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FICTION
GIRL IN A BLUE DRESS
By Gaynor Arnold. Crown. 414 pages. $25.99.
By the time Charles Dickens had grown tired of his wife, the couple had 10 children and Dickens was rich and famous. The two separated, unhappily and against Catherine's will, and Dickens published a notice in the newspapers declaring her an unfit mother. She was sent away to live alone in shame, and her sister moved in to help Charles with all those kids.
These sad details of a disintegrating marriage are rich fodder for fiction, and Gaynor Arnold has done a wonderful job telling the story through the wife's point of view. The names are changed to Dorothea and Alfred, but there is no mistaking the characters.
The book opens on a day of national mourning - Alfred's funeral, with Dorothea grieving alone, estranged from her children and ashamed to be seen in public. As the novel progresses, the story line shifts from the sad present to the ecstatic past - their courtship and happy early years. Alfred was a vibrant, exciting man - vain, yes, and always the center of attention, but also someone who elicited joy and laughter wherever he went. Dorothea, sweet, shy, alluring in a low-cut blue dress, wins his heart.
Arnold's compelling, historically true novel makes sense of the rise and fall of the marriage, and of the devotion that Dorothea felt for her husband, who treated her so badly but never lost her love.
ROMANCE
BED OF ROSES
By Nora Roberts. Berkley. 358 pages. $16.
Nora Roberts' latest series, "The Bride Quartet," is simply delightful. It has no mumbo-jumbo paranormal twists, no sinister plots or lingering tragedies.
The stories focus on four friends who have turned a childhood game into a lucrative wedding planning company. They support each other in business and in their personal lives.
In the second book, "Bed of Roses," Emma loves her life. She's the florist of the group, has a supportive and loving family, great friends and an active social life.
Finding the man of her dreams fits in the "someday" category, although part of her realizes she found him years earlier. That would be Jack, who always has been around in the role of surrogate brother.
That changes.
Both are reluctant to change their relationship, but love (even unrecognized love) tends to get in the way.
That's when Jack gets cold feet.
Not surprisingly, the book is wonderfully written with witty, engaging dialogue and intriguing characters who become your friends.
The ending may be a bit drawn out, but it's delicious.
Next up: Laurel's book, due out in May. Lezlie Patterson, McClatchy-Tribune
