The Charm School

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Synopsis

Isadora Peabody is the proverbial ugly duckling in a family of beautiful people and an awkward misfit who has never felt like she fit into Boston society, most of whom seem to make fun of her. She even has a crush of her brother's handsome friend who barely knows she exists. Isadora spent much of her youth with an aunt who educated her on all sorts of things that proper ladies rarely learned, so when she finds out that a ship, owned by her crush's father is in need of a translator, she offers her services. Captain Ryan Calhoun, however, isn't impressed that she went over his head to get the job. It doesn't stop Isadora, though, from embarking on the adventure of a lifetime, sailing to Rio de Janeiro. Along the way, an attraction to the dashing captain takes root, leading to some passionate moments in Brazil. But Isadora knows she's no man's idea of the perfect wife so it's hard for her to believe the compliments Ryan gives her. Not to mention, she still hasn't entirely given up her tendre for the man back home.

Ryan Calhoun is the black sheep of his Southern plantation-owning family. Always dreaming of going to sea, he and his best friend, a slave boy named Journey, spent hours playing at being sailors. Until Journey was wed to a slave woman from a neighboring plantation, but rarely allowed to see her or their children, Ryan hadn't thought much about the cost of slavery. Once he understood, though, he granted Journey his freedom, and has been on a mission to also free his friend's family ever since. Having talked himself into captaining the Sliver Swan, Ryan solidified his position and received a hefty salary by making record time on his last run. Now he just needs another good trip to earn enough to hopefully buy freedom for Journey's wife and kids. He doesn't have time to deal with the meek young woman who's infiltrated his ship. But at every turn, Isadora seems to impress him with her willingness to learn and help out wherever she's needed. Before long, Ryan starts to see Isadora in a different light. She may not be the most gorgeous woman he's ever met, but she fulfills a longing in his heart for someone who understands him and shares his passions. By the time the voyage is over, he knows he's fallen for her, but convincing this lady who is so lacking in confidence that he's being sincere proves a challenge. And then there's the matter of Journey's family, which could require him to do things that might put his life in danger.

Review

The Charm School is the first book in Susan Wiggs's Calhoun Chronicles. Isadora has been labeled a wallflower by Boston society. As a woman who loves to read and learn and who has never been the prettiest in any room, she's all but invisible, but she has a crush on Chad, one of her brother's friends and the son of a shipping magnate who is a friend of her family and owns a vessel dubbed the Silver Swan. However, Chad barely even notices her. Frustrated by her lot in life, when Isadora meets Ryan Calhoun, a dashing Southern gentleman and the captain of the Swan, and discovers that he's just lost his translator, she asks him to take her on as a replacement. When he refuses, she goes over his head to Chad's father, who is persuaded to allow it in exchange for her acting as a shipboard spy. Thus begins Isadora's sailing adventure to exotic Rio de Janeiro, during which she learns all about life on a ship and slowly starts to come out of her shell. She also develops an attraction to Ryan, but when he finds out that she's sending information back to the owner of the ship, he's quite put out about it. Still, once they're in Rio, the beauty of the setting takes over and weaves a romantic spell around them. Soon Ryan and Isadora are falling for one another, but she's spent so many years being teased and ignored for her differences that she finds it hard to trust in Ryan's sincerity. For his part, Ryan eventually realizes that he's madly in love with her, but he made a promise to his best friend, who is a former slave, to free his family, whatever it takes. However, doing so could cost him everything, including possibly his life.

Isadora was always the overly tall, plain, plump one in a family of attractive people, so between her appearance and her bookish nature, she's never quite fit in with Boston society. As a girl, she went to live with a spinster aunt who was the only person who really understood her, but ever since her aunt passed away, she's been back with the rest of her family. To just about everyone in their circle of Beacon Hill friends, she's invisible, and that includes her crush, Chad. Tired of everyone ignoring her and thinking that perhaps Chad might take notice if she proves herself valuable to his father's enterprise, which he'll one day inherit, she finagles her way onto the Silver Swan. Based on her first meeting with Ryan, she thinks him little more than a shallow womanizer, even though he is very attractive. At first, they're like oil and water. He's not happy that she forced his hand and is especially annoyed when he finds out she's spying for his employer, but in spite of their animosity, an attraction begins to take root. Once they're in Rio, Isadora finds herself falling under a romantic spell and enjoying spending time with Ryan. Even after they make love, though, she still can't quite shake off the feeling that he's not being entirely sincere when he compliments her or expresses his feelings. And then there's the matter of her crush on Chad, which hasn't entirely dissipated in spite of the distance between them.

As the girl who was always different growing up and not particularly pretty, I felt an instant affinity for Isadora. I appreciated her bookish nature and her constant desire to learn new things. I also liked that she wasn't afraid to roll up her sleeves and help out on board ship in any way she could. It takes some time, but she eventually sees the depths in Ryan's character, positive things that he doesn't necessarily see in himself. I enjoyed watching her grow and change during the long sea voyage, gradually gaining confidence, and eventually finding the beautiful swan underneath the ugly duckling exterior. I think it's precisely because she was slowly growing that I felt a bit frustrated with her when she still couldn't believe Ryan's compliments or even his declaration of love until the very end of the story. I was also a little annoyed that she still had a bit of a crush on Chad until almost the end, as well, and it took him outright treating her badly before she finally realized he was never the one she truly cared for. Otherwise, I liked Isadora. I just wish she'd warmed up to Ryan and believed his words a little sooner.

Ryan was born and raised on a Virginia plantation, where his best friend growing up was a slave boy named Journey. Together, they built a fort near the water, where they played, watched the ships, and dreamed of one day sailing on one. Ryan never really thought much about the cost of slavery until Journey married a young woman from a neighboring plantation, but was still kept from his wife and the children they eventually had together. It was then that he vowed to never own slaves and to do what he could to end the practice. When Ryan went off to college at Harvard, he insisted that Journey come with him, and once they were in the North, he gave Journey his manumission papers. Always something of a rebel, Ryan's college days were cut short when he was kicked out of Harvard, but he talked his way into captaining the Silver Swan, thinking to finally live out his dream. But more importantly, he was determined to earn the money to buy Journey's wife and children out of slavery and free them. He's done well, making record time sailing the ship, but he just needs one more big haul to hopefully have enough. No matter how much he might feel sorry for her, he doesn't have time to coddle a female on his ship, so he unequivocally tells Isadora no when she comes looking for a position on his crew. When she goes over his head, he's really annoyed with her and his irritation only grows when he finds out she's sending letters about him to his employer. However, in spite of everything, Ryan begins to see the intriguing woman beneath Isadora's frumpy exterior. Slowly they become friends, and then once in Rio, it blossoms into much more. But afraid that his mission to save Journey's family might end with him swinging at the end of a rope, he doesn't feel he has anything to offer her in spite of having fallen in love. Although there were times I felt Ryan could be a little shallow and a bit high-handed, I still liked him. He recognizes Isadora as a fellow black sheep of the family and sees the beauty underneath everything on the outside. He was also instrumental in helping her find more confidence and stop worrying about what others thought of her.

I have to admit that based on the title and cover blurb, I went into reading The Charm School thinking it was going to be a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady type of scenario, but it only is in the most subtle of ways. The cover blurb mentions the ship's crew being Isadora's personal charm school and teaching her to be a lady, but most of that takes place in the background rather than as a major part of the story. At the very end, they enact an outward transformation (more ala The Ugly Duckling, which is excerpted throughout the book), but until then, it's more about her inward journey to becoming more accepting of herself and what she has to offer the world. It's also about Ryan and his mission to rescue his best friend's family. I was a bit worried when I found out Ryan was a Southern gentleman, so I was pleasantly surprised by his abolitionist spirit. At every turn, he was very careful not to have anything to do with slavery, which was a quality I greatly admired. The romance between Ryan and Isadora is an extremely slow burn, almost painfully slow at times. I've never been a great fan of enemies-to-lovers romances, and this pair definitely kick things off at odds with one another. It wasn't as bad as some books I've read, though, and they do gradually work their way into a friendship. If memory serves, however, they don't even kiss until reaching Rio. Up until then, I wasn't feeling a particularly strong connection between them, but once in Rio, things turned more romantic and heated up a bit, although the love scenes are pretty mild. Back on board the ship for the return voyage, though, the distance between them returned. Part of this is owing to them not being great communicators. Both Ryan and Isadora frequently misunderstand or misconstrue the other's words or actions, which was a little frustrating for me. There was at least a time or two, I was wishing they'd just sit down and have an honest heart-to-heart. However, in spite of my occasional slight annoyances, I kept reading. All's well that ends well, as they say, and overall, it was a pretty good story. The Charm School was my first read by Susan Wiggs, but I enjoyed it sufficiently that I'm interested in continuing the series.

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Susan Wiggs

Themes

Book Lovers
Geniuses, Scholars & Scientists aka Geeks - Heroines
Physically Ordinary Heroines
Tortured Heroines