Forever a Lady

June 4, 2012
Marvelle (Forever and a Day) seamlessly weaves two distinct threads into a sizzling yet tender romance set in New York’s gritty Five Points and fashionable London in the 1820s. Bernadette Marie, a merry widow, is determined to ignore society and do whatever she wants. If she wants to sleep with a disreputable American, then nothing can stop her. Matthew Milton might have grown up well-off, but after his family’s money was stolen and squandered by a longtime friend, he learned a new way of living to survive in the slums. Bernadette can accept him being a vigilante, but not his penchant for theft. Marvelle paints a realistic view of New York and the motivations that drive the poor to commit desperate acts without losing their humanity. Matthew’s world is violent, both on the streets and in the bedroom, but nothing is too gory or graphic. Matthew is a rare man despite his circumstances and watching him claw his way out of poverty when Bernadette gives him a chance is satisfying and worthy of a cheer. Agent: Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

July 1, 2012
In the sequel to Forever and a Day (2012), Marvelle uses the platform of an often steamy romance to advocate for education and employment instead of prison. Lady Bernadette Burton deplores her status as a wealthy widow and burns to live a full life. To that end, she takes and discards lovers, then is stunned when one attacks her as she's riding. To her rescue comes New Yorker Matthew Milton, who sweeps her off her feet. When she encounters him later in America, she has been kidnapped and rescued by Matthew, only to find that he is an impoverished gang leader. When he says he wants out of his life, she loans him enough money to resurrect his father's newspaper and watches him become rich and famous. Now on equal footing, can Lady Bernadette and Matthew really get to know one another and find happiness? Marvelle again explores class differences and social injustice, sensitively portraying both haves and have-nots for a satisfying historical romance that oddly parallels today's problems.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)