My favorites of Rosenthal’s works are the novella “A House East of Regent Street” (from an anthology called Strangers in the Night and The Slightest Provocation. I’m not sure which of these to recommend you read first. I agree with RfP that TSP is a more sophisticated book than TEOI. The backstory is told in nonlinear flashbacks in a way that I found quite creative and inventive and the story has more angst than TEOI.

“A House East of Regent Street” was my first experience of loving something of Rosenthal’s (I am not fond of Almost A Gentleman). It was very sexy and unconventional (the heroine is an ex-prostitute, current mistress of a French prince and would-be madam, and the hero is a sailor who is courting a respectable young woman). Since it’s a novella, it is tighter than her novels and may be less introspective as a result (though as it’s been a while since I last read it, I’m not certain of that).

I pimped both “A House East of Regent Street” and The Slightest Provocation all over, and I would say I had more success pimping the former than the latter. The novella is certainly more accessible, but for me, TSP was also very rewarding.

I also enjoyed the way the characters are connected in intricate and believable ways.

I liked that too; it’s almost the opposite of a cabin romance/artificially isolated scenario. I’m reading a Georgette Heyer that reminds me all over again how much a good ensemble (or community, a la Crusie) can add to romance.

This kind of reflexive self-consciousness is not our normal mode of being in the world — not even for writers and scholars.

Oh, I don’t know about that!

they are so intellectual and thoughtful, only feeling emotions, when they do, through the lens of reflective distance, that I found myself not generating much emotion for them.

There I totally agree. That type of relationship may suit two very cerebral characters, and the relationship may be stimulating rich inner lives, but it’s not apparent on the page.

As I read The Edge of Impropriety, I imagined that Rosenthal had just come off a Woolf binge when she wrote it.

If so, her binge was some years back, as I think she does it best in Slightest Provocation (2006). The past/present stream-of-consciousness in TSP is more seamless and focuses on supporting the development of the *relationship*, not only the individual characters’ inner thoughts.

an eroticized Henry James

Oy. Without having really thought about that before, at first glance I’m not so sure. I do think some scenes in this book are in the vein of Anais Nin (in particular the sex scenes that are more an exploration of the woman’s psyche than of a romance). But I suppose the Henry James themes of US/European intellectual culture are present in her other books, e.g. Bookseller’s Daughter.

I think she requires a relatively patient reader and one who is willing to tolerate some unruly prose

I agree on the patience, but I don’t find her prose unruly at all. I find it remarkably deliberate.

I don’t find any of them particularly erotic. I find them ATTEMPTING to be erotic.

I think what they attempt is to develop character through sex scenes. I don’t find it at all erotic, but I do find it effective at showing the inner workings of the couple.

I think the whole field of “erotic romance” is badly named, though; I would call it “explicit romance”, as eros is so much in the eye of the beholder. (BTW I don’t find Steve Almond’s writing erotic either, and he similarly writes sex scenes as character and action.)

The Slightest Provocation… the prose and the story are both a little more straightforward.

It’s so interesting how our opinions vary! I find Provocation the more sophisticated book for its use of shifting times and tenses to build Kit and Mary’s then-and-now relationship for the reader. I think TSP is particularly striking for its use of those techniques combined with sex scenes that are told in an earthy experiential manner that takes the participants out of time, rather than as a more flowery style of out-of-body experience (e.g. “exploding stars” verbiage).

I am kind of known for my contrariness, though.

Interesting review!

So I am definitely a bigger fan of the later books, which I find to be much more genre-bending and better written, even if they are sometimes too ponderous in their articulation.

Jessica: Although I liked the novel a lot more than you did, I can’t actually disagree with the points you raised. The inner monologues were tiresome (I can relate to excessive ‘reflexive self-consciousness,’ just not with an entire cast of characters).

I like her style, I find it an refreshing and important voice in the genre. What didn’t work for me was the romance, and I think that was partly because Rosenthal seemed more interested in her beautifully depicted world and her writing, and even her individual characters, than the romantic plot itself.

The Bookseller’s Daughter and The Slightest Provocation (especially) I truly liked. I do love her style/voice. HOWEVER, I don’t find any of them particularly erotic. I find them ATTEMPTING to be erotic.

I’m not sure, though, you could effectively “weed” her prose, because I’m starting to think that it’d be near impossible to edit it in a way that would preserve the best. I’d like to see Rosenthal continue to evolve in her writing voice, but I’m not sure I anticipate a significant change in her style. As Tumperkin says, though, you may like The Slightest Provocation better, or even one of her earlier books like AAG, which IIRC is less circuitous in its prose.

As you know, I really loved this book. But I know exactly what you mean and I didn’t really love it AS a romance. I loved the breathless prose and – more than that – the skillful weaving of the story; the neatness and cogency of the themes and ideas. But you’re absolutely right that it’s not an emotional book at all. And yes, if I’d judged it as a romance novel, scoring it on what I look for from a romance novel, I think I too would have found it lacking. But that wasn’t how I read it.

One point you raised was that you couldn’t understand what Marina found appealing about Jasper. For me, this was quite simple: it was his appearance. The book talks a lot about appearances and what these signify. How important physical appeal is. I found this refreshing given that so many romance novels have preternaturally beautiful protagonists while simultaneously implying that that isn’t What Really Matters.

You might not be minded to give her another go, but I have a feeling you may prefer The Slightest Provocation which I read shortly after this one. I didn’t find it as good as this one, but my recollection is that the prose and the story are both a little more straightforward. I found it quite an interesting take on the estranged spouses trope.