Forever Amber by Kathleen Windsor

[LCW]

This is the story of Amber, a smart driven woman who is bound and determined to rise above her circumstances in life...by whatever means necessary. Raised in the country as a farm girl, the only means Amber has at her disposal are her beauty, wit, and a pair of cajones that the toughest man would envy!

Early in the story Amber meets Bruce, falls head over heels, and uses him as her ticket to London and a better life. Bruce thinks Amber is good enough to use and toss aside whenever she becomes an inconvenience to his plans. As Bruce drifts in and out of her life, Amber claws her way to the top eventually becoming the King's favorite mistress.

No matter who she marries or takes up with, her heart belongs to Bruce. Amber's enemies think she has become too powerful and ultimately use against her the one thing that causes her to take leave of her senses....her obsessive love for Bruce. The ending was priceless, I wanted to scream to her "No, don't do it!".

All in all this was an amazing novel. The decadent life of the rich contrasted with the miserable life of the poor. It had brilliantly detailed history, beautiful writing, and so many twists and turns that would each make their own stunning novel.

I absolutely loved Amber! Some of the time I wanted to cheer for her, other times I cringed at the choices she made but I just couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. She was a woman living in a man's world who wanted more than her lot in life would allow. She did what she had to do to get it. It may not have been "moral" as dictated by the times, but who in the novel was really moral? Bruce used and discarded Amber as a whore knowing that she really loved him, two of her husbands were more evil than Amber could ever dream of being, plots and schemes were everywhere, everyone stepping on everyone to get ahead. Wars were fought, people died and suffered to advance the schemes of the rich and powerful. Is it really all that different from today? It may be shocking to our modern sensibilities but if we are honest with ourselves, I think that deep down we'll all find a little bit of Amber in each of us.

5/5 stars

[tsjmom]

OK I'll just go ahead and say it: ehhhhh. I found the main character very unlikable and her luck at coming out on top of any situation time and again (and again and again....) so improbable that it took away from the book. I guess I like to lose myself in a novel, so I expect it to be somewhat realistic. When the story line becomes too unbelievable to the point of being ludicrous, I get a little turned off. Same thing happened with me when I read the DaVinci Code :S

[donroc]

I read the book when I was a lad, which my mother had purchased when it first was released, and I remember enjoying it. The film disappointed me, except for George Sanders' performance as Charles II.

[Misfit]

I'm guessing FA is one of those novels you either love or hate. I do admit it is hard to get into a book where the main characters are so unlikeable (and not just Amber, Bruce is no peach either). What's nice about boards like this is we can agree to disagree without some of the nastiness and negative voting one finds at Amazon. :)

[tsjmom]

I'm guessing FA is one of those novels you either love or hate. I do admit it is hard to get into a book where the main characters are so unlikeable (and not just Amber, Bruce is no peach either). What's nice about boards like this is we can agree to disagree without some of the nastiness and negative voting one finds at Amazon. :)

I completely agree!

[diamondlil]

I have a review of this one here (http://readingadventures.blogspot.com/2006/04/forever-amber-by-kathleen-winsor.html). Because I reviewed it for something where you had to use a specific format I am not going to post it here, as it is not as fluent or useful as I like to think my reviews are normally but if you are interested just click on the link above!

[love_uk]

Read this as a teenager & at the time was most enthralled by the amount of sex in it :o

Have to agree that I always thought Bruce was a louse (and poorly played by Richard Greene, to boot).

Amber has always been for me, another Scarlett O'Hara - neither could ever deeply engage my feelings, except for contempt (narcissistic people drive me mad) & a contrary smidge of envy.

Still - I've re-read FA & GWTW many times over the years so it looks like the authors knew what they were doing!

[Misfit]

Winsor is good for not sugar coating her MC's. She's also written one set in 19C New York and Montana, Wanderers Eastward Wanderers West. Not a five star read but still very entertaining for those who like big fat books (and I do mean big fat books).

[Miss Moppet]

Winsor is good for not sugar coating her MC's.

Not at all, which is what I like about her. I think with Amber and Scarlett, you either love them or you hate them. Anyone who loves Amber would probably also enjoy KW's follow up novel, Star Money, although it's contemporary, set in 1940s New York. The main character is Shireen Delaney, who writes a novel much like FA, and the book deals with her rise to bestsellerdom and the price of her success, with a strong feminist slant. OOP but can be found second-hand.

[Elizabeth]

I also like CALAIS, although like STAR MONEY it's not historical. The central character, a method actress, does play classic roles like Mary Queen of Scots, Lady Macbeth, Eustacia Vye, and lots of others, so there are bits and pieces of history and historical settings. Like most of Winsor's work, it's kind of a love-it-or-hate-it proposition.

[Misfit]

I definitely want to try more of her books. The library has one other - Star Money I think but I'd have to pull up the catalog to be sure.

[Miss Moppet]

Misfit, I love Star Money for two reasons - firstly it gives an insider's view of publishing in the 1940s and of how the 'big' book was marketed - and secondly I just love the heroine, although she behaves extremely badly indeed. There's plenty of sex although, as in FA, not explicit.

Elizabeth, I read Calais a few years ago and I liked it, although not as much as SM or FA. I couldn't work out though, why it was called Calais - did I miss something? The title seemed to have no relation to the book.

[Misfit]

Misfit, I love Star Money for two reasons - firstly it gives an insider's view of publishing in the 1940s and of how the 'big' book was marketed - and secondly I just love the heroine, although she behaves extremely badly indeed. There's plenty of sex although, as in FA, not explicit.

Elizabeth, I read Calais a few years ago and I liked it, although not as much as SM or FA. I couldn't work out though, why it was called Calais - did I miss something? The title seemed to have no relation to the book.

You have to wonder if she's writing a bit about herself? From what I've gathered she lead a colorful life herself. You should see the glam shot on the back of Wanderers Easterward. Might have to get it back out from the library so I can scan it and share here. It's a treasure ;)

**Edit** library has Calais in the catalog, but I found HB of Star Money on Paperbackswap so I've ordered it. Not confirmed though.

[Elizabeth]

Elizabeth, I read Calais a few years ago and I liked it, although not as much as SM or FA. I couldn't work out though, why it was called Calais - did I miss something? The title seemed to have no relation to the book.

The only thing I can think of is that it's a reference to Mary Tudor, who supposedly said something to the effect that when she had died and they opened her body, they would find "Calais" written upon her heart. Thus "Calais" as a symbol for the thing that has meant the most in one's life. It's been a while since I last read the book and I can't remember if Mary Tudor is one of the roles Arlette plays. I'm probably groping here because it is a very strange title!

[Miss Moppet]

The only thing I can think of is that it's a reference to Mary Tudor, who supposedly said something to the effect that when she had died and they opened her body, they would find "Calais" written upon her heart. Thus "Calais" as a symbol for the thing that has meant the most in one's life. It's been a while since I last read the book and I can't remember if Mary Tudor is one of the roles Arlette plays. I'm probably groping here because it is a very strange title!

Could be, Elizabeth! I have to read it again to find out. I've ordered a 2nd hand copy from Amazon Marketplace. There is a very sniffy review of Calais from Kirkus Reviews on UK Amazon, but I'm not going to post it cos it's full of spoilers.

Misfit, KW did indeed lead a colourful life as detailed by her obituary in the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/28/arts/kathleen-winsor-83-wrote-forever-amber.html

My Life in Publishing, by Harold Latham, who edited both FA and GWTW for Macmillan, contains some Winsor anecdotes. He thought FA was too racy and Macmillan should leave it alone or risk tainting their brand (they published school textbooks, religious books etc) but they bought it anyway. He was very nice about KW herself however and praised her willingness to promote the book at cocktail parties (those were the days...) The funniest bit was how they got the title for FA. One of the Macmillan staff complained she thought the book was a bit monotonous. "It's forever Amber, forever Amber, forever Amber..." Latham overheard her and decided that should be the title.

As for the title for SM, I think it comes from a fairytale, but I'm not certain - there is certainly no reference to it in the book.

[Misfit]

I just went for a re-read as it was a BOTM over at a GR group. Here goes my updated review,

"Never again, she had promised herself a dozen times will I be such a fool." Yeah right, like we all know that's never going to happen don't we?

Amber St. Clare never felt she belonged with the poor family who raised her, and when one day a troop of cavaliers ride into her village she's swept away by Lord Bruce Carlton. Well, actually its more like the other way around - Amber won't say no and begs Bruce to take her to London and against his better judgment he agrees - although lust for the beauteous Amber might have something to do with it. Bruce makes it perfectly clear he'll never marry her and when his privateering ships are ready to sail she's on her own in the big city. Amber accepts Bruce's terms and they're off to London as Charles II is crowned and his bawdy court and courtiers are in full swing. As he warned, Bruce soon has to leave and it doesn't take long for a pregnant Amber to get herself royally swindled (what a fool) out of every farthing Bruce left her and thrown into Newgate prison for debt. Not one to be down and out for long, Amber soon hooks up with a notorious highway man and he breaks them out and the game is on......

Until of course Black Jack Mallard is caught and hanged and finding herself in another pickle she goes for the stage - but she still needs to find man to keep her in the style in which she wants to become accustomed to - and handsome Captain Rex Morgan will fit the bill quite nicely. That is, as soon as she can take him away from his current mistress (no scruples for this heroine). Of course, once Bruce is back Amber manages to screw things up nicely (what a fool) and fresh out of likely prospects (young men with money) in London, Amber finds herself an older one to protect her from life's little problems. But then older men don't live forever and when their family doesn't like you well, then she's off on the hunt yet again....

Amber's story takes her through all walks of Restoration England, from prison to theater to the decadent, conniving court of Charles II (loved Castlemaine and Buckingham's antics), from the plague (A.W.E.S.O.M.E.) to the Great Fire and from man to man and bed to bed. Amber is most definitely one of fiction's most flawed heroines and despite the many lessons life dishes out do you think she ever learns from them? Don't you worry though, as busy as Amber is in the bed chamber and despite the fact that when published in the 40's this was so scandalous it was banned in Boston, the sex is pretty tame and left to the reader's imagination (how refreshing). Watching Amber is like watching a train wreck - you can't take your eyes away for fear of missing what's going to happen next. As for the ending? Kathleen Winsor dishes up the most delectable bit of Just Desserts at the end - I can't recall ever seeing better . A grand and glorious romp through the court of Charles II, don't miss it.

[Miss Moppet]

Watching Amber is like watching a train wreck - you can't take your eyes away for fear of missing what's going to happen next.

Reading it as an adult I have the same reaction as you but when I first read it at 14 I couldn't believe things wouldn't work out for Amber, because she was so determined. The same way I couldn't believe Scarlett wouldn't end up with Ashley, because she'd set her heart on it.

[Vanessa]

One of my all time favourites, Misfit!:D

[Misfit]

Reading it as an adult I have the same reaction as you but when I first read it at 14 I couldn't believe things wouldn't work out for Amber, because she was so determined. The same way I couldn't believe Scarlett wouldn't end up with Ashley, because she'd set her heart on it.

What's amazing is that I read this 2-3 years ago and remembered the main plot twists and still I couldn't put it down. But I sooooooo wanted to slap her one side of the head and then the other. Many times.

[Miss Moppet]

Just found out about this...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/617xIrMtjXL._SS500_.jpg

Going to see if the library will order it.

Review here (http://entbook.livejournal.com/39916.html).

[Misfit]

Interesting. I checked Worldcat and didn't find any library anywhere that had it. I'll wait for you ;)

[LoobyG]

Ooh! Ooh! *tiptaps on Amazon* this title looks very interesting, I love the cover too!