WHEN BEAUTY TAMED THE BEAST

Eloisa James graduated from Harvard University, got an M.Phil. from Oxford University, a Ph.D. from Yale and eventually became a Shakespeare professor, publishing an academic book with Oxford University Press. Currently she is an associate professor and Director of Graduate Studies for the English Department at Fordham University in New York City. She’s also the mother of two children and, in a particularly delicious irony for a romance writer, is married to a genuine Italian knight.

“This is wonderful – simply wonderful. I adored this story and hope everyone will read it, for it has much to recommend. There is passion, drama and uncertainty. I can’t believe how special this author is and know when I read any story by her, it will be enjoyed. Think Susan Elizabeth Phillips, although Eloisa James stands alone.”—Romance Reviews Magazine

“Romance writing does not get much better than this.”—People

“Fresh and witty…James’s cheeky, sometimes sly humor makes for frequent laugh-out-loud moments.”—Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Eloisa James writes with a captivating blend of charm, style, and grace that never fails to leave the reader sighing and smiling and falling in love. Her style is exquisite, her prose pure magic. Nothing gets me to a bookstore faster than a new novel by Eloisa James.”— Julia Quinn

At the beginning of When Beauty Tames the Beast, neither Linnet nor Piers is strictly truthful with each other.  That’s not exactly abnormal—I had my future husband convinced that I was sweet, supportive, and a fabulous cook (I learned a lot from watching soaps).  But Linnet and Piers are telling lies that aren’t exactly flattering:  Linnet is claiming to be pregnant, and Piers is boasting of impotence.  First, agree among yourselves that I did a clever job of shifting the whole question of superficial beauty to deeper questions of the body.  Then have another drink and get down to brass tacks:  so, who has had a run-in with an impotent man?  All details welcome.

This novel goes in a lot of different directions. If I had to nail down two things that were absolutely essential to the hero and heroine actually surviving marriage together, it would be that Piers had to reconcile with his father, and Linnet had to understand that Piers loved her for more than her beauty.  Neither of these lessons was easily learned.  I’m not sure what question to ask here, but if anyone wants to talk about how parents can mess up a good marriage, feel free to leap in.

Linnet is the heroine of a fairy tale—so naturally she’s as beautiful as the sun and the moon.  She doesn’t find it all that easy.  In fact, she doesn’t have any female friends, and the moment she’s suspected of being unchaste, the ton turns on her as if she were a smoker lighting up in church.  Do you know anyone who’s that beautiful?  What happened to them?  (This is a cue to let the conversation wander where it will…here’s my final question:  Are you sure there wasn’t a nose job involved??).