Book Review

The Bewildered Bride by Vanessa Riley

CW/TW warnings inside
CW/TW: violence against MCs (injuries that almost cause death), discussion of past attempted lynching of hero, sexual assault, heroine suffers from PTSD (fits of panic) and diminished field of vision after traumatic event.

I started weeping during the first chapter of The Bewildered Bride and never stopped. It’s a poignant, heart-wrenching, and important novel to read. The protagonists have undergone unimaginable suffering, and watching them find their happily-ever-after is both difficult and emotional. Even though I loved the heroine Ruth and her unwavering mission to seek justice for herself and her child, I never warmed up to the hero due to his inexplicable decision to deceive Ruth about his identity. While I could have forgiven the deception had it been shorter or if he had grovelled more, neither of those things happened. As a result, my feelings about the book are mixed: I’m torn between my love for the heroine and my frustration that the hero’s deception isn’t adequately punished.

In 1818, Ruth Croome and Adam Wilky elope to Gretna Green without the knowledge or approval of their families. Ruth’s family doesn’t know Adam exists as their whirlwind courtship was kept secret. Ruth is a Blackamoor heiress and the daughter of a successful, wealthy tradesman. Adam passes for White in society, but is in fact the son of a formerly enslaved woman and an English baron (the book refers to Adam as a mulatto). Their happy marriage is short: no less than five days after their vows, their carriage is attacked by henchmen.

Prior to the attack, Adam had foreseen trouble with his uncle and torn their marriage registry in half, sending his “half” to his father in an effort to protect Ruth. Adam’s uncle had embezzled money from his father, and Adam possesses proof of the crime. The carriage attack is devastating: the henchmen beat Adam up and knock him unconscious; Ruth takes a hit to the skull and sprawls unconscious to the ground. The captors take Adam and impress him to the navy for four years (impressment is the forcible recruitment of men into the military or navy). The henchmen leave Ruth alone, and Ruth is forced to fend for herself in London. Her father eventually finds her weeks later in a brothel, sick and hurt. She loses her “half” of the marriage registry during the time she stays at the brothel.

Flash forward four years later: Ruth has a three-year-old son and is about to be engaged to a barrister. She is the source of vicious whispers and gossip. No one, including her family, believes her version of events. There is no proof that she ran away with a man named Adam Wilky (her father attempts to look for him and doesn’t find evidence that he exists), and common consensus is that she faked her marriage and got pregnant in the brothel. During their courtship, Adam doesn’t tell Ruth that he’s the son of a baron and misleads her about his name (it’s Wilkinson, not Wilky).

While Ruth suffers from fits of panic and a diminished field of vision, she is determined to prove the truth for her son’s sake. After unexpectedly receiving her half of the marriage registry from an unknown sender, Ruth is finally able to visit her “dead” husband’s father (Adam had scribbled the address on the back of the registry). At the baron’s home, Ruth is shocked to discover that her father-in-law is dead and that Lord Wycliff’s successor is a strange, unrecognizable man who claims to be Adam’s cousin.

Well, the new baron isn’t strange or unrecognizable to the reader. Wycliff is Adam: he was impressed for almost four years and his voice has altered due to lacerations from his near lynching at sea. Combined with changes to his physical appearance and Ruth’s diminished vision, Ruth doesn’t recognize him as her husband. Not correcting Ruth’s mistake, Wycliff continues the deception and agrees to Ruth’s mission to find proof of her marriage.

There is so much that I loved about The Bewildered Bride. It is a deeply engrossing and heart aching story of second chances and rebuilding from trauma. I cry easily while reading fiction, and I went through half a box of Kleenex in an effort not to wet my touchscreen (I failed miserably). My reading speed was cut in half because I needed to take frequent breaks to wipe my eyes.

Ruth’s frustration and fury at not being believed struck a deep chord in me. No one, not even her beloved sister, believes her repeated assertions that she was married. The cruelty is both devastating and unsurprising: society is determined to think the worst of her and refuses to give victims — especially women — the benefit of the doubt. But the cruelty doesn’t wear her down or make her helpless. Instead, it molds her into a creature of resilience and strength. Ruth is determined to recover the truth at any cost and it becomes her mantra.

“I want truth in everything. You’ll never know what it’s like to fight to hold on to truth.”

The word “truth” is used 95 times (not including the dedication or author’s note) in The Bewildered Bride. I realized halfway through the book that Ruth eventually becomes synonymous with the truth. She is the only person who doesn’t deceive others and devotes her life to finding it. The journey inflicts pain and Ruth may regret her decision, but she never wavers from her mantra. I am in awe of Ruth, who has easily earned her place in my list of most admired heroines.

I also appreciate the depiction of a diverse 1820s English society. Unlike many historical romance novels, England in The Bewildered Bride isn’t whitewashed or home to a startling number of handsome dukes. There is a thriving community of Black people during the early nineteenth century. It isn’t a startling revelation that a union between an English baron and a formerly enslaved woman produces a legitimate heir to the title. According to the author’s note, “Mulattoes and Blackamoors numbered between 10,000-20,000 in London and throughout England during the time of Jane Austen. Wealthy British with children born to native West Indies women brought them to London for schooling. Jane Austen, in her novel Sanditon, writes of Miss Lambe, a mulatto, the wealthiest woman. Her wealth made her desirable to the ton.”

The presence of Black characters, however, does not dismiss the racism in English society. The protagonists are aware of the problems their race presents in the upper echelons of society. After their wedding, Ruth worries that Wycliff will have to sit in the back of the church and near the servants because people won’t believe her status as his wife. Wycliff also takes pains to pass as White as a method of protection.

His hair was cropped low to not show the kink of his curls. Passing was the root of his power, the only reason he was alive, but his Ruth knew that.

The diverse setting of The Bewildered Bride made me feel that I was finally reading a real depiction of 1820s England, not some whitewashed and queer-erasing fanfiction of Georgette Heyer novels. I’m not a hypocrite: I’ll confess to growing up with and loving those historical romance novels, but reading them in recent years has proven to be difficult since I now know how inaccurate they are. The history presented in The Bewildered Bride is real and painstakingly researched, giving voice to people who are rarely given attention in the historical romance subgenre.

Despite my love for the resilient heroine and the diverse setting, I really struggled with the hero’s decision to deceive Ruth. I loved her so much, and his manipulation felt like a slap in the face to her mantra of truth.

Spoilers ahead

When Wycliff and Ruth first reunite, there is no real reason for him to lie to her. He listens to her story in his office, claims that his half of the marriage registry is missing, and promises to find proof of her marriage.

But… why? I can’t really think of a reason why he does this. Why not just tell her the truth? “Ruth, it’s me, your husband. I was held captive for four years but I’m here now.” Even if he doesn’t resemble the old Adam, he still knows enough details about their courtship to validate his claim.

But I also recognize that there would be no plot without this initial deception, so I shrugged and moved on. Later, he justifies the deception for two reasons: 1) he learns about her panic attacks and fears that his sudden reveal will cause an attack and 2) he realizes that Ruth resents her “dead” husband for putting her into this position.

Wycliff’s rationale for the deception makes sense on paper, but I struggled with it so much in reality. Ruth continuously tells him how important the truth is to her; they must have at least five conversations about it. Still no reveal. Even as they become emotionally entangled, he doesn’t tell her.

At one point, he reveals to her father that he is interested in marrying her and she overhears, furious at his intentions. But they’re already married — why expand the deception to create more pretenses? The longer they spent time together, the worse I felt. After a certain point, it seemed that Wycliff was continuing the deception for his own selfish desires and not for Ruth’s well-being: he knows that she hates her “dead” husband and lying will decrease the probability that she’ll leave him for good.

Wycliff wants Ruth to put together the clues and find out on her own, which doesn’t happen until the 80% marker. While Ruth is initially angry at the revelation, Wycliff barely grovels for his crime before they make up. I’m not opposed to a hero fucking up royally, but I require a proportional amount of grovelling before I forgive him. And for me, there was not enough grovelling or apologizing. Wycliff continuously exhibits selfish behavior and never properly atones for it. I left the book feeling very angry at the hero and being unable to fully appreciate their HEA.

My feelings about The Bewildered Bride are conflicted: I adore the heroine and the diverse depiction of nineteenth century England, yet I cannot forgive the hero for his actions. What I’m not conflicted about is this: I will definitely read another Vanessa Riley historical romance because her work is compelling and emotional. And if what bothered me wouldn’t irritate you, than I recommend you pick up this novel and immerse yourself in The Bewildered Bride.

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The Bewildered Bride by Vanessa Riley

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  1. Momo says:

    It seems like this novel already had more than enough potential for conflict without the deception plot; the hero and heroine are both recovering from serious trauma, and there is a social gap between them (unlike her, he is wealthy and can pass as white). In fact, you could keep the fact that he lied to her years ago about his name, and just remove the part where he lies to her in the present.

  2. DonnaMarie says:

    I’m sorry; he doesn’t tell her who he is because she might have a panic attack? Did I miss something? Are panic attacks fatal?

    The better story might have been the immediate reveal and relearning trust. Still, a dukeless historical romance that depicts diversity? One can always wash away the after taste with another book.

  3. Holly says:

    Can you clarify about her “stay at the brothel”? Was she forced into prostitution? I assume so but this makes it sound like she was found ill there. I saw a rape warning for this book elsewhere so I avoided it but I see no mention of it here (now I will avoid for other reasons).

  4. Monique D says:

    What Holly said.

  5. Aarya says:

    @Holly and @MoniqueD: Putting the answer under spoiler tags due to content warnings:

    Spoilers ahead

    My apologies for not making it more clear outside of CW/TWs. The answer to your question isn’t revealed until the end of the book. 1) Yes, Ruth suffered sexual assault, 2) no, she wasn’t forced into prostitution (this is what her family/society thinks and what the reader is led into believing for most of the book).

  6. Nawak says:

    I’m currently reading it and I don’t really know if I like it or not, or if I even like the characters. Also all these people making sneering or contemptuous comments to the heroine, nobody believing her not even her family, I’m so frustrated and angry on her behalf.

  7. Lisa F says:

    Yikes @ Adam not immediately telling Ruth who he is. I think the author was stretching for that gothic atmosphere, but she’s suffered so much I simply can’t take to him making it worse for her this way.

  8. HC says:

    I was really on board with this review, which pointed out multiple things that I would have balked at if I was reading this novel, however, it lost me when the reviewer decided to punch down at fanfiction writers and use the term to simply mean “badly written”. It’s not well thought out, as the vast majority of fic writers are from marginalized groups (including PoC and ones like me who are queer) and it’s a way to reclaim stories that do not include these things. I’m very disappointed, especially after the recent outrage over the NZ Stuff article that looked down on the romance community. This site can do better.

  9. Anon says:

    @HC – I agree. That felt snobbish and uncalled for.

  10. Strannik says:

    I realized halfway through the book that Ruth eventually becomes synonymous with the truth.

    One letter from the “truth,” in fact.

    I don’t know if that was intentional (haven’t read the novel and know nothing about the author), but if it is, I appreciate the subtle punnery.

  11. Becca says:

    The plot description sounds similar to a number of old ballads. If that’s the intent, I am more forgiving of the premise. A torn marriage certificate with his family’s address on it is an excellent update to being given a signet ring. Shame the rest of the update didn’t work as well.

    Eg: Virtuous but gullible girl is seduced (not always willingly) by a stranger who disappears soon after, leaving her with a string of (seemingly broken) promises/weird tokens, and maybe a baby. Her family sticks by her but doesn’t believe her story for a moment.

    Eventually the stranger returns as the new king/landowner, and utterly unrecognizable (because it was dark before!). He knows this and, staying in disguise, grills her about why she ever thought her guy was worthy of such loyalty. Queue repeat of the first verse’s string of promises/tokens.

    The jerk is now satisfied and reveals himself by producing the matching token or knowing the promises or whatever. She marries him anyway. Her family is thrilled, her life choices justified, the kid may or may not be remembered, everyone dances.

  12. Hope says:

    I first saw this book when it popped up on my Facebook feed with the cover image and the quote (presumably from the book) “He sought to draw her closer. To trace and embrace what was his, what was meant to be his…” which frankly creeped me out considering the fact that he is white and she is black.

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