Rating:
Published: 1983
Illustrator: Walter Popp
Imprint or Line: Zebra Historical Romance
Published by: Kensington
Genres: Civil War Romance, Historical Romance
Pages: 462
Format: Paperback, eBook
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: Blue Falcon
SPOILER ALERT ⚠
The Book
Kathleen’s Surrender by Nancy Henderson Ryan–known better these days as Nan Ryan–is without question one of the best, most emotional romance novels I’ve ever read.
This review is based on the Zebra print version of the book published back in 1983.
The Plot
Part One
As the book opens, we meet the Beauregard family of Natchez-on-the-Hill, Mississippi. Patriarch Louis Antoine, Matriarch Abigail Howard Beauregard, and the heroine of the book, their only child, daughter Kathleen Diana Beauregard.
At the start, Kathleen is a starry-eyed 15-year-old who loves her Southern Belle life. She soon meets a handsome, wealthy man named Dawson Blakely and falls quickly and fully in love with him. They fall in love and want to get married.
However, Louis is vehemently against their relationship, although he and Abigail are nice to Dawson. Louis’ objection: Dawson’s ancestry isn’t as blue-blooded as the Beauregards’ is; Dawson’s ancestors are rather notorious people.
Louis tells Dawson they can’t marry, and Dawson loves Kathleen enough to let her go without telling her that her father is the one who’s trying to keep them apart. They do have an intimate encounter before they part, which results in Kathleen’s pregnancy.
To avoid losing face, Kathleen marries a doctor named Hunter Alexander to give their child–a son named Scott–a father.
Dawson, meanwhile, goes to Europe to drown his sorrows over losing Kathleen in drink and women.
Part Two
As time goes on–the book encompasses 10 years–Kathleen realizes she’s not in love with Hunter and freezes him out–emotionally and sexually. Dawson eventually returns to America while Kathleen realizes that she and Dawson still love each other. They become involved again.
Hunter sees them kissing and decides, when the Civil War begins, to join the Confederate Army, ostensibly to die in combat to avoid living with a broken heart, knowing that Kathleen will never love him the way she loves Dawson. Dawson also does his part for the Confederacy, acting as a blockade runner on one of his many ships.
Part Three
As the war goes on, Kathleen later realizes she does love Hunter and goes to the frontlines of the war in Vicksburg to be with him-they make love. On the way back to Natchez, Kathleen and her servant are set upon by Union soldiers, one of whom tries to rape her. That is prevented by Dawson, who is shot and seriously wounded in the process.
Then Kathleen decides she wants to be with Dawson again. She finds out later that Hunter is listed as a casualty of the war and decides to go ahead and marry Dawson.
Things don’t end there, but I won’t reveal all of what happens.
It’s Complicated
While you might think that Kathleen is a flighty and self-centered five-letter-word-for-female-dog flipping back and forth between her husband and her lover, it’s a lot more complicated than that.
Ms. Ryan does a tremendous job exploring and describing the emotions Kathleen, Hunter, and Dawson are going through. None of the three are villains, nor are they trying to deliberately hurt each other. They’re just three people caught in a love triangle that none of them want, but they also can’t get out of easily.
I felt each of their joys and sorrows, and it is an emotional rollercoaster that touched every one of my emotions.
Sex
There are some sex scenes, and although they are multiple pages long, they are not overly graphic.
Violence
Since the latter half of the book takes place in the Civil War, there is some violence. Most of it is not graphically described, except for the scene in which Dawson shoots and kills Kathleen’s attempted rapist. That is graphically described.
Final Analysis of Kathleen’s Surrender
One of the most important things that a book–or tv show or movie–has to do to get and keep my attention is to make me care about the people I’m watching/reading about. Ms. Ryan does exactly that. She made me care about Kathleen, Hunter, and Dawson, and it was incredible to read this book.
Kathleen’s Surrender by Nan Ryan is one of my favorite novels ever.
BTW, on Amazon, where I first posted this review, Ms. Ryan wrote to me to tell me that she appreciated my review!
5 Stars
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| Overall: | 4.8 |
Synopsis
PROMISE OF LOVE
“I know that you will fall madly, helplessly in love with me,” dashing Dawson Blakely murmured in Kathleen’s delicate ear. Though she knew it was wrong to encourage the gambler’s attentions, the curvaceous beauty couldn’t keep her heart from racing nor stop the blush that spread from her velvety cheeks to her full, heaving bosom.DREAM OF DESIRE
Kathleen’s Surrender by Nan Ryan
The innocent young woman tried not to feel the virile man’s hard body next to her soft skin; she knew she ought to slap away the strong hands encircling her tiny waist. But she had always wondered what it was like to fall in love. Without a second thought, she yielded to the magic of passion’s splendor and swooned to the ecstasy of KATHLEEN’S SURRENDER
Hello Blue Falcon,
Kathleen’s Surrender is a book I will put on my TBR list for certain!
The love triangle and thematic elements of this book as you described remind me of Natasha Peter’s The Masquers (aka Splendid Torment). That also featured a married couple and another man. And another woman, if I recall. All the characters were treated respectfully, and their flaws were laid bare. The heroine loved two men and they deeply loved her.
It’s very rare that an author avoids making someone in a love triangle appear villainous. I appreciate stories that delve into complex issues like that.
Hi, Jacqueline. I think you’ll really like this book. It’s not a bodice ripper, but it is a book with interesting, well-developed characters in a difficult time facing decisions that have to be made, then changed, on the fly based on what was going on at the time.
What I especially found great about “Kathleen’s Surrender” is the fact that Mrs. (Henderson) Ryan gave each primary character-Kathleen, Dawson and Hunter-the chance to speak in their own voice, so readers can see and feel their emotions and thoughts. I also liked the fact that she didn’t make any of the three villains. Kathleen loved Dawson and Hunter, and they both loved her. It was also interesting in that both Dawson and Hunter were very selfless; they were both willing to sacrifice their courtship of her to let the other man marry her. Kathleen’s happiness mattered more to them than their own needs and wishes. That is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a book before, and haven’t seen since.