Through a Glass Darkly
A Novel
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4.3 • 217 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
"A sprawling escape into 18th century English nobility and one heck of an engaging romantic drama."—Newsweek
One of the most beloved historical fiction novels of all time, Through a Glass Darkly presents a breathtaking, lush story of a young noblewoman as she explores the intriguing world of the noble class while building her life with the man she loves.
Karleen Koen's sweeping saga introduces unforgettable characters consumed with passion: the extraordinarily beautiful fifteen-year-old noblewoman, Barbara Alderley; the man she adores, the wickedly handsome Roger MontGeoffry; her grandmother, the duchess, who rules the family with cunning and wit; and her mother, the ineffably cruel, self-centered and licentious Diana.
Although her own romantic fairy tale seems to be coming true, Barbara has a lot to learn about the machinations of the royal courts, financial chaos, and surviving with her reputation intact. Like no other work, Through a Glass Darkly is infused with intrigue, sweetened by romance and awash in the black ink of betrayal.
Full of elements that fans of Susanna Kearsley, Diana Gabaldon, and Phillipa Gregory will love:
• A rich, beautiful world you can escape to
• Characters with strong hearts and extraordinary depth
• Sumptuous, stunning historical detail
• Romance to sweep you up and carry you away
Praise for Through a Glass Darkly:
"[A] lavish, carefully researched portrait of a young woman's turbulent coming of age in 18th-century England and France."—People
"Fast-paced and fun to read!"—Glamour
"A brilliant historical novel, a lovely romance, a gripping character study—there's something for everyone."—Richmond Times-Dispatch
Customer Reviews
Through a glass darkly
This was an excellent story. Written with depth and feeling. I was always able to picture myself in this period piece.
My only wish was that the book was proof-read, not just spell-checked. The flow of the story was too often interrupted with misspellings, usage of wrong words or gaps between letters which always made me stop and want to get my pen out to correct. It distracted from a great book.
One of my favorites!
I love this series and I re-read the entire series every couple of years.. The setting of old England is well researched and grounded in facts, though the characters are partly fictional. If you are at all familiar with the Bible then the title will ring familiar so don’t be surprised when one of the themes through the book is a root in Christianity. I read an earlier review where the reader was surprised there were Bible quotes!?
If you’re ignorant of Christian morals and themes and turned off by Christianity and it’s morality then don’t read the book. It’s not overly religious, it’s just written by a person who is grounded in or brought up with a religious background however there is plenty of debauchery for everyone here, like adultery, homosexuality, orgies and other political themes rampant at that time period.
It is a well written, well researched book with believable, lovable and relatable characters. It’s interesting to the last page and you will definitely want to read book 3!
Disappointing
Sadly 30-40% of the book isn’t original content as it makes entirely too much use of Bible and poetry quotes. To call this historical fiction is a bit of a stretch…more like a bodice ripper ala harlequin style with some rape and homoeroticism thrown in. A really odd place to start a sequel as it skips an entire generation and only a couple of characters make it from book one. Periods of time that would have been rich to explore are completely skipped over. All that being said, if you’re looking for a descriptive light read about a really dysfunctional family and historical accuracy isn’t important, it’s not bad. At this price point though wait until you can get it on sale. If it makes it to the $5 section go for it. Easy reading and a couple unexpected twists.