Sophy, the "little" niece of Lady Ombersley is sent to London to stay with her aunt. However, somewhere in the decade or so since her aunt last saw her, Sophy has grown into a rather tall, imposing woman, with a personality to match. She is good-natured, sociable, and utterly independent. She soon has the Ombersley household in the palm of her hand — well all except Charles, the eldest son who takes a rather dim view of her. Charles's pious fiancée, Eugenia Wraxton, is also not impressed by her and attempts to bring her into line with London manners — but Sophy, with unimpaired good-manners and immense charm usually manages to get her own way. Having established herself in the Ombersley Household Sophy soon sees how much they need her. Charles is clearly about marry the wrong woman (Eugenia), his sister, Cecilia is caught up with a clearly unsuitbale poet, and younger brother has Hubert trapped in some clearly dark sort of activity which he cannot escape from. At the same time Sophy's soon to be mother-in-law, Sancia looks to be straying herself. Sophy's ability to orchestrate this huge cast of characters all to fitting ends is truly marvellous - and highly enjoyable.

The news of Henry III’s death reaches his son Edward on the long road home from the Holy Land. Now he is England's king and a man fit for his destiny.Through all the years of his reign, Edward I strives to weld a nation united from England and Scotland and Wales. When the mighty Wallace raises the Scots in arms and the Welsh Llewellyn strives for power, Edward stands firm in his resolve, knowing in his heart how much could be lost when his crown is passed down to his corrupted, dissolute son …

At the age of thirty-two, Richard the Lionheart has finally succeeded Henry II to the English throne. And, against his father’s wishes, he intends to make Berengaria, daughter of the King of Navarre, his Queen.But first he must fulfil his vow to his country to win back Jerusalem for the Christian world. Leaving England to begin his crusade, Richard’s kingdom is left in the hands of his brother, John, who casts covetous eyes on the crown, and his sister, Joanna, adored yet willing to defy even a king.

AN EARL WHO CAN'T BE BRIBEDGayle Windham, Earl of Westhaven, is the first legitimate son and heir to the Duke of Moreland. To escape his father's inexorable pressure to marry, he decides to spend the summer at his townhouse in London, where he finds himself intrigued by the secretive ways of his beautiful housekeeper... A LADY WHO CAN'T BE PROTECTED...Anna Seaton is a beautiful, talented, educated woman, which is why it is so puzzling to Gayle Windham that she works as his housekeeper.As the two draw closer and begin to lose their hearts to each other, Anna's secrets threaten to bring the earl's orderly life crashing down - and he doesn't know how he's going to protect her from the fallout...

Rachel is the pinnacle of elegance, social standing, and beauty--when the wildest, most passionate flame of her youth steps into her life again. Tommy Lee is the all-time hellraiser of Russellville, Alabama, with three marriages behind him and a string of fast cars and women. The townsfolk say he will never change. But Rachel knows differently.

Rachel is the pinnacle of elegance, social standing, and beauty--when the wildest, most passionate flame of her youth steps into her life again. Tommy Lee is the all-time hellraiser of Russellville, Alabama, with three marriages behind him and a string of fast cars and women. The townsfolk say he will never change. But Rachel knows differently.

Rachel is the pinnacle of elegance, social standing, and beauty--when the wildest, most passionate flame of her youth steps into her life again. Tommy Lee is the all-time hellraiser of Russellville, Alabama, with three marriages behind him and a string of fast cars and women. The townsfolk say he will never change. But Rachel knows differently.

19th Century American West.Dillon Hennessey was a man like no other…Strong yet caring, determined yet kind. But he was still a man, Katelyn Green reminded herself, and therefore not to be trusted. Hadn't her own husband abandoned her in her hour of need? And yet the whispers in her soul promised happiness with this man who'd gentled horses…and her heart!Katelyn Green had lost a child, and Dillon knew it ate away at her very core. He would help her if he could, if he had the words and ways. But would his tenderness be enough to win a woman who'd been robbed of her faith in love?

Dear Reader,Here is the first of my new "Brides" trilogy, in which three unconventional young women vow they will never marry-only to be overtaken by destiny. Bride #1 is the outspoken Portia....It's bad enough that seventeen-year-old Portia Worth is taken in by her uncle, the marquis of Granville, after her father dies. As the bastard niece, Portia knows she can expect little beyond a roof over her head and a place at the table.But it truly adds insult to injury when the Granvilles' archenemy, the outlaw Rufus Decatur, hatches a scheme to abduct the marquis's daughter-only to kidnap Portia by accident.Portia, who possesses more than a streak of independence as well as a talent for resistance, does not take kindly to being abducted-mistakenly or otherwise.Decatur will soon find himself facing the challenge of his life, both on the battlefield and in the bedroom, as he contends with this misfit of a girl who has the audacity to believe herself the equal of any man....Warmest wishes,Jane Feather

For Jane Lindsay The House of a Thousand Lanterns had always held a strange fascination. Since her days as a schoolgirl in England she had felt drawn to it.Now, a shattering romance, a passion for Chinese art, and a “marriage of convenience” take her to Hong Kong and The House of a Thousand Lanterns, where she finds her presence unwanted and her life in danger.

In this haunting tale, Daphne du Maurier takes a fresh approach to time travel. A secret experimental concoction, once imbibed, allows you to return to the fourteenth century. There is only one catch: if you happen to touch anyone while traveling in the past you will be thrust instantaneously to the present.Magnus Lane, a University of London chemical researcher, asks his friend Richard Young and Young's family to stay at Kilmarth, an ancient house set in the wilds near the Cornish coast. Here, Richard drinks a potion created by Magnus and finds himself at the same spot where he was moments earlier — though it is now the fourteenth century. The effects of the drink wear off after several hours, but it is wildly addictive, and Richard cannot resist traveling back and forth in time. Gradually growing more involved in the lives of the early Cornish manor lords and their ladies, he finds the presence of his wife and stepsons a hindrance to his new-found experience. Richard eventually finds emotional refuge with a beautiful woman of the past trapped in a loveless marriage, but when he attempts to intervene on her behalf the results are brutally terrifying for the present.Echoing the great fantastic stories of H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, The House on the Strand is a masterful yarn of history, romance, horror, and suspense that will grip the reader until the last surprising twist.

Amid the violent last days of the glittering Russian monarchy, a princess on the run finds her heart where she least expects it.

*1917, Petrograd.* Fleeing the murderous flames of the Russian Revolution, Princess Svetlana Dalsky hopes to find safety in Paris with her mother and sister. But the city is buckling under the weight of the Great War, and the Bolsheviks will not rest until they have erased every Russian aristocrat from memory. Svetlana and her family are forced into hiding in Paris’s underbelly, with little to their name but the jewels they sewed into their corsets before their terrifying escape.

Born the second son of a Scottish duke, the only title Wynn MacCallan cares for is that of surgeon. Putting his talents with a scalpel to good use in the hospitals in Paris, Wynn pushes the boundaries of medical science to give his patients the best care possible. After treating Svetlana for a minor injury, he is pulled into a world of decaying imperial glitter. Intrigued by this mysterious, cold, and beautiful woman, Wynn follows Svetlana to an underground Russian club where drink, dance, and questionable dealings collide on bubbles of vodka.

Out of money and options, Svetlana agrees to a marriage of convenience with the handsome and brilliant Wynn, who will protect her and pay off her family’s debts. It’s the right thing for a good man to do, but Wynn cannot help hoping the marriage will turn into one of true affection. When Wynn’s life takes an unexpected turn, so does Svetlana’s—and soon Paris becomes as dangerous as Petrograd. And as the Bolsheviks chase them to Scotland, Wynn and Svetlana begin to wonder if they will ever be able to outrun the love they are beginning to feel for one another.

“ *The Ice Swan* is a ray of light in the middle of a Europe that was sinking into darkness. Ciesielski’s talent for storytelling from the heart is a feast for the readers’ eyes.” —Mario Escobar, international bestselling author of *Remember Me* and *Children of the Stars*

* Adventurous World War I historical romance

* For fans of Kate Quinn, Beatriz Williams, and Aimie K. Runyan

* Full-length, stand-alone novel (approx. 120,000 words)

* Includes discussion questions for book clubs

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens has created some of romance's most unforgettable novels. Now she has created her most provocative love story -- and amazing hero -- to date. This is the book that dares to ask the question: Who is this man's ideal bride? Michael Anstruther-Wetherby is a rising member of Parliament -- a man destined for power. Aristocratic, elegant, and effortlessly charming, he is just arrogant enough to capture the interest of the ladies of the ton. And with his connections to the wealthy and influential Cynster family -- his sister is married to Devil Cynster, the Duke of St. Ives -- his future appears assured. Except that Michael lacks the single most important element of success: a wife. Political pressure sends him searching for his ideal bride, a gently bred, malleable young lady, preferably one with a political background. Michael discovers such a paragon but finds a formidable obstacle in his path -- the young lady's beautiful, strong-minded aunt -- Caroline Sutcliffe. One of London's foremost diplomatic hostesses, Caro has style and status but, having lived through an unhappy political marriage, wants nothing of the sort for her niece, who has already lost her heart to another. So Caro and the younger woman hatch a plot -- Caro will demonstrate why an inexperienced young lady is not the bride for Michael. She succeeds in convincing him that what he really needs is a lady of experience by his side. And the perfect candidate is right under his nose -- Caro herself. Then it is Michael's turn to be persuasive, a task that requires every ounce of his seductive charm as he tempts and tantalizes Caro, seeking to convince her that becoming his bride will bring her all her heart desires . . . and more. But then a series of mysterious, and dangerous, accidents befall Caro -- an assailant has stepped in with their own idea for Caro's future -- one that could involve murder. Before Caro can become Michael's ideal bride, they must race to uncover the unknown's identity before all hope of what they long for, and wish for, is destroyed.

When her brother dies and she becomes heir to her family's strategically valuable estate, Eleanore of Ashlin is ordered by King Stephen to marry one of his knights.

When Catherine de’ Medici was forced to marry Henry of Orleans, hers was not the only heart broken. Jeanne of Navarre once dreamed of marrying this same prince, but like Catherine her future must bend to the will of King Francis’s political needs. And so both Catherine and Jeanne’s lives are set on unwanted paths, destined to cross in affairs of state, love and faith, driving them to become deadly political rivals.Years later Jeanne is happily married to the dashing but politically inept Antoine de Bourbon, whilst the widowed Catherine continues to be loved by few and feared by many – including her children. But Catherine is now the powerful mother of kings, who will do anything to see her beloved second son, Henry, rule France. As civil war ravages the country and Jeanne fights for the Huguenot cause, Catherine advances along her unholy road, making enemies at every turn …

Pippa Ewell had left behind the dark and forbidding Greystone Manor -- also the memories of Conrad, the handsome stranger who had swept her breathlessly into his arms and heart. But Pippa returned to find the truth behind her sister's mysterious death. And suddenly the fairy-tale kindgom glittered with evil and danger...

November 1920. Russia may have endured the Revolution, but a brutal civil war still rages. As brothers are pitted against each other in battle, thousands of Russians flee as the threat draws ever closer. As distant relatives of the Romanovs, the Kirilov family is never far from suspicion, and closer to danger than most. When tragedy strikes, four-year-old Lydia Kirillova is separated from her family. The only key to her identity is the opulent jewel concealed in her petticoat.Struck by the child’s plight, the benevolent diplomat Sir Edward Stoneleigh brings her to England, where she grows up well-educated, wealthy, and surrounded by a loving family. Yet it is not enough. Unable to recall even her own birth date, Lydia yearns to know the truth about her heritage – the charming Nikolay Andropov offers her the perfect opportunity to do so. Invited to join him on a trip to Russia, Lydia jumps at the chance to discover more about the past she finds increasingly difficult to remember. But when reality sets in, is all as it seems? With the Second World War looming, Lydia’s situation becomes desperate. Will she ever find a place to finally think of as home?

ANNE BOLEYN'S CLAIM TO FAME is distinct from that of every other woman in English history. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry VIII enacted a massive schism in the Catholic Church, renouncing the authority of the Pope and setting himself as the head of the Church of England—a move that shifted religious boundaries permanently. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry risked international war and domestic turmoil by leaving his wife of twenty years, Katharine of Aragon, which set a precedent for divorce in the English court. It was for the love of Anne Boleyn that Henry struggled bitterly with his advisors for six long years to make their union legitimate. Yet Anne Boleyn paid the ultimate price for Henry's mighty love. Three years after she was married to the king, she was beheaded at his orders. In this extraordinary tale of political treachery and romantic obsession, bestselling author Jean Plaidy spins Anne's story as never before. Weaving together impeccable historical research and an intuitive grasp of Anne's voice, Plaidy conjures courtly life in all its brocaded finery, complete with feasts and balls, deceptions and betrayals, political backstabbing and religious fanaticism. This guide is designed to help direct your reading group's discussion of The Lady in the Tower.After a childhood spent soaking up the sophistication and romantic intrigue of the fashionable French court, Anne Boleyn returns to her native England, expecting life to calm down considerably. Before long, the dark-eyed, wild-haired beauty finds herself in the court of King Henry VIII with none other than England's monarch fixated on her. Willful, proud, and virtuous, Anne will not play mistress to any man— even a king—who is already married. And so the desperate pursuit begins. Henry is up against his most trusted advisors, his queen, her royal Spanish family, the pontiff in Rome, and an increasingly critical public, as he turns his court upside-down to find a way to possess what he truly desires. And when Anne finally gives in to Henry's onslaught, she finds herself in a deadly game at the intersection of power and desire, where no amount of love or devotion will guarantee her safety. In Anne's unforgetable voice, The Lady in the Tower explores her astonishing career from the confines of the tower where she ekes out her last days, pondering what she could have done differently, and how she might have escaped her world-renowned fate as the first—but not the last—of Henry's wives to be executed.