This book should have ended with the plague | Forever Amber

Longtime Favorite | Forever Amber | Kathleen Winsor

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	• Forever Amber Kathleen Winsor Chicago Review Press, 2000 - 976 pages average customer review:based on 151 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Stunning!!

I absolutely LOVED this book!! It begins with a prologue about how Amber was born and then fastforwards to the future, where Amber is a beautiful teenager in a small country village... and there she meets the man who she will be in love with the rest of her life. She follows him to London and then has numerous experiences with him, without him, with other people...

This book was definitely researched well - I learned a lot about the history of England and London by reading it, and the writing style is just beautiful! Amber is such a little vixen in the book. At times, you love her and sympathize with her (such as being with a spiteful man and having no power as a woman), and other times you hate her and are wishing for her to get what she deserves (like when she uses other people for her own benefit). You love her and hate her at the same time; the author is a genius at how she brings the characters to life. No one is only good or bad but all sides of people are shown.

To give it more historical credibility, parts of the book take place in the palace, without Amber around. It's almost like a comparison between royalty and non-royalty - and neither side is truly more moral than the other. You also get a taste of the time in which they're living.

The book spans years and at the end, you know what's going to happen but still are left wishing for a sequel. I would have loved to see how it all actually played out at the end, but even the ending doesn't detract from the overall genius of the book.

Don't be put off by the length of this - it will hook you and you won't be able to put it down. I finished all 972 pages within a few days. And while the book is definitely quite sensual (Amber takes on a number of lovers and ends up pregnant out of wedlock a number of times, many of which end in abortions), nothing is too overt. The love scenes are mainly left to your own imagination and you are truly drawn into the characters and not just the actions.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a beautifully written love story spanning a number of years. This book will not disappoint in keeping your interest. I've already loaned out my copy to a friend but will be rereading it when I get it back. Definitely a book to be read and reread - it's one to buy.

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This book should have ended with the plague

I have just finished reading Forever Amber, and though it had a lot of great scene-setting, and obviously Kathleen Winsor did her homework with Restoration-era England, I just gave up on liking Amber or Bruce, and frankly, my dear, I didn't give a damn when it was finally over.

The story just went on too long, and after the plague passage, when Bruce STILL did not want anything more than what he'd ever got from Amber--basically, who cared about what else they did.
I just kept getting more and more appalled with both of their behavior. And poor Corinna!! And why did he thank God he found her? When Amber had done everything in her power to keep him alive, and nearly died herself--obviously, the woman loved him, and I think something vital was missed in returning the characters to all their former bad behavior, and worse, by the time the story ends. I was frustrated, but still give it 4 stars, just because I liked the rest of it so well.

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Longtime Favorite

I first read this book in 1967 when I was in my 20's and was enthralled. At the time I knew little about Restoration England and found Amber's exploits to be captivating. I read the book many times after that first time and still find Ms. Winsor's attention to detail and historical background to be engrossing. When compared to historical novels written today, it is by far, still among the best. I don't find the characters dated and I marvel at the frank handling of sensitive subjects like abortion and life on the streets of London in the 1700's. It is easy to see why, when it was published in 1944, it caused a ruckus!

I admit it did go on a little too long at the end when Amber seemed to have exhausted all possibilities in England and one had the feeling there would be a sequel that took place in America. Of course, that didn't happen, although Winsor's book "Wanderers Eastward, Waderers West" might have started out to be that book.

"Forever Amber" is second only to GWTW in my library and I still find the characters to be colorful and memorable. I would love to see a new film production of it with some good actors--the original film didn't do the book justice.

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I could not put it down!!!

I just finished this book and I loved every page of it!! I wish Ms Bradford would write the sequel to it. The ending is just crying out for another page-turner of 972 pages. It was not enough. I want the story to continue and find out what lies ahead for Amber who will give up everything if she thinks she could have Bruce's love. I can't imagine the uproar this book caused when it was released in 1944. I checked it out from the library but I will be buying my own copy!

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