Before his death, Riana’s father asked Tynan to marry her. He is a friend of Riana’s father and is known in Society as The Black Angel for his dark good looks and his rakish reputation. Tynan Spencer, the Earl of Glencove, is Irish. When Julian killed Malvern in a duel, he was forced to flee the country and Riana’s reputation was in tatters. Malvern began to gossip about their affair after its finish and Riana’s brother Julian called him out. When pursued by Everett Malvern, a baron and bastard nephew of the king, they had an affair. She is a passionate and unconventional woman yet she is not a hoyden either – Riana is a true Original. She was raised for a long period of time at her father’s estate on the island of Martinique. This examination of social problems and prejudices add a richness and depth to the book that I seldom see in an historical novel. The book never stops still to lecture the reader – no, it uses the examination of social problems to illuminate the characters and advance the story. But this love story is set in the larger world of Georgian Society and examines racial and religious prejudice and the double standard as it applies to women. After a reader has finished an historical novel, she does know a bit about the manners and mores of the ton, but what of the world outside that little closed-in group?īarbara Samuel’s new historical novel The Black Angel is first and foremost an enthralling and sensuous love story.

Generally the writer seldom bothers with the social attitudes and problems of the society at large.

Historical romances often seem to exist in a vacuum.

The Black Angel by Barbara Samuel