Vice & Virtue - Veronica Bennett

I first saw this book on a Goodreads newsletter and was drawn to the cover straight away, mostly because of the unusual title and tagline.
I have heard of Veronica Bennett before having read her book Cassandra's Sister many times from the library before.
So by finding out that she had released another book, I was intrigued. And again, so when I noticed a copy in my local library (they are real fans of Veronica Bennett aren't they?!), I snapped it up and ran over to join my friend.
I must admit, I was a little worried about this book. Example A: the cover - it was too pink for me and Example B: although I liked the story, Cassandra's Sister, it is far from being my favourite and the last time I read it, I didn't enjoy it THAT much.
So when starting this book, my expectations were hardly high - which is probably a good thing.

Synopsis: The year is 1700, London. A city so crowded and unregulated, it is easy to slip away and become someone else. Much like Aurora finds herself having to do. After the death of her father and being the oldest child, she has to marry for wealth. So when Edward Francis comes and proclaims his love for her with a great fortune - although in poor health - she cannot refuse. But that night, she finds out his secret to marrying her. Here she enters a world of deceit, lies, etiquette and murder.

Review: I'm not quite sure about this book. I cannot say I absolutely loved this book, because I didn't. But then I didn't completely detest this book either.

The concept is interesting. Aurora comes from a rather lower class family, who has only really made their money from her mother's business. She is the eldest daughter of 3 girls, so she needs to marry well in order to help her mother and younger sisters. However, Aurora is clever, witty and knows what is morally right so she isn't JUST going to marry anyone. Until really Edward comes along and she feels she is forced into marrying him because of a deathly illness. Great plan, right? She marries a man who, although she does not know him, is in love with her from afar and marrying him will please him, and then when he does die, she will have her own fortune and estate which she can live on for the rest of her life - sounds a good idea, even if she doesn't love him, right?
Well. I won't spoil it but basically, Edward marries Aurora, not only because he really does love her, but because he wants her to become someone else, 'Miss Drayton', get into the upper class society and become friendly with a certain family in order to find the truth out for him about his father's last deed. So, not such a great idea now.

I think it is the concept that drew me in, as well as knowing of this author before. The story itself is well thought out and becomes almost like a mystery that you desperately want to find out the truth of. However, once this novel gets started, it really starts to take shape. The beginning I found was lacking something, although I was intrigued, like Aurora, from the first sentence, I wasn't totally interested or wanting to know the whole story straight away.  It isn't really until Edward reveals his secret that I was like 'Whoa - where is this going?'. The story does go on to be better than the beginning and the ending really rounds the book off well.

The characters themselves are delightful and add to the treachery and deceit that fills this novel. Every single character in this novel has a secret or something in them that they mostly hide until the very end. For Aurora, this is her marriage to Edward - as an example. The characters of Celia and Joe were well...you, as a reader, kind of start wanting them to be your friends because they seem so perfect (although Celia is way too whiny and demanding at points). Joe, well, if you wanted a guy that every girl swooned over although he is a bad boy, this is your man. The way Bennett describes him is so vivid.
Aurora herself was a lovely voice to listen to. She was clever and not silly like Celia but she was also girly and as a female myself, I enjoyed her descriptions of the luxury and clothing. Edward, at the beginning, I was positioned not to like him that much but by the end, I got used to his nature.

Although, ultimately, this is a historical book, there is also hints of mystery and romance. The mystery is not THAT great really. Although I wanted to find out the truth, I wasn't put on edge constantly (although the culprit at the end is rather surprising, I must say, the person is found out halfway through so it's not very mystery near the end). The romance was underplayed and displayed nearer the end of the book, but because of the situation for it, it was done perfectly and subtly.

Now we come to why I'm not sure if I enjoyed it. I liked the characters, the concept, the romance and mystery but I didn't totally love this book. Why? Well, like I found Cassandra's Sister, this was just flat. I felt  no strong emotions, I did not have an attachment for Aurora nor did I feel on edge in the mystery or romance. I just didn't feel anything at all.
This book is good for the different aspects that make up most novels but ultimately, when it comes to the book as a whole, it is just flat. I would recommend this book to anyone will an interest in mystery/romance/history. You will enjoy it but it won't be your favourite.
Verdict: Good book but not one to be remembered.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.veronica-bennett.com/
Pages: 224
Publisher: Walker
Challenges: BBC, Historical Fiction

Cassandra's Sister - Veronica Bennett

Because we were rushed off our feet on my holiday and doing lots of different things which meant I was SO tired in the evening, I didn't actually read that much as I normally do so only got through this book while in America.

I have read this book before and from what I could remember I found it interesting and was one of the first books I read about Jane Austen herself and her family. This book is a lot like the movie starring Anne Hathaway, Becoming Jane as it is set around that time, although not in so much detail as the movie. 


Synopsis: Young Jane — or Jenny, as she is called — is a girl with a head full of questions. Surrounded by her busy parents and brothers, Jenny finds a place for her thoughts in the companionship of her older sister, Cassandra. Theirs is a country life full of balls and visits, at which conversation inevitably evolves on one topic: marriage. But the arrival of their worldly-wise cousin disrupts Jenny’s world, bringing answers to some of her questions and providing a gem of an idea. 


Review: This book follows Jane Austen inventing and writing two of her most popular novels, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility as well as some events that we know happens to her in her life, like the idea of falling in love. Sadly and perhaps unexpectedly, Jane Austen never married. She was offered one proposal by the brother of one of her friends who she accepted and then changing her mind the next day. As portrayed in Becoming Jane and mentioned in numerous novels about Jane Austen's life, Jane fell in love with the Irish, Tom Lefroy, the nephew of a family known to the Austen's. If anything ever happened between them, we shall never know, but I like to think they did, mostly for Jane's sake. They could never marry, and they knew that, as he had no money, training to be a lawyer and Jane Austen had to marry for money as her family were quite poor. Jane Austen lived her life with her parents and her also unmarried sister, Cassandra who's fiancée died on a trip to the West Indies. She lived off the money from her books that were published in her lifetime and from money from four of her five brothers. Jane Austen didn't live an extravagant lifestyle and  was never truly rich, she may have been unhappy to write about all her heroines falling deeply in love and marrying, yet she never did. However, maybe this made her loveless life bearable...again, it is something we shall never know for real.


This book follows the relationship with Cassandra and Jane Austen and of how their love lives affect both their relationship and themselves, which is a very different way to other novels like this that I have read which I liked. Other normally go for the romance. 
The only problem with this is that for me there wasn't enough romance, and I don't say this often. I know it's about Cassandra mostly in Jane's life but reading the blurb, you wouldn't think this, you'd think it's the novel that Becoming Jane was made from. The beginning is very slow with Jane starting and stopping many novels like Lady Susan. This is fine, but it did get a bit tedious and boring after a while with this pace. Then, when Tom Lefroy did come into it which is about half way through, we see him once for a chapter and then anything that happened between him and Jane was told after it happened and in not much detail. I have no idea what happened the second time they met, they never say! They just talk about it without giving any information. This annoyed me.


The characters were all likeable and behaved like they were from the 1700's, although there were times when sentences sounded more at home in my living room than at a ball, although this wasn't too often. I liked the friendship and sisterly love between Cassandra and Jane, it seemed like they were confidants in each other but still had that sisterly understanding, which is nice to see. Cassandra seems to be the one to calm Jane down and Jane brings out a rebellious side to Cassandra, this, to me, is the best relationship to have with one another. You both get things out of it.
My favourite scenes were the balls with the amount of detail of who was dancing with who, the dresses, the dances, the small things. These are the things that make me want to be transported now to England 1790 and join in, they were admittedly done very well. 
Mrs Austen, as always, reminded me SO much of Mrs Bennet and Jane of Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. This part made me laugh of Jane's cynicism and her quick wit: 


'"Mrs Fowle, seems very pleased that Charles is going to be a lawyer," said Mama (Mrs Austen). She consulted the letter again, then laid it in her lap. "Now, Jenny, what profession would you have predicted he would follow? I must confess that when he was a boy I always rather saw him as a soldier."
"I remember that he used to march around with a stick over his shoulder for a rifle," said Jenny (Jane). "But then, if you recall, my own favourite pastime at that age was playing with model animals, yet now I have no inclination even to own a pet cat."'


As you can see in that extract, Jane is referred to, until about 75% of the way through, as Jenny instead of Jane. I have never heard of this before for Jane Austen being nicknamed, and it got really annoying after a while. To me, she is Jane. Jenny is not even a shortening of the name Jane. Stick with Jane! I think I know why it was done, but it didn't add anything really.
The other thing that confused me was the passing of time. The book would suddenly jump to three years later without much warning or ending to whatever had happened before. The book was trying to cover a huge period of time, instead of just a small amount in great detail.


I did enjoy this book eventually nearer the end and this book does give information about the only proposal known for her to receive which most Jane Austen-esque books leave out. There are faults in this book but I think it is a good book for those that don't know much about the writer and just want to find out a bit more about her life. It would be the ideal accomplice to writing a essay on one of her books, to reference it to events in her writing. However if, like me, you know a lot about Austen, I would read this knowing you may not enjoy it. It's a lovely little book, but could be better.
Verdict: Recommend to anyone who knows nothing about Jane Austen. 


I give it a 3.5 out of 5


Author's Website: http://www.veronica-bennett.com/
Pages: 231
Publisher: Walker Books
Challenges: BBC, Historical Fiction


If you want are interested in finding out more about Jane Austen herself, have a look at these reviews for other books I have read about her:
I was Jane Austen's Best Friend - Cora Harrison
Love, Lies and Lizzie - Rosie Rushton