La llama y la flor (Birmingham 1) (Spanish Edition)

Then she runs away from him, which does serve him right. The abridged is such a watered down version. Sometimes Woodiwiss can, IMHO be wordy, so I thought this would eliminate that and possibly skim over some of the parts in the beginning before they got together. Unfortunately this was TOO condensed.

The entire story can be listened to in 90 minutes. Anyone who's read the book knows this is extremely short. So much detail and tension was lost. It went from the classic it is to something like a fluffy little Hqn historical. View all 8 comments. Jul 14, Christine rated it did not like it Shelves: I'm afraid I didn't like either of the characters in this book.

He was a jerk who RAPED her at their first encounter -- repeatedly -- and she was a mouse with no backbone. Mostly, I didn't like him. He never redeemed himself for what he did to her in any way and I have no idea why they fell in love. She'd been running from another rape attempt when she fell into his clutches, but apparently that rape attempt was not ok I'm not sure what differentiated the two.

O I'm afraid I didn't like either of the characters in this book. Our dear ship captain, being wealthy and attractive, can get away with rape? I might even have forgiven the first time because he thought she was a prostitute and there was a legitimate misunderstanding happening, but after that he knew exactly what he was doing.

He was an awful, awful person with a horrible temper and no redeeming qualities. I was also really sick of hearing about how attractive Heather was, probably because I was given no other reason to like her. Upon reaching his home, people said at first sight that she was a fine wife for him.

Just from seeing her. In fact, I generally felt that too much emphasis was placed on what people looked like and not enough on what they acted like. More than one woman was insulted for being large or fat, unlike our dear, perfectly proportions little Heather. Granted, her aunt was horrible to her, but that doesn't make it ok to criticize her fat bottom.

It didn't do anything to Heather -- her foul mouth and angry hands did. No voy a contar la historia Solo voy a decir que empieza mal, parece que mejora, pero no acaba de hacerlo Con lo bonita que es Una rosa en invierno, la verdad es que me llevado un buen chasco I'm sleepy and have had wine so please take my ranting in stride, scroll past it, or better yet read Melissa's cutting, and frankly amazing, review here.

I'm not going to rate this because I only read 5 of the 10 chapters. It takes a lot for me to not finish a book. Yes, life is too short to read books we don't enjoy, but you're looking at a person who spent two years trying to finish a page Don DeLillo novel she couldn't stand. But this book is far worse than that one was.

I was feeling a bi I'm sleepy and have had wine so please take my ranting in stride, scroll past it, or better yet read Melissa's cutting, and frankly amazing, review here. I was feeling a bit bad that I convinced Melissa to buddy-read this with me, but now I'm quite glad I did. It was interesting to see where Avon got its start in the historical romance genre.

Things I don't understand: How literally every single Meredith Duran, Cecilia Grant, and Laura Kinsale book ever published has a lower Goodreads rating than this pile of shit. How Lisa Kleypas can call this her favorite Avon romance. The Woodiwiss influence is evident in her mediocre Vallerands series, but I seriously hope it's just nostalgia making her say things like that. If you genuinely think this book is quality, Lisa, then you need to learn how to love yourself. How this is a list of books that have lower Goodreads ratings than The Flame and the Flower: I'd say this is a book that only Donald Trump could love, but I guess its 4.

Stay messy, people of Goodreads. I wouldn't normally bother rating a book I didn't finish, but I got through half of The Flame and the Flower before giving up, so I have some pretty strong opinions and plenty to say. If my pain can spare some of you anguish, then it will all be worthwhile. I was actually a little bit excited to read this book, even though I knew it had a reputation as being very of its time and, to today's readers, fairly offensive.

But I don't have an extremely thin skin. After all, I love Outlander , in spite o I wouldn't normally bother rating a book I didn't finish, but I got through half of The Flame and the Flower before giving up, so I have some pretty strong opinions and plenty to say. After all, I love Outlander , in spite of the strapping debacle! Plus, I was curious about the novel that basically invented the modern day historical romance back in the early s.

I had high hopes that this might actually be a fun, engaging old-school yarn, in spite of its issues. Unfortunately, it's just a mess. The mean aunt makes her slave away like Cinderella, and forces Heather to wear her own ragged, cast off clothing, all of which falls off of her lovely limbs and perky bosom because she's so slim and petite and the aunt is such a gigantic cow.

Lesson 1 of this book: All the men in town love Heather in spite of her ragged clothes and put-upon life. I've never encountered such a genuine Mary Sue character outside of fanfiction. A few examples of Heather's revolting perfection Heather felt her spirits rise. She chatted gaily with shopkeepers, tried on silly bonnets, giggled at herself in mirrors, danced about and completely charmed those persons who could be charmed.

She watched as grand ladies paraded in front of her and laughed to see fat, little husbands trying to catch up. Her eyes shone and her smile was quick and easy. She swirled gaily and turned her head with a carefree air, making her braids swing and causing men to follow her with their eyes. Under the ever warming sun the natural color returned to Heather's cheeks and all signs of illness faded away. She bloomed more than any flower, and to look at her one could surmise motherhood definitely agreed with her. Whenever she was about on quarter-deck, close under Brandon's hand, every man's eyes were drawn to her at one time or another, and with the wind whipping her cloak about her and teasing a stray lock of hair she was something to behold.

I'll be honest -- the second she started swirling gaily and turning her head to make her braids swing, I was imagining ways to kill her off. She's so annoying, but more about that later. The "hero," Brandon, is even worse. We meet him when he mistakes Heather for a prostitute, after she's picked up by his henchman on the docks. She has just escaped a near-rape by her aunt's fat, ugly brother, whom she killed when he accidentally fell on the knife she was holding. In spite of her verbal and physical protests, Brandon has sex with her. When he realizes she was a virgin and not a streetwalker, his first reaction is to worry that she might have family or friends who would come after him for defiling her.

On learning that she hasn't anyone to protect her, he figures he might as well rape her a couple more times then, because it's not like you can put spilled milk back in a bottle, right? And she's so damned beautiful he just can't resist. Brandon decides to keep Heather as his mistress and he locks her up on board his ship, but she manages to run away back to her aunt. His super virility has left her pregnant, however, so he winds up being forced to marry her. He's not at all happy about this -- his cheek starts twitching with anger, and it twitches and vibrates with rage on almost every other page from here on out.

Brandon proceeds to alternately ignore his new bride and verbally abuse her. He's domineering and mean, although he does sometimes take Heather shopping, which makes her like him a little bit. Hence all the gay swirling I mentioned earlier. We only get Brandon's POV in brief snatches, so we don't really get much in the way of inner life or motivations. We mostly just learn that he is overwhelmed with lust for Heather. She drives him crazy with her perfect, sexy beauty!

And since he's decided he's too proud to bed her again after being forced to marry her, this makes Brandon angry. A few examples of our leading man's charming personality He sneered at her coldly. But your hell has only begun, m'lady. I'm not termed a pleasant sort to live with.

I have a foul temper which can snap up a small tart like you without a second's notice. So be warned, my beauty. Do not tempt it. Tread lightly and perhaps you will survive. But of all the women in London town, my weak-minded self chose you, the finest bit of fluff that ever tempted any man's eye. And you treat me not like a man but as some old buck, too worn to seek a doe.

You play and pose before me and expect my spirits not to rise. You tempt and taunt then deny me husband's rights. My God, you wench! Do you think me some safe eunuch? Anyway, after they marry, Brandon is a big jerk, and Heather occasionally, wimpily, expresses her displeasure with being married to his rapey self. And then she starts to feel guilty for being so mean to him.

And to feel sort of grateful to him for marrying her. She went gladly and collected his clothes from the room, more than grateful because he had been lenient with her. It would be a long time before she'd dare call him names again or flare up in anger at him. She would have to remember he disliked insolence and would not stand for it. She had been effectively disciplined and would do his will as an obedient wife. But must it be this way? Is it too difficult to show him kindness and gratitude though I know he loathes the ground on which I walk and would prefer to be no man at all than have me chained to him.

He has been kind despite his hatred of me.

Editorial Reviews

He bought you some dresses and hasn't punched you, big deal! She's such a doormat, and he's such an inexplicable ass. Neither one of them is a well-developed character; they're both just a collection of adjectives and, literally in the case of Twitchy!

• La llama y la flor (Birmingham 1).
• Sterkfontein.
• La llama y la flor (Birmingham 1) by Kathleen Woodiwiss on Apple Books?
• Lehrerbildungsstandards - Kriterien und Kritik (German Edition).
• Women, Race, & Class?
• Recen por mí. Papa Francisco en sus propias palabras (Spanish Edition);

As for the writing itself, I finally understand why romance novels have the reputation for purple prose. It's because of books like this. There are some really oddly phrased sentences in this book, and it seems clear a thesaurus was used very liberally. The man was small and thinly fleshed, but his voice was a full baritone of gentle touch. Just one of the many odd sentences I highlighted.

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

I'm a snob when it comes to prose style, I know, but really. The dialogue is pretty terrible too, as you can hopefully tell from all the quotes above. Writing styles were different, gender politics were different, things that seem like romance novel cliches now were not cliches back then. But bad writing is still bad writing. And there's something so reactionary about the relationship between Heather and Brandon, given that this book was written and published at the height of the women's movement in the early s. In a country where sensitive men like ERA-advocate Alan Alda were gaining fame, there was no doubt a swathe of the female population who thought a domineering, hairy-chested macho man like Brandon was super appealing.

The year after Gloria Steinem launched Ms. Magazine, some women probably enjoyed reading about a dainty, meek little thing like Heather, gaily swirling in pretty dresses instead of burning her bra and mouthing off to her husband. No doubt there's a dissertation in analyzing this book for some women's studies doctoral student. It's probably already been written, in fact. But I just couldn't go on reading it, myself -- especially when they arrived at Brandon's plantation and all the "negro" and "negress" talk started.

I bet Brandon is a very good master, and all his slaves are happy.

Get A Copy

Luckily for me, I'll never find out. View all 6 comments. I read this years ago when I was probably a young teenager. I loved this book then. As I read it now I am a bit aghast at the fact that Brandon basically raped Heather and took her virginity and he did it again. I don't think that will fly in modern times like these. Of course I read somewhere that this is one of if not the first original 'bodice rippers'.

I guess it would be since it was first published in Not sure why I had it at 4 star I read this years ago when I was probably a young teenager. Not sure why I had it at 4 stars when it is one of the classic Kathleen Woodiwiss book. I'm changing my rating to 5 stars. I think it is because now I read a lot of erotica and the sex scenes here are very tame, but I think the book as a whole has a great story so if I judged the story by itself it would have 5 stars so I'm changing it to 5 stars.

Feb 03, Jenny Q rated it did not like it. In the first chapter the heroine kills a man defending herself from attempted rape, runs for her life and ends up with the "hero" who then rapes her himself, repeatedly. And I don't mean a case of "your lips say no but your eyes say yes", I mean lips, eyes, fists and feet all say no.

I didn't make it to chapter two. I skimmed a few pages here and there through the rest of the book. I actually found it very disturbing.

Millions of copies of this book have been sold? There was a time when women actually found reading about rape-based relationships appealing? Mar 10, Kimberly Carrington-Fox rated it liked it Shelves: RitaWoodiwiss RetoRita2 Primera experiencia bodicerippeada superada! Dec 23, TJ rated it it was ok Shelves: This book starts with the abuse then rape of an innocent girl, a subsequent pregnancy then forced marriage to the man who raped her.

Woodiwiss' writing skills undoubtably draw you into the story, however, therefore the two stars. Aug 04, Chloe rated it did not like it Shelves: I forced my way through this novel from start to end. If it hadn't been so horrifically genuine it would have been funny. Every single stupid thought you've ever heard an abused woman utter with that tragic loss of logic is in the plot of this book.

From 'he rapes me but he really loves me deep down' to 'a baby will fix our marriage'. True it's written slightly better then your average two-bit rape porno but that hardly makes up for a plot that encourages the idea that raping women is a good way I forced my way through this novel from start to end. True it's written slightly better then your average two-bit rape porno but that hardly makes up for a plot that encourages the idea that raping women is a good way to meet your wife and treating them like crap afterwards, blaming them for your life, circumstances etc is a good way to develop a healthy marriage.

I would also like to point out that this is neither 'the first romance' as people keep telling me, nor is it even the first erotic romance and I would hardly call this erotic erotic literature and romance has been around since as long as writing has with works such as Decameron, written years prior to this book. Lastly I would advocate stopping this book being called 'romance' it encourages women clearly suffering from stockholm syndrome to believe themselves in love with their abusers.

Jan 20, Bubu rated it did not like it Shelves: I've done it, and I shouldn't have done it. Having been in a reading slump for the better part of the last 2 months, I went back and re-read The Flame and The Flower. The Mother of all modern Historical Romances. Certainly the Mother of all Bodice Rippers. I first read this book in my teenage years and I remember, even back then, not liking it very much.

I didn't like the plot. I didn't like Heather. I didn't like Brandon. I didn't like the fact that he raped her. Going back now, I actua I've done it, and I shouldn't have done it. Going back now, I actually knew I would like it even less see rape. What I didn't expect, however, was how downright ridiculous this book is. Let's take Heather, for example. People either hate her because she's so beautiful, or want to rape her because she is so beautiful, or adore her because she is so beautiful. Mind you, the first two groups obviously fall under the categories of 'Jealous Women' and 'Evil Rapist Men'.

The latter group are the likeable characters: But not many, of course. This child-woman is totally defined by her beauty. Any other characteristics she may show are completely undervalued. To be more blunt, her other personality traits - if she has any - are insignificant compared to her beauty. She is - even after giving birth - simply physical perfection. Which leads us straight to Brandon. He loses any common sense - again, if he has any - and is so overcome by her beauty that he rapes her a few times.

Even when he realises that she was actually a virgin, he doesn't believe her to be anything else but a whore in the making, so it's still deserved. She should have simply just tried to enjoy it. Once that tiny little misunderstanding has been cleared she was not a whore in the making , he marries her because Heather is pregnant.

Still against his will, of course. Anyway, to cut a long story short: And almost every man wants her, read rape her. As for Brandon, the rapist who is not a rapist - at least according to the author. He lusts after Heather, has constant jealous outbursts and is a man envied by other men and lusted after by other women.

Well, there's subplot that contains a murder-mystery, but never mind that. Even there, it's all about Heather's beauty in the end. Now, how to explain why this book is, at least to me, wrong on so many levels? In my first semester at Uni, I took a class called 'Literature criticism' in which we examined the different approaches on how to interpret a text novel, poems, etc. I always found this theory idiotic. How on earth is it possible to read any text without putting it into some kind of context? If there's anyone who can, and actually I'm sure there are people who can, I'm impressed.

The reason why I'm mentioning all this is because I looked at this book's first publishing date. Before I was born. But during a time where the feminist movement finally started to break through into every day politics; not to forget shortly after the civil rights movement made significant improvements for the voting rights of PoC in the Southern states - over years after slavery had been abolished. Basically, this book was written during a time where western societies underwent immense changes to the social, cultural and political status quo.

And yet, The Flame and the Flower ignores all this. It's Gone With The Wind with actual sex scenes, minus the complexity of the main characters. But everything else is in there: I can't read a book and ignore the internal background the story itself , nor the external background when it was written and by whom.

Knowing what I know about women's rights and slavery, and knowing in which time it was written, The Flame and The Flower made me want to throw up. Of course, I acknowledge that the official definition and personal perception of rape was different in But rape is rape. Romanticising it, doesn't make it any better. I keep saying that I won't read the books of my teenager years, the bodice rippers.

I didn't need a reminder. It was me being a total idiot for doing it anyway. View all 4 comments. Dec 14, Wendy rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: I love this book. There sweet love story will make you believe there is love to be found. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. There's a problem loading this menu right now. Learn more about Amazon Prime. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Get to Know Us. English Choose a language for shopping. Explore the Home Gift Guide. Amazon Music Stream millions of songs.

Amazon Advertising Find, attract, and engage customers. Amazon Drive Cloud storage from Amazon. Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web. More by Kathleen E. The Flame and the Flower. Woodiwiss debut romance… The Flower Doomed to a life of unending toil, Heather Simmons fears for her innocence—until a shocking, desperate act forces her to flee. The Flame A lusty adventurer married to the sea, Captain Brandon Birmingham courts scorn and peril when he abducts the beautiful fugitive from the tumultuous London dockside.

Wolf and the Dove. Woodiwiss comes one of her most beloved romances The Dove For the first time ever, mighty Wulfgar has been vanquished - and by a bold and beautiful princess of Saxon blood. Flowing text, Original pages. Web, Tablet, Phone, eReader.

The Flame and the Flower

It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are. Please follow the detailed Help center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders. Mentiras y secretos Birmingham 3. Una nueva historia en la saga de los Birmingham. La apasionante historia de amor entre Lady Aline y John, un criado de su padre, con sus miedos, ilusiones y reencuentros.

1. Bequest;
2. Follow the Author.
3. Storie e culture della televisione (Oscar saggi Vol. 925) (Italian Edition).