Cressy a letter asking her to send his valet to him. Cressy and Byshee's father traveled with the valet to France. He did not tell her that he was there because her father kidnapped him. Cressy just thought he left of his own free will TWO YEARS before.

They left to go back to England. Byshee still didn't tell her about her father kidnapping him. Byshee finally confessed to Cressy that he was the one who raped her, and that it had been part of a bet, "a vile, foolish, brutal, stupid bet. But how I won!" During his two year absence, Cressy gave birth to a  boy.

And they all lived happily ever after!

I read somewhere on the internet years ago (in an obit that I can't find) that Lolah died in 2002. Below is an image of her, taken from the back of the hardcover edition of her book Vice Avenged.

Here's some info on her.

SATAN'S MISTRESS by Rachel Cosgrove Payes with Author Photos

PUBLISHER: Playboy Paperbacks, March 1981
SETTING: England, 1753
HEROINE: Fiona McQuade
HERO: Will Huxley
BODICE RIPPER? No
VIRGIN HEROINE: Yes
RAPED HEROINE: Yes
GRADE: C

FROM PUBLISHER: With dizzying speed, beautiful Fiona McQuade went from shopgirl to protégé of a duke and duchess. Dazzled by the luxurious living, Fiona forgot her lowly origins and even dreamed of marrying Viscount Will Huxley, the duchess's handsome lover. But of course the arrogant duke and duchess had other plans for the lovely Fiona. They all were members of the dreaded Hellfire Club: jaded nobility who satiated their decadent desires on the young and innocent. And so the unawakened Fiona was ravished by many men, the handsome Will Huxley among them. She had been sold into sexual slavery, and Fiona vowed they all would pay, even the man she loved.

This was meant to be a full spoiler summary that I did over ten years ago but I never completed it or wrote an actual review. I've posted it anyway.

PARTIAL SPOILER SUMMARY: Sixteen-year old Fiona McQuade came from Edinburgh. She is a shop assistant at her aunt Eulalia's 'exclusive' millinery shop. Fiona lives above the shop. She's running across the street in the rain to get back to the shop when she was almost run down by a carriage. Will Huxley saved her by pulling her out of the way. Will and his married mistress Sarah came into the shop to pick up Sarah's hats. Sarah likes Fiona's work and hires her on the spot to be her wardrobe maid. She goes to live with Sarah and her husband.

Sarah tells Fiona that she needs to get married so throws a party to introduce her to Sarah's friends. Fiona is attracted to Will. He danced with Fiona and Sarah caught him with his hands on her breast. Sarah plans for Fiona to go to a picnic with Thornton Werington, whom Fiona met at the party the night before. Medmenham Abbey is where they are to picnic and attend a masquerade ball. Before the picnic, a maid that Fiona works with tells her that Sarah's husband is a member of the Hell-Fire Club and that they kidnap virgins and rape them.

Inside there are people wearing costumes. Two women that are dressed like nuns come up to Fiona and Thorton and have Fiona follow them. They tell her to strip down and put on a habit too and give her drugged wine, which she doesn't know is drugged. They lead her into a chapel where there were monks. They laid her on the altar, opened up her robe, spread her legs for her and allowed the men to have their way with her. They didn't know they were raping her because she wasn't protesting. They always have sex with someone, so they think she's there willingly. She doesn't protest either because she's drugged out of her mind. As Will Huxley was about to rape her, the drug started wearing off and she did start to protest and claw at his face but he raped her anyway. Then she passed out.

The next morning, Sarah and her husband got on her case about being at the 'orgy.' Fiona told them she knew they'd arranged it. She packed her things and snuck out of the house. She went back to her aunt's shop to work. Sarah went there and asked about Fiona. The aunt said shw worked there. Sarah said if Fiona continued to work there, Sarah would take her business elsewhere and tell her friends not to shop there. Fiona got a new job. Sarah found out about it and told Fiona's boss that she is a slut who consorts with members of the Hell-Fire Club.

When Fiona found that job, Thorton Werington helped her move into her new place above a greengrocers. When Fiona got fired from her current job, she ran into him again while leaving the shop. He told her he'd get her a room at an inn. She was to become his mistress and he moved her into his home. Once in bed, Thorton wanted to have sex with her but she told him she was tired and he punched her in the jaw. The next day as she was tying his tie, he kept pinching her breasts.

Fiona wanted to know more about Will Huxley. Thor told her he wanted to take her back to the abbey, but not for sex. In hopes of finding out more about Will, who goes to the abbey, Fiona agrees to go. She plans to get revenge on him, Sarah and her husband.

THE PRINCE OF EDEN by Marilyn Harris

PUBLISHER: Putnam, 1978
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: England
SERIES: Eden, book 2
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS:  Edward Eden, a noble and passionate man of the people pursued a course decreed by his bastard heritage.

Heir to the vast wealth but not the title of Lord Thomas Eden's estate, he rose to become the most splendid libertine in all London...and fell into the iron grip of a sinister addiction.

Dashing conqueror of hearts more, willing then wise, he drank freely, recklessly from the waters of passion...only to lose himself body and soul to the one woman whose intoxicating thirst he was -- and forbidden -- to quench.

Her world was forgotten, his destiny sealed, a dynasty dammed, in one silent hour of lose.

SPOILER SUMMARY: This is the second in the series. It begins about 36 years after the first book ended. Edward is about 42. He ends up getting addicted to laudanum in the novel. In the beginning of the book, Edward meets a girl at Newgate prison named Elizabeth. He'd go there to bring the inmates treats and stuff. Elizabeth is a teenager, I think, and helps Edward and his friend run a school for poor kids. Edward and Elizabeth are never together romantically.

Edwards younger bother James is not a bastard like Edward so James is to inherit the title and lands and all that. Harriet is to marry James and she and Edward begin an affair. She gets pregnant by Edward, no one but her parents and a nurse know. She's kept prisoner in her home until after the baby is born. It's born and given away.

Coincidentally, Edward and Elizabeth are at an inn and they see the baby, and they don't know it's actually Edward's and Harriet's, being branded with the word 'bastard' by some man so they kidnap it and Edward raises the boy as his own. I just checked my book and the son is named John. About 15 years later,  when John is 15, Edward dies in some accident with a piece of equipment and John goes to Eden to live with his father's relatives. Neither he nor Harriet know that he is her son. That's how that book ends. I think his mother Marianne, from the first book, dies in this one.

This series is pure fiction, not romance. This book was boring. But I know with book three this series will take a disturbing turn.

Here is the reading order for the series:

•This Other Eden
•The Prince of Eden
•The Eden Passion
•The Women of Eden
•Eden Rising
•American Eden
•Eden and Honor

THIS OTHER EDEN by Marilyn Harris

PUBLISHING INFO: Putnam, 1977
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: England, 1790
SERIES: Eden, book 1
MY GRADE: C

SYNOPSIS: The secret of the entire world is whispered here at Eden....

Since time out of memory, Eden Castle had ridden the storm-swept Devon cliffs like a ghostly figurehead On a ship of the damned.

He was the last Lord of Eden Castle, Thomas Eden, a man of brooding desire and sudden passion ...

She was his servant girl, Marianne Locke, the fiery young beauty who would rather submit to the cruel kiss of the whip than suffer the lust of a man she did not love...

From the wild Devonshire coast to the glittering literary salons of London, the tumultuous union of these two proud people Hazed a raging tempest of enduring love.

SPOILER SUMMARY: In the first book, 'This Other Eden', it's 1790 and the heroine, Marianne is 16 and is whipped by 40 year old Thomas Eden. I can't remember why. Two months later she goes to stay with her older sister Jane and her boyfriend, William Pitch. Thomas Eden wants to rape Marianne and Jane offers to help him set it up by giving him a key to Marianne's room. Thomas goes into the room, Marianne is naked getting ready for bed, she screams, causes a commotion, everyone comes running into the room and William Pitch shoots Thomas. Jane confesses to Marianne her role in the near-rape. Later, Marianne and Thomas get married but she later finds out that it was not legal. Marianne gives birth to Edward (from the second book in the series).

Marianne leaves Thomas. He feels guilty for having her whipped so he has someone whip him 40 times. Marianne nurses Thomas back to health that day and they get married and end up having a second son. By this time she is about 26 years old that's how the book ends.

MY THOUGHTS: I'll admit that the synopsis makes this sound really interesting but it was just boring and longer than it needed to be. It wasn't as dark as I was hoping it would be.

This is the reading order of the series:

• This Other Eden
• The Prince of Eden
• The Eden Passion
• The Women of Eden
• Eden Rising
• American Eden
• Eden and Honor

WIDEACRE by Philippa Gregory

PUBLISHING INFO: Pocket Books, 1987
GENRE: Historical Fiction
SETTING: England, 1700's
SERIES: Wideacre, book 1 of 3
NARRATION: First person
MY GRADE: A+

SYNOPSIS: She lived in an 18th-century England where women were forbidden to inherit wealth or land. But Beatrice Lacev was an extraordinary woman. Tempestuous, cunning and beautiful, she would seduce, betray, deceive, destroy to possess Wideacre. In the lush, dramatic tradition of GONE WITH THE WIND, WIDEACRE plunges us into a world of splendor and tragedy, of wickedness and obsession. Filled with vivid, compelling characters, here is a tale of a rich, fascinating time; the unforgettable story of a fateful love; the brilliant, spellbinding saga of a woman ruled by neither law nor man... a woman who lived to the fullest, wildest call of her own unbridled passions.

SEMI-SPOILER SUMMARY: This book begins with 14 year old Beatrice who lives at Wideacre in England. It's told in the first person.

She and her lover Ralph began their sexual relationship when she was fourteen. For her 15th birthday, he gave her a little owl figurine. That owl will come back to haunt her later on.....

That same year, they came up with a plan to kill Beatrice's father so that all of his property, money and all that will then become her older brother Harry's. They then planned to bankrupt Harry some way so that Wideacre would become Beatrice's. She loves Wideacre much more than Harry and wants to own it. Ralph later tells Beatrice that he want's to marry her, but she doesn't want to ever be married. The next morning, Beatrice decides that she couldn't go through with murdering her father. She rushed to the home he shares with this mother to tell him to NOT kill her father, but Ralph was already gone. Later on, her father was brought home dead. Ralph had smashed him in the head with something. Beatrice pretended that she was happy but secretly she was furious and planned to pay Ralph back somehow......

One day she came up with a plan. She set up an animal trap outside near his home. She knew if a human got caught in it, they'd lose their leg/legs. One day as she was leaving Ralph's, she yelled his name in hopes he'd come running. Sure enough, he came running to see what was wrong and walked right into the trap, pun intended. Ralph didn't see Beatrice at all while he was in the trap but he knew she'd planned it. Months went by with no word about what had happened to Ralph. He just up and disappeared with this mother, horse and two dogs. Beatrice lived in fear everyday knowing he'd show up again one day to get revenge on her.

Soon after that incident, she began an incestuous relationship with her blonde haired brother Harry, who was one year older. Harry began to date a girl named Celia. That made Beatrice very jealous because Wideacre would become Celia's when she married Harry.

Celia asked Beatrice to come with her and Harry to 'Europe' after they got married, to keep her company. Beatrice agreed because she planned to continue her affair with Harry even though he was married. So that's what happened. They continued to have sex with each other every night, with Celia none the wiser. Harry even had sex with Beatrice on the night he 'deflowered' his wife. Beatrice soon after realized she was pregnant by Harry. She came up with yet another plan. She told Celia she was pregnant, but didn't say who the father was, and said that Celia could pass the baby off as her own. Harry went back home to England to see their sick mother, so while he was away, he'd never know that Celia wasn't really pregnant. He'd never know too that Beatrice was pregnant. The joke would really be on him, the fool. Beatrice's excuse for not traveling home to Wideacre with Harry to see their mother was that she just got too sea sick to travel if she didn't have to. So while Harry was away, Beatrice gave birth to Julia and gave her to Celia to raise as her own. Beatrice and Harry's relationship continued on and Beatrice got pregnant AGAIN, the moron.

She started dating a man named John MacAdams. He wanted to marry her but she didn't want marriage, since it would take her away from Wideacre, which she was completely obsessed with; had been her entire life. She lives for the day she'll own it, but that's not likely to happen (or is it?) since Harry is still in the picture. When she discovered she was pregnant again by Harry, she told Celia that she could have that baby too and raise it as her own, with only the two of them knowing it wasn't really hers. Celia was scared of the marriage bed and rarely had sex with Harry. That's why she wasn't getting pregnant on her own. Celia told her no, she couldn't lie to Harry again. Beatrice tried to abort the baby twice by taking some drug but it didn't work. Beatrice's deceiving mind came up with another genius plan; start having sex with John, even though she was five weeks pregnant, and make him believe he's the father. She gave birth to Richard. Weeks before, on her 19th birthday, she received a little package at her home that had been sent anonymously. Well, what do you know!, it was an owl figurine. No one but Ralph could have sent it. Before Ralph was born, she'd heard a rumor that the leader of a group of smugglers rode a black horse and had two dogs. She assumed then that it was Ralph. Someone then told her the unknown smuggler had grown up around Wideacre. She knew for sure that it was Ralph!

When Beatrice gave birth to Ralph, he husband John had been in Scotland. Being a doctor, he could see that Richard wasn't premature, like Beatrice had said. John confronted her about being pregnant when they married. She lied and told him that she'd been raped by the gang leader. That same night John confronted her, Harry kept pestering her to have sex with him. She gave in and while they were having sex on the floor, their mother walked in, saw them then passed out. They carried her to her room and Beatrice watched over her. John gave Beatrice a bottle of laudanum. He told her to give her mother four drops, no more, ever hour. After awhile, Celia came in to watch her mother-in-law so Beatrice could have a break. Beatrice LIED to Celia and told her to give her mother the entire vile of laudaum in thirty minutes. She wanted Celia to killer Beatrice's mother so that she couldn't tell Celia that she'd seen her and Harry having sex.

Beatrice went to check on her husband John. John was upset at being deceived by Beatrice about the pregnancy, so he'd been drinking a lot. He'd even thrown up on himself and the room was a mess. Beatrice wanted everyone to see the room the next day so that she can say John told her, in a drunken state, to give their mother the entire vile of medicine, thus blaming her mothers death on him. John had probably been drinking too because after Beatrice's mother came to after passing out, she kept yelling out, "Harry, Beatrice, NO!" John figured out something must have gone on with the two of them. Now because John may suspect their incestous relationship, Beatrice wants him dead. She's trying to destroy him with alcohol, since he'd got a drinking problem anyway. She's blaming John for their mothers death. She's using that as the reason for her dislike of him. Beatrice keeps supplying him with alcohol. John confronts her about it and she says this, "But I will never ban drink from where you are because I am content to watch you destroy yourself." Beatrice is trying to keep him drunk too so that she can have him committed to the nuthouse, making Harry power of attorney over John's money. Beatrice then plans to use John's money to buy Wideacre from their cousin Charles and to help pay all the legal fees of having Julia and Richard made join heirs of Wideacre, should Harry die.

________

For some unknown reason, my notes left off there. Strange. I think they got thrown away accidentally years ago. I'll have to pick up from there after I reread the book, then come back here and finish where I abruptly left off. This is one great novel! I couldn't put it down and couldn't wait to turn each page. Beatrice is such an anti-heroine.

THE FAVORED CHILD by Philippa Gregory

This is the second book in the 'Wideacre' trilogy. It's about sibblings Beatrice and Harry's children Julia, the oldest, and Richard. Richard believes John MacAdams, his dead mothers widow, is his father. He thinks Julia is his cousin, raised by his uncle Harry and aunt Celia. But they are really full brother and sister.

The book starts by stating that Harry died of a weak heart two years after daughter Julia was born. Beatrice's widow John moved to India after her death.


When Julia was 12, she had a dream and a voice told her repeatedly, "The favored child, the favored child. She always was the favored child."


Her brother Richard, who she thinks is her cousin, was given a horse when he first learned to ride. Julia loved his horse and it made Richard extremely jealous every time Julia rode it. One day when Richard was 11, he was thrown from a horse and no one could find him. Dench (don't remember who he is) sent Julia out on Richard's horse to get help. Richard was very angry that Dench let her ride his horse, so he fired him. One night Richard came to Julia's room and told her he heard someone outside and that he thought it might have been Dench. The next day, they discovered that someone had purposely cut the back of Richard's favorite horses legs and the horse couldn't stand because of it. To put the horse out of its misery, Richard beat the horse in the head with something. He said Dench must have done it as revenge for being fired. What really happened was Richard injured his own horse because he was jealous of Julia's love for it. So the night before the horse was found, when Richard told Julia he thought he'd heard someone outside, he only did that to make the others think that person is the one who injured the horse.


When Julia was 16 and Richard was 15, Richard's 'father' John came back from India. He has plans to rebuild Wideacre and has hired Ralph Megson to be the manager. Ralph is the one Beatrice got to murder her father over 16 years before. Julia asked Ralph why he was the 'hero' of Wideacre. He told her he was the one who lead the villagers to Wideacre and he's the one who murdered Beatrice and that he had been Beatrice's lover. Julia kept that information to herself and told no one.


Richard ended up raping his cousin Julia (who's really his sister) one day and got her pregnant. He held her down, broke her wrist and threatened to strangle her and have his way with her anyway. They married in secret. Their parents found out she was pregnant by Richard then Richard confessed to marrying her a month before. Richard's father John then told them that they were brother and sister. At the time Julia was 17, Richard, 16. John and Celia went to have the marriage annuled and on the way there they were stopped by a highwayman and both were shot and killed.


When Julia was 7 months pregnant Richard gave her her mother's necklace and earrings, which had been stolen when they were killed. In that moment, Julia realized Richard had her parents killed to prevent them from having the marriage annuled. She knew then too that he'd murdered her friend Clary. He then told her he'd injured his own horse.


A few weeks before Julia's baby was due, she woke up one night to find Richard in bed with her. He told her that he'd almost strangled her and that he wanted her so that he could get her share of Wideacre. He told her then that he had, in fact, killed her friend Clary because she'd seen him rape Julia. He then told her about killing her parents. She told him she didn't believe him, just to make him angry. She wanted him to kill her to end her misery. He got mad because she didn't believe him and tried to strangle her. She went into labor. He left the room to get help. Julia gave birth to Sarah, rushed out of the house immediately afterward, when to the river to drown the baby. She saw a caravan of Gypsies and handed the baby to a woman, giving her a pearl neckless as payment for taking the baby.


When Julia got back home, Ralph was standing behind a sitting Richard, and had a knife to his throat. Julia told Ralph to 'do it', so Ralph slit Richard's throat.


And that's how this warped tale ended. The baby, Sarah is in the third book, Meridon. This book was alright; it's not nearly as good as the first in the series, 'Wideacre.'