Deirdre Gower refused to ruin her fiancé, Lord Belami, by marrying him—if her aunt proved to have murdered her brother. But the Duchess had brought the ancient Lord Dudley a bowl of stew, and he had succumbed to arsenic poisoning. The Duchess, Sir Nevil Ryder and who else wished to silence the old man before he could change his will? Regency Romance/Mystery by Joan Smith; originally published by Fawcett
Deirdre Gower refused to ruin her fianc?, Lord Belami, by marrying him--if her aunt proved to have murdered her brother. But the Duchess had brought the ancient Lord Dudley a bowl of stew, and he had succumbed to arsenic poisoning. The Duchess, Sir Nevil Ryder and who else wished to silence the old man before he could change his will? A Regency Mystery/Romance by Joan Smith.
What's a duke to do, when the girl who's perfectly wrong becomes the woman he can't live without? Griffin York, the Duke of Halford, has no desire to wed this season—or any season—but his diabolical mother abducts him to "Spinster Cove" and insists he select a bride from the ladies in residence. Griff decides to teach her a lesson that will end the marriage debate forever. He chooses the serving girl. Overworked and struggling, Pauline Simms doesn't dream about dukes. All she wants is to hang up her barmaid apron and open a bookshop. That dream becomes a possibility when an arrogant, sinfully attractive duke offers her a small fortune for a week's employment. Her duties are simple: submit to his mother's "duchess training"… and fail miserably. But in London, Pauline isn't a miserable failure. She's a brave, quick-witted, beguiling failure—a woman who ignites Griff's desire and soothes the darkness in his soul. Keeping Pauline by his side won't be easy. Even if Society could accept a serving girl duchess—can a roguish duke convince a serving girl to trust him with her heart?
As the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne (1665-1714) received the education thought proper for a princess, reading plays and poetry in English and French while learning dancing, singing, acting, drawing, and instrumental music. As an adult, she played the guitar and the harpsichord, danced regularly, and took a connoisseur's interest in all the arts. In this comprehensive interdisciplinary biography, James Winn tells the story of Anne's life in new breadth and detail, and in unprecedented cultural context. Winn shows how poets, painters, and musicians used the works they made for Anne to send overt and covert political messages to the queen, the court, the church, and Parliament. Their works also illustrate the pathos of Anne's personal life: the loss of her mother when she was six, her troubled relations with her father and her sister (James II and Mary II), and her own doomed efforts to produce an heir. Her eighteen pregnancies produced only one child who lived past infancy; his death at the age of eleven, mourned by poets, was a blow from which Anne never fully recovered. Her close friendship with Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, a topic of scabrous ballads and fictions, ended in bitter discord; the death of her husband in 1708 left her emotionally isolated; and the wrangling among her chief ministers hastened her death. Richly illustrated with visual and musical examples, Queen Anne draws on works by a wide array of artists-among them the composer George Frideric Handel, the poet Alexander Pope, the painter Godfrey Kneller, and the architect Christopher Wren-to shed new light on Anne's life and reign. This is the definitive biography of Queen Anne.
A young American woman hiking in England near the Welsh border is swept back in time to the 1460s, the age of the War of the Roses. There, she falls in love with a young knight, Prince Edward. Now, her courtly romance comes up against the politics of murder, warfare, and betrayal.
By Royal Request Charged with the safety of the Dowager Duchess of Lorrania, Commander Wade Stevens pledged on the honor of his country to keep her safe. The beautiful Duchess May was in greater peril than she knew. And it was Wade's solemn duty to keep the unpredictable royal out of trouble. But the fun-loving May wouldn't let him stay solemn. And when an assassin threatened May's life, it wasn't duty that drove Wade to sweep her from danger into his arms. Forbidden attraction soon blazed from spark to flame. And although their different birthrights made love impossible, Wade had overcome the impossible before….
Webster was much possessed by death And saw the skull beneath the skin; And breastless creatures under ground Leaned backward with a lipless grin. These lines from T. S. Eliot’s "Whispers of Immortality” provide Charles R. Forker with the title for the most substantial and detailed examination of John Webster to date; they also identify a major theme--the love-death nexus in Renaissance drama and its special relevance to Webster. Forker summarizes what is known about Webster’s life and analyzes in detail not only the major plays but also the lesser ones. He examines The White Devil, The Duchess of Malfi, and The Devil’s Law-Case in context with the minor and collaborative works, tracing themes, stylistic features, and ideas through the entire Webster canon. One reviewer of the manuscript notes that "Forker is surely unrivalled as an authority on matters Websterian. His book treats Webster with an unhurried fullness and richness rarely accorded even to Shakespeare.” Another calls the book "Splendid. Readable and engaging.”
A USA Today Bestseller! "Delicious...Burrowes delivers red-hot chemistry with a masterful mix of playfulness and sensuality."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review Maggie Windham leads a dignified life... until stolen letters bring her to investigator Benjamin Hazlit's door. When it becomes clear Maggie is being blackmailed, Benjamin becomes determined to find not just the letters, but the way to Maggie's heart. And she's been perfectly capable of keeping them...until now. When she's threatened with exposure, she turns to investigator Benjamin Hazlit to keep catastrophe at bay. But Maggie herself intrigues Benjamin more than the riddle she's set him to solve. As he uncovers more and more of her past, Maggie struggles to keep him at a distance, until they both begin to discover the truth in their hearts... Windham series: The Heir (Book 1) The Soldier (Book 2) The Virtuoso (Book 3) Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish (Book 4) Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal (Book 5) Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight (Book 6) Lady Eve's Indiscretion (Book 7) Lady Jenny's Christmas Portrait (Book 8) Praise for The Soldier: "Captivating...Burrowes's straightforward, sensual love story is intelligent and tender, rising above the crowd with deft dialogue and delightful characters."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review "There is a quiet, yet intense power to Burrowes's simple prose and such depth of feelings that it will be difficult to forget this marvelous story."—RT Book Reviews 4 1⁄2 Stars, Top Pick of the Month "Burrowes continues her winning streak with a delicious, sensual historical romance capturing the spirit of the time."—Booklist "With lots of humor and steamy romance, these books are always a delightful read, a treat for fans of Regency romance at its best."—Night Owl Romance
Offers the works of Lady Caroline Lamb (1785-1828), the late Romantic-era novelist most famous for her affair with Lord Byron. Presenting Lamb's works in a scholarly format, this book situates her literary achievements within the context of her Whig allegiances, her sense of noblesse oblige and her promotion of aristocratic reform.
