Stradley Roy Rogers & Young’s first novel in the series continues the exploits of a simpleminded, yet ambitious young man who lives with his Uncle Rico and Aunt Emetta in New York City. While Uncle Rico is dead, his Uncle Vito is alive and determined to take control of the family business. As this conflict brews, tensions build between the heiress, Matilda, and the young man. Her relationship with her Uncle concerns everything from their shared faith to their children. This romantic comedy is filled with witty dialogues, a fantastic plotline, and well-timed humor.
Young’s novel is filled with comic scenes: yet he provides substantial background details as well. The characters are complex and well developed. Throughout, scenes involving Vito and Matilda spark many conversations about their childhoods. It is evident that the author, or author-backers, have a love of story. The intricacies of the plot point are clearly established early on, yet the reader is also repeatedly entertained through Vito’s many escapades.
A novel like Stradley Roy Rogers & Young: can be easily explained as the result of the author’s own life experiences. He was brought up by his mother as a child of three. Much of what he knows about the world and life in general, he learned from his father. He is aware of the problems and struggles of people in general, and how they deal with those problems. There is a distinctively American attitude toward life, as demonstrated throughout the novel.
This novel is far different than the average romance novel: The book takes place mostly within the context of the family, as Young’s Uncle Rico tries to assert his authority over Matilda, who has a crush on her high school football coach. The book thus centers on the internal conflicts of the young adults involved, and it deals primarily with their relationships. The romance between Matilda and Young Henry is not typical of romantic literature, nor does it provide the escapism of a hero and heroine falling in love without ever having a clear reason for doing so. Yet the book has enough elements of romance to satisfy most readers, especially those looking for a story about two young lovers who are forced to work together despite having an obvious love of each other.
The majority of the novel is devoted to Young Henry and Matilda’s relationship: Though it seems like the two are meant to be romantically involved, there is obviously more at play here than that. They are thrust into an unusual situation after their friend Rico dies, leaving Matilda with a great deal of responsibility over her own life. Because of this, she allows Young to date her best friend, while she goes off to complete her own personal work and search for her own identity. This causes the two young lovers to spend a large amount of time apart, which complicates their relationship even further.
In the end, Matilda finally decides to marry Young Henry and move back to England with him: This union proves to be nothing more than a short-lived union because the English officer, Sir Francis Varley, begins to uncover evidence that implicates Matilda and her husband in the murder of another gentleman, Robert Stainton. With the help of his new valet, Richard Ford, he finds proof of the affair and alerts the police. The next several chapters alternates between Matilda and Young Henry, while the reader learns more about the circumstances surrounding their union. Though the book is quite action heavy, it is not at all overwhelming and the characters believable.
This book is the kind of story that you will look forward to reading each day because it is so well written.
