Published: 1978
Illustrator: Charles Copeland
Imprint or Line: Belmont Tower
Genres: Historical Romance, Civil War Romance
Pages: 239
Format: Paperback
Buy on: Amazon
Reviewed by: Introvert Reader
MILD SPOILERS 😉
The Book
Charlotte by Amanda Hart Douglass is…
It’s a…
Well, it’s a book.
The best thing about this circa 1978 quasi-bodice ripper is the Newport cigarettes ad in the middle of it:
The Plot
Charlotte takes place during the American Civil War in New York City beginning in 1863 or 1864 (both dates are given). For a historical book, it’s historical, but for a romance, the romance is lacking.
This book is only 239 pages long, but the hero doesn’t make an entrance until page 144. And he is missing-in-action for most of it. The back blurb tells you the entire plot of this dreck.
The first 100 pages or so mainly focus on the heroine’s brother, Richard. He is a debauched reprobate who parties for days on alcohol and opium binges.
What else? Oh, he sleeps with a married actress and has a threesome with a teenage bargirl and her 33-year-old mother. Then he participates in the Draft Riots by beating up cops and burning down an orphanage for young Black children. Finally, he deflowers the new virgin maid. He’s an asshole but at least he did something.
The only reason I kept reading this dull book was to relish Richard’s eventual comeuppance. Which he got, but it wasn’t horrible enough.
As for romance? I wasn’t kidding when I said there was none.
Final Analysis of Charlotte
Forget about this one. I already have.
(PS) I searched the web and so far, I only see one copy of Charlotte by Amanda Hart Douglass for sale for $49.95. Whoever is selling it should pay YOU $49.95 to get it off their hands. Yes, it’s that bad of a book!
1 Star
Synopsis:
Lovely young Charlotte Bourne was the apple of her father’s eyes and a belle of New York society. The onset of the War Between the States introduced her to young Liam Brady, whom her dissolute brother Richard had hired to serve as his substitute in the Union Army. Liam and Charlotte fall deeply in love, but before they could marry, Charlotte had to come to terms with her turbulent feelings for the two other men in her life. The raging Civil War echoed the conflict in Charlotte’s heart…
CHARLOTTE by AMANDA HART DOUGLASS