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Lady of Secrets by G.S. Carr - Henrietta Wright is a teacher in New York - and she's also a Free Colored woman from a family of some means. She teaches reading and writing, and her students include colored men and women and immigrants. One immigrant in particular, Irishman Elijah Byrne, has captured her attention, even though she knows she shouldn't be interested in him. After all, he's poor and beneath her station, and besides, she's expected to marry a man from her own community - a wealthy Free Colored man.
Elijah is fascinated by the beautiful teacher, and manages to build a respectful friendship with her when he winds up being employed by her family. As their friendship blooms, the lines between their stations are blurred, and they both begin to dream of the possibility of more.
As the Civil War heats up, and after a rash promise to her friends, Henrietta tries to get her uncle to allow her to join the Union war effort using her skills at ciphers and codes. She thinks she has passed his test for her, but when she is endangered by racially motivated violence, her uncle refuses to have her involved or even to act on information she has from a contact. Henrietta takes matters into her own hands after her mother steps in and issues an ultimatum sending Elijah away and forcing Henrietta into accepting another man's proposal.
This story has a fantastic premise - a strong free black woman during the Civil War, and exploring the complicated social dilemmas faced by free blacks, immigrants, and others during this time. However, the elements of espionage and intrigue in the publisher's description are not prominent in the storyline. The time jumps, especially early in the story, skip development of the characters and their relationships, and leave out some story development, and there are gaps in the plot development. The story opens with Henrietta teaching the class and introduces the attraction between her and Elijah, and the jealous reaction of Matthew, her intended. Then there's a significant time jump and the story picks up with Elijah working as a servant to her family. The drunken vow between Henrietta and her friends to help with the war effort is vague and contrived, and her attempts to get involved and the motivation to continue weren't developed as well as I would have liked.
I also felt that in the early chapters, the creative descriptive language was overdone and dragged the story. So many paragraphs devoted to inventive ways of describing the heat in the classroom, and many little details that weren't important made the plot seem sluggish. Once things finally got moving, after the time jump, the narration was more natural and better focused on characters than on setting. Overall, a decent light romance with interesting characters and setting, and enjoyable despite the bumpy beginning and several small editorial misses.
Elijah is fascinated by the beautiful teacher, and manages to build a respectful friendship with her when he winds up being employed by her family. As their friendship blooms, the lines between their stations are blurred, and they both begin to dream of the possibility of more.
As the Civil War heats up, and after a rash promise to her friends, Henrietta tries to get her uncle to allow her to join the Union war effort using her skills at ciphers and codes. She thinks she has passed his test for her, but when she is endangered by racially motivated violence, her uncle refuses to have her involved or even to act on information she has from a contact. Henrietta takes matters into her own hands after her mother steps in and issues an ultimatum sending Elijah away and forcing Henrietta into accepting another man's proposal.
This story has a fantastic premise - a strong free black woman during the Civil War, and exploring the complicated social dilemmas faced by free blacks, immigrants, and others during this time. However, the elements of espionage and intrigue in the publisher's description are not prominent in the storyline. The time jumps, especially early in the story, skip development of the characters and their relationships, and leave out some story development, and there are gaps in the plot development. The story opens with Henrietta teaching the class and introduces the attraction between her and Elijah, and the jealous reaction of Matthew, her intended. Then there's a significant time jump and the story picks up with Elijah working as a servant to her family. The drunken vow between Henrietta and her friends to help with the war effort is vague and contrived, and her attempts to get involved and the motivation to continue weren't developed as well as I would have liked.
I also felt that in the early chapters, the creative descriptive language was overdone and dragged the story. So many paragraphs devoted to inventive ways of describing the heat in the classroom, and many little details that weren't important made the plot seem sluggish. Once things finally got moving, after the time jump, the narration was more natural and better focused on characters than on setting. Overall, a decent light romance with interesting characters and setting, and enjoyable despite the bumpy beginning and several small editorial misses.
From the publisher:
Her secret mission. A country divided. His impossible love.
Henrietta Wright is a Free Colored woman who teaches reading and writing to anyone who enters her classroom. At least she was, until a drunken night with friends catapults her down a path of intrigue, coded messages, and intelligence operations. All in service of the Union Army. She can't tell anyone what she's doing, including the handsome Irishman she knows she shouldn't want, but can't seem to resist.
Since stepping onto American soil, Elijah Byrne's only goal has been to survive another day. That is until Henrietta burst into his life and made him want more. She was never meant to be his - her fiance can attest to that - but she makes him long for things men like him aren't lucky enough to have. When she asks for his help, he can't resist tumbling with her into a clandestine expedition that could cost them everything--including their lives.
Her secret mission. A country divided. His impossible love.
Henrietta Wright is a Free Colored woman who teaches reading and writing to anyone who enters her classroom. At least she was, until a drunken night with friends catapults her down a path of intrigue, coded messages, and intelligence operations. All in service of the Union Army. She can't tell anyone what she's doing, including the handsome Irishman she knows she shouldn't want, but can't seem to resist.
Since stepping onto American soil, Elijah Byrne's only goal has been to survive another day. That is until Henrietta burst into his life and made him want more. She was never meant to be his - her fiance can attest to that - but she makes him long for things men like him aren't lucky enough to have. When she asks for his help, he can't resist tumbling with her into a clandestine expedition that could cost them everything--including their lives.
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