Standish [Paperback]

I read a lot of erotica. For me, Standish was refreshingly
different from the froth of recreational sex or the edgy post-modernism
that characterize much of what I read. It is a well-executed period piece
with stimulating characters and a surprisingly unpredictable plot.

Standish is an immaculately researched novel full of breadth and
scope. A real love for historical detail is apparent on every page. The
book drips with references to the politics, science, and culture of the
period, with literature, mythology and European history. If anything, there
is too much research on the page; the novel is almost dizzying as it spins
us from city to city, lavishly reconstructing 19th century Europe before
our eyes.

"Five Stars"

Standish was not just a novel it was an epic. From the beginning, the
characters appealed to me. Rafe and Ambrose were the key factors in the
story......The more pages I consumed the greater my appreciation grew for
the story. I'm pleased to have read Standish and I am waiting on baited
breath to see what Erastes comes up with next.

"Four Lip Rating"

Standish is an intriguing novel which presents numerous plot twists and
turns. Erastes delivers a finely-researched and fascinating historical
background, reaching back to the French Revolution, the European Continent,
and Great Britain in the 18th and early 19th centuries. In addition, a
plethora of information is woven in on the horrific laws of the times
concerning the punishments for homoerotic activites, which make the reader
pale. The characters are numerous and well-tended, and the reader will find
sympathy readily elicited.

The relationship between Ambrose and Rafe moved me unbearably. The
formality in which the novel is written, juxtaposed nicely with the emotion
and passion that exists between the two characters, and creates a tension
that fairly leaps off the page. Secondary characters will alternately
entertain surprise and shock readers. With a couple of villains, two lovers
who care for each other beyond all measure, obstacles that will make
readers root for them, and a meticulous rendering of 19th century England,
STANDISH is high melodrama at its best. The ending was too ambiguous for
me, and amazingly restrained like the rest of the book but it left me
unsatisfied. I hope that there is another story in the works involving
these two characters.

For an historical romance that stays with you long after reading it, I
highly recommend STANDISH.

A great house. A family dispossessed. A sensitive young man. A powerful landowner. An epic love that springs up between two men. Set in the post-Napoleonic years of the 1820's, Standish is a tale of two men - one man discovering his sexuality and the other struggling to overcome his traumatic past. Ambrose Standish, a studious and fragile young man, has dreams of regaining the great house his grandfather lost in a card game. When Rafe Goshawk returns from the continent to claim the estate, their meeting sets them on a path of desire and betrayal which threatens to tear both of their worlds apart. Painting a picture of homosexuality in Georgian England, Standish is a love story of how the decisions of two men affect their journey through Europe and through life.