Rating:
Published: 1972
Illustrator: Robert McGinnis
Published by: Avon
Genres: Gothic Romance, Historical Romance
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader
The Book
I’ve not read too many gothic romances, but The Curse of Kenton by Janet Louise Roberts is definitely one of the better ones I’ve come upon.
My Avon 1972 first edition features the typical Gothic cover. There is the heroine (wrong hair color alert: she’s brunette, not blonde) screaming in terror as she runs away from a dark castle.
In this case, it’s Castle Kenton. It is a place shrouded in a dreadful mystery, as is always the case in these Gothic Romances.
The Plot
Barbara Ashe is an orphan who works as a pharmacist for a country doctor. One day two dashing lords come racing through town. The darkly handsome Duke of Kenton requires her services as he is gravely ill. Gilbert is a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. He suffers from a secret, fatal malady which makes him bitter and dissolute.
Despite her better judgment, Barbara falls for the Duke. They quickly marry, as Gilbert needs an heir before he passes on.
What follows is a great story loaded with intrigue. It’s a story filled with secrets, and a cruel hero who straddles the lines between romantic, tragically condemned to fate, and villainous.
Gilbert parties it up with friends, and they engage in drunken orgies. However, Barbara is no shrinking violet, meekly accepting her husband’s peccadilloes.
What makes The Curse of Kenton so very good is Barbara’s strong, resilient character. She won’t put up with her husband’s licentious debaucheries nor placidly accept his belief that his disease is incurable.
“The Kenton bad temper is not going to kill my husband! I have resolved on that!”
Barbara vows the curse will not destroy their lives.
Things are not always what they seem here. Horrific, hidden mysteries are slowly revealed in a shocking denouement.
Final Analysis of The Curse of Kenton
The great heroine with a backbone really made The Curse of Kenton stand out. I’m looking forward to reading more by Janet Louise Roberts.
4.5 Stars
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| Overall: | 4.3 |
Synopsis:
Wicked Wave of Death!
THE CURSE OF KENTON by JANET LOUISE ROBERTS
Young, ripe, and penniless, Barbara Ashe was swept by powerful emotions into a marriage with the rich, wildly romantic Duke of Kenton. But soon she was shocked by his evil society friends, mortified by his bursting hot-tempered fits, and plagued by the fear that his worsening heart condition was more than simply the gypsy curse on the men of Kenton.
Taunted by her suspicions through chilling, dark nights, she began to trust no one. Someone in that ominous castle was planning murder – and each moment marched Barbara closer to the awful truth!
