In the days just before England’s Monmouth Rebellion, Anthony Wilding takes advantage of an insult to force a marriage with the woman he loves. Wilding regrets his rash action after his commitment to the Duke of Monmouth separates him from his new bride, but the botched military campaign threatens to make the new Mistress Wilding a widow — unless a rival suitor manages it first.There was a good amount of action and humor, along with a running theme of schemes that backfire against their plotters. The Monmouth Rebellion setting gave things a great sense of tension, and it seemed well-researched. The historical details were occasionally a bit of a drag on the pace during the middle third of the story. Still, it was great to watch the main characters progress from personal intrigues to small acts of defiance to full-on rebellion.Sabatini stories aren’t subtle. His leading men are bold and roguish, but they’re magnetic despite their mistakes. It’s true that his women are thinly written. It’s hard for any of the side characters to match the larger than life protagonists, though. And at least the heroine acted with far more spirit (and far more understandable reasons) than that annoying brat that I kept hoping The Sea-Hawk would maroon somewhere.The ending, (view spoiler)[with Wilding finally able to turn his attention to personal matters while his best friend dealt with Wilding’s one final obstacle (hide spoiler)]
Mistress Wilding isn't Rafael Sabatini's best work, but he is on comfortable turf as he returns to explore a different aspect of familiar territory, England's Monmouth Rebellion of 1685, that set in motion one of his best works, Captain Blood. In short, a man who may or may not be a good guy forces the woman he loves - but has spurned him based on gossip - to marry him in order to save her brother's life. There are the usual misunderstandings, miscommunications, and happy resolutions that mark Sabatini's work. The villains are only moderately compelling, and there are times when you want to drill some sense into the title character for her unwavering belief in her unworthy brother, but the final twists and turns make the whole adventure quite satisfying.If you start to read the book and get lost in the medias res opening scene, stick with it. The jumble of characters will eventually make sense.
What do You think about Mistress Wilding (1976)?
Not fabulous. While the hero shows all the marks of Sabatini's future and most famous characters, the plot dragged and lacked the daring-do we expect from swashbucklers of this period. Wilding seems to slip out of situations rather than outsmart or outfight his opponents. Sabatini's heroines were never his strong suit, but this earlier prototype in Ruth Westmacott was especially pale. Whereas Arabella Bishop and Aline of Scaramouche show a spark of sense and backbone, Ruth was indecisive, easily duped by all her friends and relations, and showed the least resistance when you wanted her to grow a spine. She would rush forward in a fit of nobility, then cringe away from the consequences. I found her irritating.
—Christen
There were a few good comic scenes buried in this, but the story could have benefited from heavy editing. The main character is rather unsympathetic at the beginning, motivated by a hatred of the woman who spurned him. While many supporting characters are even more unlikeable, I could read those as deliberate satirical choices and I entertained myself by mentally casting the roles with whichever British actor I thought could best pull off the humor. (Can anyone else imagine Stephen Fry in a long wig as the sarcastic old Nick Trenchard?)The greatest flaw with the story was that Sabatini seemed to assume that the reader would be as versed in, and as fascinated by, British history as he was. I spent a lot of time Googling details about the Monmouth Rebellion in order to sort out the fictional characters from the dozen or so historical figures who show up halfway through the book. The first five or six chapters of the story focus on a trivial argument that gets blown out of proportion. By contrast, an entire battle is later mentioned almost in passing in less than a paragraph. Sabatini takes it for granted that the reader is already acquainted with "the Bridport affair."Two stars feels harsh, but "It was okay," is really the best I can say for the story.
—Marley
