Passion & Profession: Epilogue

[stjohn_rivers]

In which the Rev. St. John learns to Adapt, thinks further on the Necessity of Passion, composes a Letter to an Old Friend, and fulfils his Domestic Duties for the Night.

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Comments

[riventhorn]

After staying up way past my bedtime last night to finish this--because I couldn't just LEAVE them all heartbroken and sad--I'm kind of at a loss for words to say how much I loved this. Having written several historical AUs myself, I know exactly how much research goes into something like this and it's incredibly impressive what you've done here. I mean, it's relatively easy to find out what the EIC was doing but things like the names of clothing items or what they would have been reading or common slang--so much more difficult! And then to weave all of that into the creation of a world that feels real and believable and authentic, yet in such a way that you aren't hitting the reader over the head with facts--well, you've done an absolutely marvelous job with it.

And the characters--I am so in love with both Marcus and St. John. They both felt very authentic to the period and each with their own little quirks that made them truly come alive. My heart kept twisting whenever things about Marcus's past were revealed or when he was having trouble with his leg and then St. John would be there helping him--I adore h/c! And I KNEW that BAD THINGS would happen, and I was so devastated when they fall apart, but then--THEN--THANK YOU FOR THE HAPPY ENDING. The moment when Marcus first hears St. John say the prayer and is so taken with him--I totally fell in love with them both. And the part when Marcus reveals that he loves St. John--it brought tears to my eyes. And then the part that really set me off was when St. John decides to give his money to Muniya because he wants to see her eyes, which are Marcus's, smiling at him. I was this happy, sobbing, overcome little ball by the end of this and it was wonderful.

I also loved when they go to the symphony together because it reminded me of when Stephen and Jack first meet. :)

And I loved the really strong friendship that develops between them as a precursor to the romance--you showed that beautifully. And the sex! That was one of the parts that impressed me the most because it was both erotic yet also completely in character for the time period.

And, historian that I am, I adored all the notes!! I don't know much about colonial British India, so I found everything fascinating.

I know I will be coming back to this fic as a model for how to write historical fiction because it is just so excellent.