|
|
 |
|||||
  |
||||||
 |
A man of cool demeanor and stubborn solitude, Lord Winter was a restless wanderer who kept the passions of his heart well hidden. But now, traveling alone, he has discovered beneath the ragged costume of a Bedouin boy a remarkable young woman: Zenia Stanhope, daughter of the extraordinary English adventuress known as the Queen of the Desert. Zenia wants nothing of the dangerous adventuring that Lord Winter lives for. She wants only to reach England, far from the blood and sand of the desert. But in one night of terror, condemned to death, their lives are irrevocably bound by desperate desire.
|
|||||
|
Zenia escapes to an English world of elegance and comfort, forsaking the lonely, fearless man who has changed her life and conquered her heart...until he returns to invade her sanctuary, and demand that she pay the price of passion. Publication: Berkley Books 1994; ISBN 0-425-14494-1; Re-issue in Trade Paperback January 2006 Setting: England and Arabia, 1840's Mascot Animal: The String of Pearls, a legendary Arabian mare Laura's Comment: I've learned over the years that I don't write for every reader. If a reader doesn't care for characters who make mistakes and misjudgements, who may act--or overreact--out of fears and insecurities, these readers aren't likely to care for some of the journeys I take. Some readers have been pretty vocal in criticizing Zenia as a heroine, so vocal that they had convinced me I'd written a book that failed. For a number of years, I never picked up The Dream Hunter, feeling that it wasn't up to standard. When I finally took a deep breath and sat down and read it, some seven years after I wrote it, I had not once looked at the book after correcting the galleys for publication. I was surprised to discover that I truly enjoyed it. I thought Arden was a great hero, if I say so myself. And Zenia was perhaps a little shrill, but by no means the witch that I'd been led to think by the criticism. In a reversal of the usual hero-heroine interaction, Zenia was the one who was driven away from Arden by fear and her past, and romance readers can be resistant to this type of reversal. So with the warning that this book may require a bit more empathy for a wounded heroine than some others, perhaps you'll find it a diamond in the rough, as Arden found Zenia to be. Recognition: Finalist-1995 Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Long Historical Laura's Fave Reviews of The Dream Hunter: A reader from Australia--"Not so much the love story as the character study and brilliantly subtle feel of the settings keep you reading this book. Laura Kinsale is the best. No sap, just real people with true problems trying to cope in an imperfect world. I've read all of her books and found something that grips the imagination in every one of them. Keep them coming Ms Kinsale!" A reader from Ohio--"A beautiful story, like all of Ms. Kinsale's work. Her richly imagined, unconventional characters with very real flaws and internal conflicts makes her books unusual in the romance genre and the reason I keep coming back time and again. I eagerly anticipate her next effort..."
(Definitely the kind of readers I write for! LK)
|
||||||
