COLONEL BRANDON'S DIARY

Author: Amanda Grange ISBN: 9780709086161 8/2008 HISTORICAL Publisher: ROBERT HALE
Time Period: 1700's Georgian England

"Colonel Brandon's Diary" continues Amanda Grange's popular series of Jane Austen retellings.At the age of eighteen, James Brandon's life is set fair. He is in love with his father's ward, Eliza, and he is looking forward to a lifetime of happiness with her. But his world is shattered when Eliza is forced to marry his brother and James joins the army in despair. Whilst he is in the East Indies, Eliza is badly treated and she seeks consolation outside her marriage, leading to divorce and destitution. Returning to England, Brandon finds her in a debtors' prison. He rescues her from her terrible position, but she is dying of consumption and he can do nothing but watch and wait. Heartbroken at her death, he takes some consolation from her illegitimate daughter, whom he raises as his ward. But at the age of fifteen, the young Eliza goes missing. Oppressed by the thought of what could have happened to her, he is surprised to find himself falling in love with Marianne Dashwood. But Marianne is falling in love with Willoughby...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Amanda Grange sets her historical romance, COLONEL BRANDON'S DIARY, in late 1700's England where James Brandon, a younger son, is betrayed by his father who wants his first son, Harry, to marry his ward Eliza to gain her fortune and bring him out of bankruptcy, even though James and Eliza love each other. As confusing as these familial entanglements are, it only gets worse. Poor Eliza is forced into the marriage, James abandons home for an army career, the father dies, Harry drinks up the fortune and divorces Eliza who falls into poverty, and this is all before the story gets properly started.

Grange sets forth this novel in the form of a diary. Some entries are quite short, others much longer, all giving glimpses into the life and character of Colonel James Brandon who comes to the rescue of one and all while allowing himself to be a viewer of his own life being lived from the sidelines. He is a passionate, kind, generous man who makes the best of finally coming into his inheritance (while James is in the Indies, his brother finally succeeds in losing his life which he should have been gracious enough to do much earlier) after having lost nearly everything else. Like the proverbial doormat, he does for everybody else while neglecting his own needs, which includes winning the love of Marianne Dashwood. Before he can win her heart with his feeble romancing, she falls for a cad of the first order. Two things can be said of James: he is loyal and devoted. In the end, these qualities save the day.

COLONEL BRANDON'S DIARY is a pretty story, despite its very slow pace. Many years pass with very little action and a lot of reflecting, hoping, and pining. James's idea of seduction is limited to kissing fingertips, wringing his hands and buying gift horses. He is utterly clueless about all the romantic comings and goings around him, and while ready and willing to call cads to account on the dueling grounds, he seems a very reluctant white knight on his own account. I can recommend COLONEL BRANDON'S DIARY as a well written read for whiling away a rainy afternoon.

Susan Barton