Helpful Score: 2
Edward, Edward deals with some squicky subjects. Incest, sadism and masochism appear throughout as do innocence, dignity and love. It's by far the oddest book I've ever read and enjoyed. But it's not for everyone.
The historical background is solid. This is the author's third book. She was not prolific, writing only in the 1970s. But she did make something of a reputation for herself.
You won't find much about her in free sources online. The below bio comes from the database, Contemporary Authors Online.
"Marcia G. Welsh in Twentieth- Century Romance & Historical Writers states: 'Lolah Burford's novels are neither for the meek nor the militant, the little old lady or the strident feminist. Raw sex is the major element of each novel--sex of every variety, from rape to incest, sadism, and homosexuality. Though cloaked in velvet prose, Burford's `polite pornography' is explicit and pervasive.
'Burford's plots are fast-paced, full of action and intrigue. The well-researched, historically correct settings are various. . . . Burford's prose is sophisticated, and consists mostly of dialogue, spoken with the formality and grandiloquence of times past, and few descriptive passages.'"
The prose was a bit purple at times, but I think it was stylish at the time. She certainly was a brave lady to write about such taboos in the mainstream press ... not to mention her publisher (Macmillan).
The historical background is solid. This is the author's third book. She was not prolific, writing only in the 1970s. But she did make something of a reputation for herself.
You won't find much about her in free sources online. The below bio comes from the database, Contemporary Authors Online.
"Marcia G. Welsh in Twentieth- Century Romance & Historical Writers states: 'Lolah Burford's novels are neither for the meek nor the militant, the little old lady or the strident feminist. Raw sex is the major element of each novel--sex of every variety, from rape to incest, sadism, and homosexuality. Though cloaked in velvet prose, Burford's `polite pornography' is explicit and pervasive.
'Burford's plots are fast-paced, full of action and intrigue. The well-researched, historically correct settings are various. . . . Burford's prose is sophisticated, and consists mostly of dialogue, spoken with the formality and grandiloquence of times past, and few descriptive passages.'"
The prose was a bit purple at times, but I think it was stylish at the time. She certainly was a brave lady to write about such taboos in the mainstream press ... not to mention her publisher (Macmillan).
