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The Dangerous Game |
| By Louise Grant
(Random House, Australia - 1999) Reviewed by Frances Grattan |
 ouise Grant’s historical romance The Dangerous Game is a classic. Set in the early eighteenth century, our heroine is sixteen-year-old Antonia
Moran. She is young, beautiful and intelligent. The story travels from the flamboyant court ('Versailles) to Paris and then on to England.
Antonia’s guardian, an elderly, unwell grandfather, is taken in by an unscrupulous relative of Antonia’s. The Comte de Salvan, a grotesque man, small and pockmarked with frivilous tastes, desires to make Antonia his own. In order to make the match socially acceptable to the grandfather, the Comte offers his son as the potential bridegroom. The Vicomte d’Ambert also admires Antonia, but is weak and easily controlled by his father. Her grandfather is not aware of either the Comte de Salvan’s perverted desire, or the opium addiction of the son. He is made to see the match as advantageous for his Antonia. A title for his grand-daughter seems ideal. So where does this leave young, innocent Antonia? Desperate not to become the nighttime play-thing of an old man, she turns to another relative. This cousin, the Duke of Roxton, is also several years her senior, but there the similarity between him and the Comte de Salvan ends. The Duke of Roxton is tall, dark, arrogant, and rich, but has a reputation of a philanderer. Antonia has been lucky enough to have been educated, and her spirit enables her to judge Roxton beyond his reputation. She throws herself at his mercy, and not only trusts him implicitly, but begins to fall in love with him. While Roxton does initially offer the young girl protection within the folds of his family, it is not clear whether he has intentions of offering Antonia any long-term commitment. What are his true feelings for Antonia—is he too old for her and too experienced for an innocent girl of sixteen? It also appears the Comte de Salvan has the law on his side, so even if Roxton wanted to save the girl from this fate, how would he accomplish it? Danger awaits Antonia around every corner. Who is friend; who is foe? The players in this game are not used to losing, but there is only one prize and, therefore, there can only be one winner. I really enjoy historicals by Random House and Transworld Australia (Bantam) (now joined). They fall outside the usual mold for historical romance, and it is obvious their authors are experts in their fields. The plots are complex and The Dangerous Game certainly lived up to this concept. This is an enjoyable classic romance, a page-turner and thoroughly recommended by this reviewer.
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