I’ve just posted a new letter to the Fraser Correspondence in which Charles/Malcolm writes to David about Eithne returning to England and Fitz going off to India. Various types of marriages are a theme that runs through my books, and Eithne and Fitz’s marriage, ideal on the surface, certainly holds it’s share of challenges. This seemed a good time to focus on another of the Vienna Waltz discussion questions.
Compare and contrast Suzanne and Malcolm’s marriage with Fitz and Eithne’s, from their reasons for marrying, to their secrets and betrayals.
I’ll give away another signed coverflat for Imperial Scandal to one of this week’s commenters.
Tracy Grant - Novelist 
October 24, 2011 at 7:10 pm
It’s a difficult question. The marriage of Malcolm and Suzanne started out with a HUGE deception, and they come from such different worlds – but they get one another.
Eithne and Fitz are perfect on the surface (as Isobel and Oliver – I didn’t get those names wrong, did I?) by means of upbringing and background – but under the surface…
Oh, Tracy, I sent the info to you on Facebook. (I won!)
October 24, 2011 at 7:15 pm
I meant to say, I prefer pairings in which the hero and heroine aren’t… approved. Lots of people thought Malcolm/Charles should have/was going to marry someone else who was “perfect”.
I like it when the heroine doesn’t marry her First while the entire town smiles approvingly.
October 25, 2011 at 2:04 am
So glad you won the copy of Hide from Evil, JMM!
You make a really good point about the marriages being different from the start, and not just because of the deception in Malcolm/Charles and Suzette/Mel’s. Malcolm/Charles and Suzette/Mel marry in the midst of a war and even in her “persona” Mel/Suzette comes from a different world – French/Spanish, penniless. She’s seen as a foreign adventuress by much of the British ton (goodness knows what they’d think, as she often reflects, if they knew the full truth). Fitz and Eithne are both from wealthy, titled families. A “perfect match.” Isobel and Oliver (yes, you got the names exactly right!) are actually a bit more unequal, because Oliver is the son of an impoverished country lawyer. If he hadn’t been a friend of David’s and if Isobel hadn’t been unmarried after being out for several seasons, Lord and Lady Carfax might have not looked favorably on the match. And Oliver is seen in London society as having married for money.
October 25, 2011 at 2:39 am
Each couple may have married for reasons other than a “love match”, but there is a big difference in what they made of their marriages. Charles & Mel, despite the reasons they married, knew from the beginning because of how they met that they wouldn’t have a traditional marriage. They formed a partnership of sorts before they started to fall in love. Even though they were deceiving each other, they had a level of trust that many couples can only dream of. They observed the proprieties in society, but only so they wouldn’t ‘blow their cover.’
The others observe the proprieties because that is what they know. For many couples of that time, that is as deep as they went in their relationships. It was all about how it looked to the ton.
October 25, 2011 at 7:25 am
I love your point that Charles/Malcolm & Mel/Suzette observe the proprieties as a veneer, as part of their cover, Susan. Whereas Fitz and Eithne–who actually did marry for love–in some ways have a much more “formal” relationship and know each other much less well.
October 25, 2011 at 4:25 pm
In some ways, Charles/Malcolm & Mel/Suzette see each other more objectively, because they were not in love when they married, yet there are huge secrets between them. I think because Charles/Malcolm trusts Mel/Suzette he respects her privacy and gives her more space than was common in that era, and ironically that allows her to carry on her work without him getting a hint of it. Eithne also trusted Fitz, and his betrayal was on a more personal, rather than political level.
October 25, 2011 at 5:03 pm
That’s a fascinating point that Charles/Malcolm and Mel/Suzette see each other more objectively because they weren’t “blinded by love” when they first met, Karin. I think Fitz and Eithne both had a more romanticized view of each other when they married, and in many ways don’t know each other as well. It’s interesting, in the book I’m writing now (set in Paris after Waterloo), I’ve particularly noticed that Charles/Malcolm’s trust of Mel/Suzette and his treating her as an autonomous equal does indeed make it easier for her to carry on her work as a spy.
October 30, 2011 at 1:24 am
Also, Malcolm and Suzanne have been through a LOT. Fitz and Eithne both come from somewhat priviliged backgrounds, if I’m not mistaken. They weren’t really “tested”.
October 30, 2011 at 6:57 am
Very true, JMM. Fitz and Eithne had a sort of charmed life until the events of Vienna Waltz. Malcolm and Suzanne’s marriage may not have had a romantic start, but they definitely faced a lot of challenges from the first. Which could have destroyed any possibility of achieving a happy marriage. But having got through the challenges to a degree at least gives them a foundation to build on.
October 31, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Congratulations to Susan who won the signed coverflat. Susan, if you email me through the contact link on the About Tracy page with your snail mail address, I’ll get the Imperial Scandal coverflat in the mail to you.
October 31, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Wow! Thank you so much!