Retro reads is a bi monthly, maybe monthly, a pretty much whenever I feel like it, post where I and May (sometimes together, sometimes separately) discuss an old favorite book. This month’s Retro Read is The Charm School by Susan Wiggs. I adore Susan Wiggs historicals and contemporaries. Always sweet, often humorous stories with an undercurrent of angst that tell a story of finding love under the most unusual of circumstances.

The Charm School, the first book in the Calhoun Chronicles, is an American historical romance set in the 1800’s-pre civil war era. Isadora Peabody, of the Beacon Hill Peabodys, is an intelligent, reclusive, bluestocking whose views herself as  the ugly duckling in a pond filled with graceful swans. After one too many embarrassing scenes and humiliating moments, Isadora seeks to escape her confining life by hiring herself out as a linguist on trading ship.

Ryan Calhoun, the captain of the Swan, is the opposite of Isadora in every way. Handsome, bold, and charming, he grew up a privileged second son of a  southern plantation owner. A seemingly shallow man whose only pursuits are to found under a doxie’s dress, Ryan has deeper depths than anyone imagines. He has conned his way into commanding this ship in order to buy his childhood friend and family slave, Journey, his and his family’s freedom.

Isadora and Ryan spark with chemistry from first meeting but Isabella claims to love another. The crew and Ryan decide to help Isadora get her man by teaching the necessary social graces that attract a man… and keep him. From the rainforests of Brazil to the ports of Virginia, Ryan and Isadora dance around each other, neither sure of how the other really feels and unable to make the final leap into the fire. When Ryan’s duplicity is discovered, he makes the ultimate sacrifice and in one fail swoop proves his love to Isadora and shatters her heart.

The ugly duckling/plain Jane trope has always been a favorite of mine. Especially when set in the historical romance. I enjoy watching the metamorphosis that occurs the moment the hero really sees the heroine; looking beyond her physical trappings. That priceless look of befuddlement and confusion that appears on his face. We know why he has grown to love her but it always takes him awhile to figure it all out. We instinctively know that the hero’s love rings true because they see beyond the heroine’s looks and deep into her soul. They see the beauty that resides within and begin to celebrate that they and only they will ever be the recipient of that beauty. It also makes for a more interesting storyline as the author must firmly convince the readers as to why the hero falls in love with her. We must be assured that the relationship as more than just a means to a convenient HEA.

I enjoyed The Charm School as much this go around as the first time I read it. A perfect blending of romance and danger with moments of humor and sorrow. Personable characters and descriptive scenes of the era and ships in general made for an interesting engaging read. Watching Isadora learn social and defense skills from a crew of grizzly sailors was funny. Each one was a treat in contradiction as they banded together to help her come out of shell. Watching Isadora grow from a woman who hid in the shadows to a woman who stood tall and bold in the sun was magnificent. It’s a stealthy process that the author doesn’t harp on. Rather, her transformation develops in a realistic manner.

The interactions between Isadora and Ryan was different from the usual historicals because Ryan isn’t a chest beating alpha, constrained by the dictates of the society he was born into. He tossed all the rules aside years ago and teaches Isabella how to do so, also. He encourages Isadora to explore, taste, and experience new things. From dancing the forbidden flamingo while showing her ankles to getting stoned (snicker) and skinny dipping-Ryan shows Isadora that life was meant to be enjoyed. There were moments of antagonism that only served to fan the romantic flames between them. I enjoyed that the actual love scenes were sparse while the love affair blossoms in each touch, glance, and argument. And with the current soup du jour being explicit almost tutorial like love scenes…this was a nice change of pace.

The subsequent slavery story that runs parallel to the romance was also well done. It’s not prettied up for the reader and Wiggs does a wonderful job of showing the war that brewed over slaves and the extremes abolitionists would go to lead the slaves to freedom. Isadora shows her true spirit when she devises a plan that not only frees Journey’s family but makes herself a fugitive in the process. What I truly enjoyed was the ending. She is finally faced with the object of her desires, the one man she’s always wanted, and shows the courage that she’s always possessed when she learns that his actions was what caused her heart to epically shatter.

Emotional but not mired in angst and self flagellation…The Charm School was a very nice trip into the past and one I look forward to doing again soon.

Do you have a retro read you love to revisit? If so, please share with us.

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