An appreciative satire of the cliches of classical Gothic, with the eponymous Villainus Viscount, a haunted castle, a family curse, and a spirited heroine. When Clarissa Greendale inherits the fortune of disreputable uncle she hardly knows, she does not expect to find herself forced into marriage with an aristocratic fortune hunter and wild, brawling, debauched social outcast. Not only that, but … that, but her name featured some way down on the list of eligible heiresses he planned to court. Still, Clarinda has always found Harley Venn set off the most unmaidenly tinglings in her; that is one consolation…
Yet neither did Clarinda expect to inherit the legacy of a wrongdoing from half a century before. For the wicked if beguiling Lord Venn seems to have inherited a family curse, which, having dispatched the main perpetrators of the old crime, now moves on to their heirs, who are just as wild a set of rakes as their elders. There are rumours of violent deaths preceded by appearances from an inexorable hooded spectre, of inexplicable strikes of lightning, and of haunted mirrors.
The light-hearted Harley Venn dismisses all these as conjuring tricks. He even hires a drunken charlatan of a professional magician to prove it.
Clarinda is far from sure that there is any rational explanation. Still, it would take more than an enforced marriage to an incorrigible pugilistic libertine or persecution from malevolent spectres to damage her steely nerves and sense of the ridiculous.
This lively Gothic comedy, written as a good natured satire of the cliches of classical Gothic, gives the reader a warm-hearted and courageous heroine, a rascally but beguiling anti-hero and an authentic historical background to the delightfully over-the-top adventures, a cast of wholly believable characters, an engaging love story and many chills on its way to its tumultuous conclusion.
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Having squandered his inherited funds, Harley Venn needs to marry for money, but something is at work against the dissolute Viscount and his friends. Clarinda Greendale has come into money and is now expected to marry well. Neither is the other’s first choice in a spouse, and with specters continually appearing, their relationship is not off to the most auspicious start. But he’s determined to unveil the truth behind the “curse” that dogs them – whether cheap theatrics, mass mesmerism, or the supernatural – and she’s determined to protect him from harm. And there’s a lively cast of secondary characters along for the ride, making mischief of one kind or another.
Lucinda Elliot has crafted a clever send-up of Gothic stories with satire sustained by what would be a darned good story on its own at the core. With melodrama, a virtuous and pious but rather practical heroine, a debauched (do take that as a mature content warning) and jaunty hero who just might let her reform him, and a castle crumbling in the most appropriate ways, The Villainous Viscount adds up to a rather rollicking good read.
This review refers to a digital copy I voluntarily received and read. A positive review was not required and these are only my own, honest opinions.
This book was utterly hilarious, a jaunty fling, a sexy romance, and carefully researched and full of fascinating facts! I had so much fun reading it. Clarinda Greendale inherits a fortune, and sets off a chain of events that end in a fireworks display of ghosts, a curse, a rake (no, not a gardener’s rake, but a dissolute Viscount!), and a rousing fight. The heiress, Clarinda, is expected to make a good, no, a very good marriage, now that she is wealthy. Clarinda had been content to spend the rest of her life as a single, untroubled by love, woman. This all falls to pieces when Harley Venn, a practically penniless Viscount, decides he needs a rich wife and sets his sights on Clarinda’s bank account and voluptuous rear end. Now, I know, you’re not supposed to hate the hero – and I promise, you won’t. He’s incorrigeable, but likeable, and his admiration for Clarinda is real. First he admires her backside, then he admires her brain – and what gothic hero ever does that? Harley is a rake, a gambler, a drinker, a womanizer – but he must mend his ways of die from a curse (ghost?) (trickster?) who is killing his freinds one by one. Determined to walk the straight and narrow, he begs Clarinda to save him from himself – and from bankruptsy. The author spices the book with detailed information about the time period, the food, the clothing, the life the upstairs and downstairs lived – and it is fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, and will probably go back and read it again, and I will also look up more of this talented author’s books! So prepare to laugh, to have your interest piqued, and to enjoy this Gothic spoof!