Midnight Honor [Mass Market Paperback]

I wasn't expecting more out of Midnight Honour than any of her other books, but in truth, Midnight Honour was one of the best books I have read in a long time. The plot was different, and there were wonderful characters.

The plot was brilliant, and it was not at all what I was expecting. It begins with the heroine, Lady Anne Moy, already having been married to her husband (the hero, Angus Moy) for four years. That may seem rather odd for a romance novel, but it was a much longed for breath of fresh air. There were no silly "ripping through the maidenhead" scenes and it was nice to see a couple already comfortable with each other but still not perfect.

Have you ever noticed that there are very rairly decent male characters other than the hero in romance novels? Again Ms. Canham's book throughs normality aside. I found myself more in love with Anne's old flame, the dashing John MacGillivray, than I was with scholarly Angus. It was interesting because Anne was really in love with both men, and both men were in love with her. Oh those glourius torn loyalties. The book certainly kept my attention.

Ms. Canham also did not fall victem to the tenancy to add too much historical detail. Her battle scenes were emotional, true to fact, and blessedly short. The heroine, Lady Anne, was a warrior. Ms. Canham is the only author I have ever read who has been able to pull that off. Most the time the warrior heroine is spoiled, ridicoulosly stubborn and obscenely stupid. Lady Anne is none of these, she seems very real throughout the entire story.

Midnight Honour is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and I finished reading it wishing it would never end. Marsha Canham has written a book that steps completaly outside the bounds of ordinary romance novels and comes off wonderfully.

Anne's family, the Farquharsons, were fiercely loyal to the Stuarts. Anne, who grew up in staunch Jacobite surroundings, was a strong individual whose brothers had taught to wield a sword and fight. In fact, she was known more for her skills with weapons than with embroidery and book learning. Called "Wild Rhuad Annie," she married refined Angus Moy, chief of Clan Chattan, a man who had been educated on the continent and had little in common with many of Scotland's leaders. He did not want to associate himself or his clan with the Stuart mission. Moy believed from the beginning that the rebellion would fail and didn't want his people to lose their lives or land as a result of Civil War. Therefore he pledged himself to fight with the English.

Anne could not maintain her honor, as a Farquharson, or as Moy's wife, by keeping silent and remaining at home. Armed with a petition that declared her the clan leader in her husband's absence, she called the Jacobite members of the Chattan Clan together and led them into battle. She was their "Colonel Anne," and she made her handsome and gallant clansman, John MacGillivray, her Captain.

This story is quite complex, as are the characters, and Ms. Canham has done a remarkable job in fleshing out the people and the issues of the period. Angus Moy's dilemma was very real. He was never meant to be the leader of a clan and was not educated as such. When he found himself suddenly responsible for the lives of so many people he took the responsibility to heart. He may very well have been a Jacobite supporter himself, but was determined to keep his clan safe from the disastrous results of a doomed cause. Anne, who loved her husband, felt shame as she watched him throw in his hand with the despised English. She also knew that, in the heat of the moment, many of her husband's clan wanted to fight for the Stuarts. Anne, with her strong character, did not want to remain in a passive woman's role while the world was exploding around her. She had a cause she believed in and wanted to play a part in history.

Marsha Canham, one of my favorite authors, has outdone herself with this wonderful historical novel. She was fascinated with the Jacobites and historical figures Anne and Angus Moy, John MacGillivray, Gilles MacBean, Lochiel and Alexander Cameron and Fearchar Farquharson. She wrote that researching and writing this novel was a "labor of love." The results provide an incredible glimpse into the past and into the life of a unique and courageous heroine who certainly deserves a story of her own.
JANA