| Date: 25 May 2011, 09:01
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Like A DIFFICULT TRUCE (full of Anglo-Irish relations at the turn of the century), this book is filled with the Venezuelan war for liberation - later to become a South American war for liberation under Simon Bolivar. Margarita, the heroine, is a cousin of Bolivar, and nearly all her family perish in the struggle. Furthermore, the fate of her country and her people are constantly in Margarita's thoughts. If you prefer a lighter book (without such real-life references) this might not be the Wolf, or indeed the book, for you.
The plot is not that complicated: the orphaned Margarita arrives in England to live with her maternal grandfather. He dies suddenly, leaving the new heir (his nephew of the half blood) to deal with his complicated estate and his granddaughter. The old earl has beggared his lands to build up a magnificent art collection, in part to revenge himself against his heir (whose parents he disliked), and perhaps in part for other reasons. At his death, the new earl Nicholas discovers that to gain possession of the art collection (and thus to obtain money to restore the family lands to good health), he must marry the young granddaughter. Margarita is penniless and has no other relations. She has no choice in the matter, if she is not to fall completely on the new earl's mercy. The couple are married almost immediately.
Herein lies the problem. In the past two years, Margarita has witnessed the deaths of all those she held dear - from her English-born mother and one of her four brothers in an earthquake to her remaining three brothers and father during the unsuccessful revolt against the Spanish government. She has witnessed the horrors of war close at hand, been transported to a different country (where she feels cold all the time) and then had her only remaining close relative die in a carriage accident. Her feelings and emotions are frozen; she simply feels numb. Furthermore, she realizes that the new earl, now her husband, did not want to marry her and sees her as an intruder. But they have a normal (read, physical) relationship for all that.
Her inability to respond physically or emotionally to her husband frustrates him. He returns to his mistress - one in the country, another in town. [It is not often that authors portray adulterous husbands as heroes]. Nicholas's own emotional development has been warped by his difficult childhood, during which his mother ran away with another man. Since then, he has provided for his mother but has refused to meet her. He will not acknowledge that he needs love or that he can need or love a woman.
Margarita eventually learns to respond to him, but only after she has given birth to their son. She realizes that she loves Nicholas, but he rejects that love - and turns to other women. At some point, Margarita realizes that he has been unfaithful to her, not just during her pregnancy but after the birth of their son. She is unable to cope with this knowledge, and with the fact that Nicholas can make sexual demands upon her. She runs away - taking her baby son - and finds refuge with Nicholas's mother...
I liked this book principally for the portrayal of Margarita, a very young and very sheltered 17 year old, pitchforked into a marriage with a stranger at a very difficult time in her life. The portrayal of the early years of their marriage is beautifully done, as is Margarita's slowly growing confidence and self-assurance (only after she has become a mother). I could also sympathize with Nicholas, as the young boy who rejected all love after his mother left him, and who tried to prove his independence by flagrant affairs - even though he hurt his wife in the process. [By the way, the blurb on the back is wrong as usual - Margarita's anger with her husband is expressed privately, not publicly and openly].
Reading this book is a nice contrast to a far more independent and self-assured heroine Juana Smith in Heyer's THE SPANISH BRIDE. While I confess to liking Juana far better, I do understand Margarita's position.
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