The Imperial Maud, Robert E. Moore
(iUniverse, Inc. NY, 2004)
Now I find myself regretting that I never enrolled in Bob’s creative writing
class before he retired from Grossmont College (I did purchase and read his excellent
textbook, So You Wand to be a Writer). This is Bob’s first published novel and
it really makes the case that we are never to old to be creative (those of you who know
Bob are well aware that he’s no young chicken anymore, but editorial restraint
prevents me from divulging the extent of his antiquity).
As a genre, his novel is a period romance and adventure story set in 19th
Century England. It concerns an artist, Stuart Tremaine, who makes his living painting
landscapes and portraits of the gentry. While traveling in the countryside, Stuart stops
at a remote inn and is smitten by the countenance of the innkeeper’s wife, Polly
Butler. In order that he might use her as his model, he agrees, for mere room and board,
to feature her on a new sign which will replace the worn and faded one hanging at the
inn’s entrance.
Things get a bit sticky when Stuart finds himself falling in love with Polly. Her
husband treats her rather harshly and he doesn’t wish to compromise her situation
further. To make things worse, a rather unsavory local, Jack Waggoner, also has his eye on
Polly and poses a serious and menacing threat to Tremaine and his romance with Polly.
Adding more spice to the stew, a deranged countess whose husband has run off with
Stuart’s wife is also visiting this remote village and now wants Stuart to avenge
their common misfortune. Simple escapades soon escalate into deception, violence and even
a murder mystery.
The language, setting and characters seem authentically early English (I didn’t realize Bob was that old!) so you’ll find after just a few chapters that you are quite at home in the environs of an earlier, rural England, enjoying the colorful company of hearty gents and spirited damsels as you quaff your stout ale and feast on steaming kidney pie at the inn’s great common table--whilst turning the pages of this delightful little novel. I heartily recommend it, especially if you’re just a bit out-of-sorts with modern times.