Belle K. Abbot - Leah Mordecai
This book was a little like 'Twilight' in terms of having: bad writing, a heroine incapable of doing anything except for moping around and a very unpleasant hero. Before you jump on it, though, be warned - there are no sparkling vampires. There is a Jewish woman and a Christian man, which back then, was considered as much a mésalliance for both parties involved as dating a vampire is now.
This book was also written according to the main Murphy's Law that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Belle K. Abbot took it one brave step further and made things that couldn't go wrong, go wrong as well.
Leah Mordecai is a beautiful, smart, good, rich and loved girl who would have been perfectly happy if it wasn't for her stepmother who hates her immensely and is out to ruin her life. I am serious, we are talking about the Snow White level of evil stepmothers.
Of course, Leah's father has no idea, because good ol' Leah would never tell him what a toad he married. Instead she suffers in silence all the cruelties her stepmother dishes out. Before Leah fell in love with the 'Christian dog' she was promised to a certain Mark Abrams. Her stepmother wouldn't have it, of course so she had a quiet word with him (quiet but loud enough for Leah to overhear) and told him that sadly, Leah is DEFORMED, will soon be crippled, therefore he's better off marrying her stepsister Sarah. Mark faintly protests saying he has seen Leah many times and she does not look deformed to him. But the stepmother assures him that she is, TRUST ME! So he buys that and decides to marry the sister.
Now, seriously. Wouldn't you think that once Mark joins the family sooner or later the truth will come out? Like five years from now when Lean is still very much NOT deformed or crippled? Wouldn't the stepmother then get into a lot of trouble?
Anyway, enters Emile le Grande aka the Christian Dog. Rich, handsome, and so in love with Leah.
As per his journals:
This book was also written according to the main Murphy's Law that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Belle K. Abbot took it one brave step further and made things that couldn't go wrong, go wrong as well.
Leah Mordecai is a beautiful, smart, good, rich and loved girl who would have been perfectly happy if it wasn't for her stepmother who hates her immensely and is out to ruin her life. I am serious, we are talking about the Snow White level of evil stepmothers.
Of course, Leah's father has no idea, because good ol' Leah would never tell him what a toad he married. Instead she suffers in silence all the cruelties her stepmother dishes out. Before Leah fell in love with the 'Christian dog' she was promised to a certain Mark Abrams. Her stepmother wouldn't have it, of course so she had a quiet word with him (quiet but loud enough for Leah to overhear) and told him that sadly, Leah is DEFORMED, will soon be crippled, therefore he's better off marrying her stepsister Sarah. Mark faintly protests saying he has seen Leah many times and she does not look deformed to him. But the stepmother assures him that she is, TRUST ME! So he buys that and decides to marry the sister.
Now, seriously. Wouldn't you think that once Mark joins the family sooner or later the truth will come out? Like five years from now when Lean is still very much NOT deformed or crippled? Wouldn't the stepmother then get into a lot of trouble?
Anyway, enters Emile le Grande aka the Christian Dog. Rich, handsome, and so in love with Leah.
As per his journals:
"In the main, I hate Jews, but I must admit here, Journal, that Mrs. Levy is as elegant a woman as I have ever met [...] but of all the beautiful women that I have seen in years, Jewish or Christian, there's not one can compare with Leah Mordeacai - such hair and such eyes are seldom given to woman"
and
"So sure as my name is Emile, I believe I shall succeed in my endeavor to marry the Jewess. She is beautiful."
What a charmer. And he does succeed, and then more bad things happen. Most of them wouldn't happen if Leah did or, at least, said something. Alas!
Belle K. Abbot really likes the word 'alas', it's very melodramatic, you see. Just how she likes it. She likes her metaphors too.
Belle K. Abbot really likes the word 'alas', it's very melodramatic, you see. Just how she likes it. She likes her metaphors too.
"The tears still flowed from the pure fountain of Lizzie's innocent, tender heart, and her head bowed as gentle as a lily in the gales"
And she likes adverbs and adjectives:
"Then Leah sadly turned her eyes upward to the cracked, stained wall overhead, and faintly murmured..."
