Stolen Splendor by Evelyn Hanna—a pseudonym for Michael Dyne and Ethel Frank—is a post-Civil War romance featuring a quasi-love triangle with a resilient Southern belle, a hard-nosed businessman, and a newspaper owner determined to take him down.
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Stolen Splendor by Evelyn HannaRating:
Published: 1979
Illustrator: Hector Garrido
Published by: Ballantine
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 499
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon, AbeBooks
Reviewed by: IntrovertReader
TOTAL SPOILER ALERT ⚠
The Book
Stolen Splendor by Evelyn Hanna was not a typical romance novel. It would be accurate to label it historical fiction peppered with sex scenes and melodramatic elements. Evelyn Hannah is a pseudonym for a male and female writing team of Michael Dyne and Ethel Frank, who only wrote three other books besides this.
The Plot
The perspective of Stolen Splendor is predominantly from the third-person point of view of the protagonist, Valeria, a former Southern Belle who must now navigate the hostile North following the U.S. Civil War.
Add a dysfunctional family, a lazy brother, a family friend with a crazy wife, a secret gay romance, and some union talk—this is a historical work of fiction with solid writing and an intriguing heroine.
It has a very realistic subplot about the social and political struggles of the era, and the prose is exquisite as well. This was enjoyable in an ocean of predictable “twists and turns” and tired, recycled tropes.
However, it’s also uneven. You never know what you will get next, what mood will take over, or what the characters will do.
Valeria
The heroine, Valeria, is a 25-year-old southern belle who has moved north with her brother. The war took her home, her youth, and her innocence—in more ways than one.
Valeria was refreshingly genuine and honest—a resilient woman who had endured hardship but still held onto her dignity. Despite facing rejection and adversity, she remained pragmatic and determined to make the most of life’s limited opportunities.
She chose the third option between being an underpaid drudge, the kept mistress of a rich man, or the marriage of a convenience wife to a shrewd, wealthy septuagenarian.
Incredibly, not because she is a golddigger, but because she felt that he was the only one to see her as a person, not a possession. She weighed her options and decided, and once made, she did not dither but firmly kept course.
Nor was she perfect. Valeria made mistakes, but she owned them and tried to rectify them.
Josiah and Sam
The two men who dominate Valeria’s life are Sam Garvey and Josiah Eaton. Valeria comes to a crossroads in her life when she must choose between her desire for stability and her yearning for passion.
She chooses to marry Sam Garvey, a wealthy 73-year-old businessman. However, he’s not the “hero.”
That would be Josiah, a vain newspaper owner whom her husband despises.
Neither of the men is pure good or bad, even though they might initially seem that way. They act in ways that enrage the reader, not to mention Valeria.
Ida
If you have a weak stomach, don’t read this because the heroine’s evil Nemesis comeuppance was so graphic that it made me squirm despite my love for fictional retribution and justice.
All right, if you want to know the nasty details of the epic comeuppance suffered by the heroine’s nemesis, her husband’s middle-aged daughter, who tried to crush her emotionally and physically, here it is:
Having been vanquished in all her efforts to bring the heroine down, she tries to commit suicide by stabbing herself with a pair of scissors in—oh, I can’t bring myself to say it!
Let’s just say she tried to give herself a fatal gynecological exam and leave it at that.
My Opinion
I had mixed feelings about the book. I initially leaned towards a high rating due to a strong start but felt the quality declined towards the end, mainly due to lengthy and unnecessary inner monologues from characters.
The characters are well-written, especially Valeria. She was a captivating, multifaceted, authentic woman, possessing charm and imperfections. Despite enduring considerable hardship, she exhibits a remarkable determination to persevere.
Some of the secondary characters were equally remarkable but for different reasons. Valeria’s stepdaughter Ida, the “villainess” of the story, was as complex as Valeria yet lacked her strength.
Heat Level
Although there is a love scene between Josiah and Valeria and some same-sex situations involving two male side characters, this isn’t a particularly graphic book.
I’d rate this warm heat level at most.
Final Analysis of Stolen Splendor
Stolen Splendor by Evelyn Hanna was not your typical romance novel, as it is more historical fiction with heavy romance elements and drama. The characters are all too human and, thus, all too relatable.
I was very impressed with this new-to-me author’s writing and would love to learn more.
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| Overall: | 4.1 |
Synopsis
In the Dying Echoes of the Civil War…
Valeria Lee, an elegant and beguiling southern aristocrat, was the beautiful cousin of General Robert E. Lee. But in the bitter aftermath of the Civil War, her breeding and taste counted for nothing. Surviving sudden poverty, the burning of her beloved Atlanta, and the near-murder of her brother, she was forced to develop qualities she never knew her fiery will of iron, a haughty mask of detachment, and a shocking disregard for the morals of her highborn heritage.But even more shocking to Valeria, herself, was that one very essential part of her nature seemed to have persisted in the flames of the war-ability to love, to be a whole woman.
A Fiery Desire Was Born!
Stolen Splendor by Evelyn Hanna
Until she met two, Sam Garvey and Josiah Eaton; one offered enormous wealth and power and challenged everything she had ever believed about herself. The other represented a much deeper threat- the stirrings of uncontrollable passion, the one feeling she could never allow.