Love Is a Thief — Elizabeth Black

Elizabeth Black offers her fascinating second novel 'Love is a Thief' as a sequel to 'Herstory'. Barbara, an historian, waits for love to be bestowed on her via emails, as her long term partner Toby is away looking for treasure on an island. She has been left alone, unexpectedly and this makes her confront not only her independence but also the meaning of love within her life. She feels the poignancy of Toby's departure as an echo of his lack of displays of affection when they lived together- Barbara remembers her past as she types her e-mails, relfecting on the meaning of history within her own life. She contemplates what will happen when Toby returns. Each day brings with it new wisdoms, as she develops and grows as a woman. However, Barbara increasingly feels confused about the signals that her partner is sending out to her, especially in view of his apparent reluctance to communicate. Although Toby replied to her many e-mails finally in the previous book 'Herstory', yet again now he has disappeared silently, with no trace of any e-mails. This is a man who has perfected the art of creating a mysterious aura around him, and Barbara starts to realise that he is not all that he seemed when they were living together. Barbara reflects on her life, as she embraces change in a way that she never could have predicted. Her life has been lived through others, as her work as an historian has created a focus outside herself. She feels the empowerment of change but finds it hard to react to the moment, as she is so used to living within the grasp of history. Now she begins to open up, and unleashes change that she struggles to deal with…