HRM Digital Premier

HRM 

Historical Romance Magazine 

Premier Issue 2019

Contents 

Summer 2019 Premier Issue 

A Stitch in Time: Bringing History to Life 

Through Fashion 77 

Features 

A Chat with Eloisa James 9 

Step Into the Pages of a Historical Romance 11 

by Kristine Hughes Patrone 

Holding Out for A Historical Hero 21 

by Virginia Heath 

Researching a Real Historical Figure 24 

by Rosemary Gemmell 

The Beauty of the Beast 29 

by Renee Bernard 

Columns 

Letters: A Warm Welcome From the Editor 6 

The Lost Houses: Abandoned Country 

Houses Across Scotland 32 

by Joanna Davidson Politano 

Tokens of Love 40 

by Laurie Benson 

Heyer's the Thing: Introducing Georgette Heyer 8 

by Jennifer Kloester 

Storybook Scotland 62 

by Laura Frantz 

Gossip Column: The Art of Good Gossip 14 

by Caroline Warfield 

A Trip Back Through Time in a Shaker Village 68 

by Ann H. Gabhart 

Falling in Love with Classics: Jane Austen 37 

by Susannah Fullerton 

Book Reviews 43 

From Scratch HR Cooking: A Regency Picnic 65 

by Deb Marlowe 

Eat Like a Viking 80 

by Gina Conkle 

Short Story 

The Bookworm and the Beast 83 

by Jude Knight 

3 

HRM

About us 

Founder/Publisher - Charlotte Brothers 

Editor-in-Chief - Renee Bernard 

Creative Director/Lead Designer - Majken Ruppert 

Contact us: 


historicalromancemagazine.com 

contact@historicalromancemagazine.com 


P.O. Box 570 

Parchment, MI 49004 

All rights reserved. 

Do not reproduce without written permission from 

publisher or contributor. 

4 


forgotten fun. 

Welcome to the HRM family! Thank you so much for your support and for sharing our elegant obsession! 

Letters 

Renee Bernard 

HRM Editor-in-Chief 

Dear Reader, 

Greetings and welcome! 

Welcome to the Premier Issue of Historical Romance Magazine! 

Thank you dear Renee Bernard (our Editor-in-Chief), and Gina Conkle who introduced us, and to each of our 

family members and friends that said, “You know, it just might work!” 

Charlotte Brothers is a pen name made of my grandmothers’ names. In addition to reading and writing, I’m a 

wife, mother, artist & fair-trade advocate. I often feel overwhelmed by all there is to do to make the world a better place. 

Books, art, and the garden are where I seek solace. 

As an avid reader and writer of the genre, the motivation behind starting this magazine is my belief that our 

community will benefit (and have a lot of fun) by grouping together. Readers will enjoy beautiful articles and columns 

by authors new and known to us, and writers and other creatives that serve HR fans are more easily seen when we gather 

in one place. I admit I suffer from a bit of social media fatigue as well, and long for content that allows for discovery, yet 

doesn’t move so fast. 

Sincerely, 

Do you feel the same way? 

Charlotte 

HRM Founder 

‘Historical Romance Magazine’ is a simple labor of love and the dream child of the wonderful Charlotte Brothers. I was 

lucky enough to be asked to be a part of her vision—and as a person in love with all things involving historical romance 

and history—there was only one answer: yes! HRM celebrates the books we love, the authors who write those books, the 

history that inspires those stories and all the nostalgically edged pretties that we can’t get enough of… 

It’s an elegant obsession and one I am thrilled to share with so many historical romance fans, Victoriana enthusiasts, 

costumers, reenactors, afternoon tea fanatics and you! Our goal is to have a little something for everyone in these 

beautiful pages and to create a magazine that you will be proud to receive and to keep. 

We invite you to make Historical Romance Magazine your refuge from the stress of our modern world, a place to 

discover new historical romance writers and novels to add to your library, and a source for wonderful historical facts and 

6 


On this first “pilot” issue of HRM. 

It’s been very exciting (and more than a little daunting) to begin a project like this magazine. There are many 

working parts behind the scenes. 

So many things went well, but there are few areas that were/are a struggle, and I felt like I just want to be honest about 

what they are so you know where we hope to improve. 

The Reviews. 

The review process was really hard. It’s a job in and of itself to keep in touch with so many individuals and help 

them give and receive books and remind readers to turn in reviews. We were unable to get the full number of requested 

reviews for this issue, and that was disappointing. This is a major part of what HRM wants to offer you, so we plan to 

change our process and add a Review Coordinator before Issue 01. 

The Blurbs. 

We want to offer blurb space in our next issue. The Shop Advertising of HRM will only sell spaces as the room is 

available, so if you are able to secure a spot online and get us the required information, you will be included in the next 

issue. 

The Social Media. 

Looking ahead, we would like to use HRM’s Facebook Page, Pinterest and Twitter Profile to help share book info 

and reviews as well as original HRM content. We are willing to share appropriate content from our authors and advertisers 

if you email us or tag us on a platform. We cannot promise we will re-post, but if we can, we will. 

The Blog. 

What blog? We don’t have one yet. Looking ahead, we’d like to get one started with guest bloggers. If you’d like to 

write to us and make suggestions or submit a post, please feel free and welcome. 

We hope you enjoy what you see today, and thank you for being among the first enthusiasts to check out HRM. 

Charlotte 

HRM Founder 

Enjoy! 

7 


Heyer's the Thing 

Introducing Georgette Heyer 

I recently received an email from a Georgette Heyer 

reader. She wrote to tell me that she and her daughter 

both loved Heyer and that they had a sort of code for 

when things were tough. A bad week was a “three- 

Heyer” week – a week where reading three Heyer novels 

was the perfect panacea for whatever challenges life had 

thrown at them. I loved this idea and it reminded me of 

why I love reading – and re-reading – Georgette Heyer. 

There aren’t many writers whose works live on 

8 


after their death, but Georgette Heyer is one 

of them. She wrote across several different genres but 

her forte was historical fiction. Today, Georgette Heyer 

is credited with having created the ‘Regency’ genre and 

twenty-six of her delicious novels are set in that colorful, 

compelling period when men (like Mr Darcy) wore 

wonderful clothes and drove elegant carriages, women 

were raised with marriage as their primary goal and 

were ‘on the shelf ’ at twenty, and manners and etiquette 

were of vital 

importance to the upper class. 

Born in 1902, the young Heyer had the benefit 

of her father’s Classical education and love of books. She 

was brought up on a rich diet of Shakespeare, Austen, 

Dickens, Kipling and several centuries of great poetry. 

She was a voracious reader and began making up her 

own stories in early childhood. When she was seventeen 

she wrote her first novel, The Black Moth. It was published 

in 1921, one month after her nineteenth birthday. 

Nearly one hundred years later, The Black Moth, along 

with fifty of Heyer’s other novels, is still in print. An 

enduring bestseller, she has sold in excess of thirty million 

books and is now being read by a fifth generation of 

enthusiastic readers. 

There is something compelling about a writer 

who can transport her reader into another time and 

place; into a world so convincing that you cannot help 

but see it as though you were really there; and with 

characters who leap off the page as living, breathing 

people. Heyer’s settings feel real, her plots are ingenious 

and her dialogue sparkles. Even when her vocabulary is 

unfamiliar, such is the power of her pen that you still get 

the gist of it. In her Regency novels, in particular, there 

are so many new (although they are authentically old) 

and wonderful words to intrigue and delight her readers: 

words like ‘bosky’ and ‘cutpurse’, 

‘dudgeon’, ‘ames-ace’, ‘slibber-slabber’ and ‘faradiddle’. As 

well-known actor and author, Stephen Fry, has said, ‘It’s 

"It is Heyer’s characters who remain 

with the reader long after 

the last page is turned." 

her language I think that admirers of Georgette Heyer relish 

the most. It’s true there’s something quite extraordinary 

about it. It’s all authentic. The language is so alive, 

so comic.’ 

Georgette Heyer excelled at comedy – especially 

ironic comedy. She knew how to invert a scene, how 

to upend and explode reader expectations, and her lan- 

9 


guage has an almost theatrical timing. She picks up her 

readers and carries them along through her complex and 

deftly-woven plots all the way to her masterfully-written 

imbroglio endings. It is Heyer’s characters who remain 

with the reader long after the last page is turned. Though 

drawn mainly from the upper echelons of Regency 

society, her all-too human creations stride, mince, ride, 

waltz and fumble their way through her impeccablyresearched 

fictional world. 

Heyer could bring a character to life in a sentence 

and she delighted in creating individuals whose 

flaws and foibles reflected her keen eye for human 

nature. She depicted the pompous, the vulgar and the 

smug, humorously wielding her pen like a sword to cut 

them down to size. She brought to life naïve women and 

rakish men, clever women and stupid men, downtrodden 

and dependent women and their domineering lords 

and gave them believable stories of transformation and 

redemption. And she did it with a dry wit and a sense of

humour that still makes her readers laugh out loud. 

For those lucky enough to know her novels – 

and her Regency and Georgian novels, in particular 

– just the mention of a character’s name is enough to 

provoke a smile or a laugh. She had a genius for creating 

comic characters, among them Sir Bonamy Ripple, the 

indulgent gourmand in False Colours, Ferdy and Nemesis 

in Friday’s Child, Claude and his valet, Polyphant, 

in The Unknown Ajax, plain-speaking Mrs Floore in 

Bath Tangle, vacuous Augustus Fawnhope in The Grand 

Sophy, vulgar but well-meaning Jonathan Chawleigh in 

A Civil Contract, and Lufra, the Baluchistan hound in 

Frederica. They leap from the page as living, breathing 

people (and dog), take the reader by the hand and draw 

them, smiling, into their story. 

If you haven’t read her yet, you might begin 

with Arabella (young woman goes to London to find 

a husband) or The Grand Sophy (independent young 

woman turns her family’s life upside down) or The Unknown 

Ajax (estranged heir meets his hostile relatives) 

or Sylvester (proud Duke is refused by unconventional 

female). Or you might try perennial favourites, Venetia, 

Frederica, These Old Shades, Devil’s Cub or Friday’s 

Child. If you enjoy Heyer’s novels, then like so many 

millions of other readers, you may find yourself inexorably 

drawn 

into her Georgian and Regency worlds. Once there, you 

can revel in her meticulous period 

detail, so deftly woven into her clever plots, and enjoy 

meeting her aristocrats, rakes and 

ingénues, riding beside them in Hyde Park or joining 

them at a ball or dancing with them at 

Almacks. Whichever book you choose, there will be 

clothes and carriages, drinking and 

gambling, romance and delightful conversation with lots 

of intriguing new words. For those 

who have yet to taste the delicious fruits of Georgette 

Heyer’s pen, there is much to look 

forward to. 

Jennifer Kloester 

Jenniferkloester.com 

Jennifer Kloester is a novelist and 

Georgette Heyer's authorised biographer. 

Her latest novel, Jane Austen's Ghost is a 

paranormal contemporary romance with 

a Regency twist. It will be available in 

November 2019. 

Step Into the Pages of a Historical 

Romance 

By Kristine Hughes Patrone 

A good historical romance has the power to transport 

us to an array of period settings, many of which are 

located in Great Britain. Castles, stately homes, a vicarage, 

manor house, coaching inns and London streets are 

all deftly brought to life by the pens of the best historical 

romance authors. No doubt avid readers will feel as 

though they’ve actually been to these places, seen only 

in their mind’s eye. 

The best thing about these historic places is that 

many of them still exist. Almack’s Assembly Rooms in 

King Street and Vauxhall Gardens are, sadly, now gone, 

but many of the great houses and London landmarks 

can be visited today. I’ve been fortunate enough to tour 

many of the sites that provided inspiration to romance 

authors in the company of those authors, most recently 

with Loretta Chase, Victoria Hinshaw, Diane Gaston, 

Grace Burrowes, Louisa Cornell, Victoria Vane, Elizabeth 

Essex and Susana Ellis. It’s a joy to see an author’s 

eyes light up as she declares she’s just gotten a plot idea 

for her next romance. And to read the finished novel. 

Whether you love a good romance or prefer a 

period drama, you’ll no doubt recognize Chatsworth 

House (photo), home to the Dukes of Devonshire and 

inspiration for the stately home of many a Regency Rake. 

Chatsworth also appeared on film in The Duchess and 

the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice. If your romance 

10 


11 


"Chatsworth House" Photo Credit: Chatsworth.org

is set in the medieval period, you can do no better than 

Haddon Hall (photo), approached via a picturesque 

stone bridge. With its turrets, crenellations and mullioned 

windows, you can just see our hero, mounted 

upon his white charger while defending his castle and 

fair maiden. In fact, Haddon Hall doubled as Prince 

Haddon Hall 

to see Queen Victoria’s Waiting Room. Few people know 

it exists, but you can see the preserved rooms where 

Queen Victoria was shown before boarding her private 

train car. And if you walk over the bridge into Eton, 

you’ll see the school that has graduated many a Regency 

hero. 

Lacock Village (photo) in Wiltshire is a perfectly 

preserved, unspoiled village now owned by the National 

Trust. Whether you prefer Austen inspired fiction or 

a cozy mystery, you’ll feel transported to another time 

when you walk the streets and visit the shops, houses 

and pubs. Cranford and Downton Abbey are just two of 

the many productions that have filmed here. Stop into 

the Red Lion Pub and ask the barmaid to tell you about 

the time she handed a beer out of the window to a nice 

young man in period dress. Little did she know that 

Pride and Prejudice would rocket Colin Firth to fame 

and he would soon become a household name. 

For period atmosphere on a larger scale, head 

to Brighton and discover why writers from Barbara 

Windsor 

Cartland and Marion Chesney to today’s favourite authors have chosen 

Brighton as the backdrop to romance. The jewel in the crown remains 

George IV’s Chinese-inspired Royal Pavilion (photo), although the 

houses of Mrs. Fitzherbert and Lady Conyngham can still be seen. 

Stroll the seaside esplanade and stop in to the Castle Hotel, where the 

cellars were used by smugglers and the Regency Assembly Rooms were 

opened by George IV. It’s not hard to imagine members of the ton dancing 

beneath candlelit chandeliers and ladies swirling round the room on 

the arm of a dashing naval captain. Just steps away, the three hundred 

year old Lanes, a warren of closely packed streets, now houses shops 

selling everything from antique jewelry to cutting edge fashion. 

Whether you prefer books set in the Georgian era, Victorian 

mysteries or sweeping sagas set against the backdrop of World War II, 

London is the place to soak up period atmosphere. From the Tower of 

London to Buckingham Palace, landmarks abound in the capital, but if 

you know where to look, you can still see the historic streets and places 

we often read about, tucked away from the bustling crowds. There’s a 

Blue Plaque on Beau Brummel’s house in Chesterfield Street (photo) 

and in St. James’s Street, that bastion of gentlemen’s clubs and aristocratic 

shops, you can still stroll by Brooks’s Club, Lock’s Hatters and Berry 

Brothers, where 19th century dandies regularly weighed themselves on 

the coffee scales that still stand in pride of place today within the showroom. 

Stepping into the 

pages of a historical romance 

can be done. All it takes is 

a bit of imagination and 

a whole lot of heart. Who 

knows? You may even stumble 

upon your own romance. 

Humperdink’s castle in the Princess Bride. 

But if it’s a real castle you’re after, head to Windsor, 

where you’ll find the royal castle that has stood 

for almost a thousand years. No matter which historic 

period you identify with most, Windsor Castle (photo) 

fits the bill. From Henry III to Prince Harry, Windsor is 

awash with history and the surrounding streets haven’t 

changed much, either. The shop signs may reflect the 

21st century, but the buildings themselves, set in cobbled 

streets, display a wealth of Georgian and Regency architecture. 

If you’ve been watching Victoria on PBS Masterpiece 

or enjoy Victorian era romance, stop in to All Bar 

One, a restaurant at the Windsor train station, and ask 

12 


If you’re tempted to take a 

step back in time and visit 

the very best of England’s 

stately homes or the Regency 

world of George IV , please 

visit Number One London 

Tours to find itineraries 

and dates for all upcoming 

Tours. You’ll find Kristine’s 

blog here and be sure to visit 

Number One London Tours 

on Pinterest. 

13 


Pictured Above: Lacock Village 

Pictured Left: George IV’s Royal Pavillion 

Pictured Right: Brummel's House 

(Photo Credit: English Heritage)

The Art of Good Gossip 

By Caroline Warfield 

The Gossip Column 

14 


Can we talk? 

Before I say another word you’re probably 

already leaning in hoping to hear some juicy gossip, 

right? Our mothers told us not to do it, the nuns called it 

sinful, and our more high-minded friends pretended to 

ignore it. I had one friend who used to say: 

Great minds talk about ideas. 

Mediocre minds talk about things. 

Small minds talk about people. 

Maybe, but what happens when we get together? 

We talk about our mutual friends. We all love it. Go 

ahead; you can admit it. 

The word gossip was once used to describe a 

female busy body, or as the Bard described one, “a longtongued 

babbling gossip.” (Gee, Will, tell us what you 

really think!!) It was derived from the old English word 

god-sibling, or intimate friend—BFF in other words, the 

one we share everything with. 

The behavior, passing along tidbits about people 

inside and outside one’s close circle, goes back much 

farther. Parts of the Iliad and Odyssey read like tittletattle. 

In fact, scientists believe gossip evolved from other 

forms of primate bonding behavior and may have played 

a vital role in the development of language. We just can’t 

help ourselves. 

Shakespeare used gossip as a verb once or twice, 

but the word didn’t come into common use as a verb until 

the 19th century, probably because so much of it went 

on then. History and politics ran on it. Society ran on it, 

and we all know historical romance runs on it. 

If you strip gossip and concern about the opinions 

of others out of Jane Austen’s work, there would 

be little left. Social hierarchy depends on managing the 

opinions of others. In Jane’s world gossip could push folk 

15 


up the ladder and push them down even faster. The same 

could be said for most of Georgette Heyer’s stories. The 

fundamental plot device of a young woman’s ruination 

depends on gossip! Nothing drives external conflict faster 

than fear of scandal, gossip’s ugly stepsister. 

Try this on Amazon: choose the Kindle store and 

search “scandal.” Then on the left choose Regency Historical 

Romance as the filter. I got 71 pages of 15 titles, or 

roughly 1000 books with “scandal” in the title or series 

name. Those are just the ones that put it in the title! 

When I asked a group of authors for books in 

which gossip was a major factor, Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton 

novels floated to the top. Sure enough! If you repeat the 

Amazon search using “gossip,” those books dominate. 

Who doesn’t love them? Rumor has it they are coming to 

Netflix, gossip and all. 

But did the Regency and Victorian eras really 

relish gossip? Oh, yes, they did. It has been estimated that 

by the early nineteenth century there were 52 London 

papers and over 100 elsewhere in the country. Another 

source puts the numbers for London and a measly 14 for 

London in 1816, still a staggering number compared to 

today. The difference, I suspect, is caused by the speed 

with which they went in and out of publication. Some 

dealt with domestic matters, some with sporting news, 

some with politics. Some made a pretense of serious 

news. All of them dished dirt when they had it. 

News sheets dedicated to gossip had their roots 

in the previous century. When Richard Steele’s The Tatler 

began operations in 1709, it had as its stated purpose 

to report gossip from the coffee houses of London and, 

indeed, claimed to have reporters in each of them. Tantalizingly, 

it was followed three weeks later by The Female 

Tatler, which featured even more biting satire which 

purported to be edited by a Mrs. Crackenthorpe. Actual 

authorship is disputed, but believed to be a woman or

government got them in trouble—not sex, divorce, or reports of dalli- 

If you want to know more, I recommend 

ances. 

Scandal: A Scurrilous History of Gossip by 

Gossip rags never really went away, as anyone who scans the 

Roger Wilkes (Atlantic Books, 2002) 

headlines while waiting to check out in a grocery story can testify. The 

advent of Hollywood brought a new generation of gossip mongers 

Or try these: 

early in the 20th century. The likes of Perez Hilton, TMZ, Extra, and 

a dozen other cable news outlets now augment the print gossips. The 

Bluestocking Belles, The Teatime Tattler, 

focus is no longer on the aristocracy but on celebrities, the rich and 

https://bluestockingbelles.net/category/ 

famous. Ironically, fascination with the royals is still their bread and 

teatime-tattler/ 

butter. 

When the Bluestocking Belles, of which I’m a member, set out 

Bolen, Cheryl, “The Proliferation of News- 

to start a blog we were convinced that the world had enough Regency 

papers in Regency England,” The Beau 

trivia and tips on writing. We wanted something really interest- 

Monde, March 22, 2012, https://thebeau- 

ing: gossip! And so began The Teatime Tattler, a Regency gossip rag. 

monde.com/the-proliferation-of- 

While the scandal sheet and its editor Mr. S. Clemens (great uncle of a 

newspapers-in-regency-england/ 

noted scribbler across the pond) remain firmly set in Regency London, 

gossip, on-dits, tattle, and outright scandal make their way by 

Graham, Elyse, “Gossip: a quick linguistic 

mysterious alchemy into our pages from all sorts of historical eras and 

history,” on the Oxford Dictionaries blog, 

settings from our weekly guest authors. 

November 8, 2016. https://blog.oxforddic- 

We’ve had a jolly good time publishing purloined correspon- 

tionaries.com/2016/11/08/gossip/ Accessed 

dence, dispatches from distant places, titillating interviews, letters 

June 3, 2019 

to the editor, whispers from indiscrete servants, leaks from outraged 

aunties, editorial asides, and stolen diaries and memoirs. The subjects 

Hogenboom, Melissa, “What Gave Rise to 

of all this scandal are invariably the heroes and heroines of novels be- 

Gossip?,” on BBC: Earth, February 15, 2015. 

ing happily promoted by the authors of the posts. Nothing sells books 

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150227- 

better than a bit of fun. 

where-did-gossiping-come-from Accessed 

If you want to learn how to write it, we’ll be giving a class for 

June 3, 2019 

would-be gossip columnists at the Historical Romance Retreat in Sep- 

women. 

Both publications ceased two years later, but 

the pattern had been established. The Morning Post 

and Gazetteer began in 1772 and continued publication 

throughout the Regency and early Victorian periods. 

While its politics switched at one point from Whig to 

Tory, it always filled its “Fashionable World” column 

with scandal in abundance, some of it even true. It 

tended to be deferential to royalty, with no scurrilous 

attacks or vicious tittle-tattle involving the crown. 

John Bull, in contrast, published titillation and 

unrelentingly attacking Queen Charlotte and her ladies 

in waiting. 

He wasn’t alone. Other gossip centered publications 

Satirist and Palladium followed. And then more 

while the names became more apt: Paul Pry, The Crim 

Con Gazette, The Bon-Ton Gazette… It could have been 

worse. Charles Westmacott founded The Age five years 

after John Bull. Known for accepting money to suppress 

stories, he has been called "the principal blackmailing 

editor of his day” and a “virulent scribbler” due to his 

acid prose. 

tember. 

All due respect to the friend I quoted at the start, nothing 

fascinates me more than people with all their complexity and foibles, 

their conflicts and habits, and yes, their delicious secrets and lies. 

It’s why I write romance! Gossip can be malicious; but good gossip 

always delights. As Oscar Wilde wrote, “Gossip is charming! History is 

merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.” (Lady 

Windermere’s Fan) So gossip I will! 

“Issuing Her Own: The Female Tatler,” student 

project, University of Michigan, http:// 

www.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/ 

female_tatler/ 

McLeod, Leslie Ann, “Charles Molloy 

Westmacott - virulent scribbler," The 

Regency Blog of Lesley-Anne McLeod, April 

1, 2011. https://lesleyannemcleod.blogspot. 

com/2011/04/charles-molloy-westmacottvirulent.html 

abuse aimed at the high and mighty with abandon. 

Editors weren’t immune to being sued for libel. 

Founded in 1820 by Thomas Hook, it is best known 

The Hunt brothers, editors of The Examiner, a more or 

for siding with George IV (the man previously known 

less serious newspaper, went to jail even though what 

as Prinny) in his marital battles and for viciously and 

16 

they published was true. Heavy-handed attacks on the 

17 



Caroline Warfield 

Award winning author of historical romance usually set in the Regency 

and Victorian eras, Caroline Warfield reckons she is on at least 

her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows 

where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and 

the far-flung corners of the world. She nudges them to explore the 

riskiest territory of all, the human heart. 

Children of Empire Series, Books 1-2, Soul Mate Publishing 2016-17 

The Unexpected Wife, Book3, July 2018, Soul Mate Publishing 

Holiday in Bath, Mirror Press 2017 

Lady Charlotte's Christmas Vigil, October 2017 

Never Too Late, The Bluestocking Belles, November 2017 

www.carolinewarfield.com 

18 


A few months ago 

I realized with pure stupefaction that my 

most recent novel, Say No to the Duke, is my 

30th novel! How could that possibly be true? 

Back in 1999, I wrote my first novel, Potent 

Pleasures, in order to pay off my student 

loans, because my husband Alessandro felt 

we had too much debt to have a second child. 

I had such a limited plan! I just wanted to 

write one book, be paid for it, and have a 

baby. 

A chat 

with 

award 

winning 

author, 

Eloisa 

James 

Never mind the fact that all my 

friends told me it couldn’t be done. How 

could I write a romance? I’d never taken a single creative writing 

class. My parents didn’t even let us watch TV as children; my 

knowledge of pop culture was near zero. I was an assistant professor 

teaching Shakespeare, and my husband and I had no extra 

money. I certainly couldn’t join the Romance Writers of America 

and ask for advice, or take a writing class either, for that matter. 

But I was determined. Sometimes I think that is the defining 

characteristic of my personality. (My husband might call me 

‘stubborn’ instead!) I bought some romances at a used book store, 

and I taught myself how to write a novel by studying them as if they 

were Shakespeare plays. Then I sent my novel to agents…and six 

months later I had a contract that was for slightly more money than 

my student loans. 

Need I say it? I got pregnant! Anna is about to start her 

sophomore year of college. 

That first contract wasn’t just for one novel, though: it was 

for three. By the end of that contract, I had become a writer. I loved 

creating worlds, meeting readers, seeing my books on shelves. I 

joined the RWA. I started taking workshops in writing. I wanted 

to write the best romances I possibly could. I wanted to hit the 

New York Times bestseller list. My head was full of new ideas for 

romances. I was hooked! 

Readers are always asking me how I do it. How does one 

write 30 novels, raise a family, and have a career as a Shakespeare 

professor? The answer is determination. I don’t like hearing that 

something is impossible. In grade school I told my best friend 

Shannon that I was going to go to Harvard someday, as my father 

had done. I’ve never forgotten her pitying look the following day 

when she informed me that her family’s encyclopedia said that 

Harvard was for men only. Trained by a feminist mother, I rallied 

quickly and declared I was going, no matter what. 

Luckily, her encyclopedia was out of date. But the lesson 

I learned still applies. How many times have people told you that 

you’ll never be able to do that? When I was a junior professor, the 

chair of my English Department begged me never to let anyone 

know that I was writing romances. “You’ll never get tenure,” he 

predicted. 

Here’s what I’d like to share with you, from the viewpoint 

of 30 novels (and 31 comes out next spring!): Don’t listen to anyone 

who says he or she knows you can’t do whatever it is you want to 

do. You can find a way. 

The chair of my English Department, all those years ago, 

was certain that my academic career would be over if people found 

19 


out about my second career. “Your colleagues will never respect 

you,” he told me. I’m still in the same English department, 

all these years later. 

Guess who’s the Chair of English now? 

Don’t listen to people who try to cut you down to size because 

of your gender, your abilities, your training…whatever. 

I have faith in you! 

Eloisa James is a New York Times 

bestselling author and one of the most celebrated 

historical romance novelists of our time. CBS Sunday 

Morning called her, “a reigning queen of romance.” 

Some of her most popular works include When 

Beauty Tamed the Beast, Three Weeks with Lady X, 

and Too Wilde to Wed. James uses her background as 

a Shakespearian scholar as well as personal life experiences 

to help build colorful narratives in her novels. 

Fans of historical romance consider her books, which 

have sold millions of copies around the world, to be 

among the most enthralling and entertaining examples 

of the genre. 

Holding Out for a Historical Hero 

By Virginia Heath 

Eloisa James graduated from Harvard University and 

went on to receive a M.Phil. from Oxford University 

and a Ph.D. from Yale. James is a professor of English 

literature and resides in New York City with her 

husband and two children. They regularly spend their 

summers in Italy, where her husband Alessandro 

was raised. Along with her extensive work in historical 

romance, James has published a memoir entitled 

Paris in Love, about the year she and her family 

spent living in Paris. 

Eloisa James’ upcoming novel Say No to the Duke, 

the fourth book in The Wildes of Lindow Castle 

series, is set to release on June 25, 2019. The book is 

available for preorder on her website, which features 

an excerpt from the first chapter. Visit EloisaJames. 

com for more information about the author, bonus 

content for fans, and to join her Five Fabulous Things 

newsletter. 

I know I’m preaching to the choir here at Historical 

Romance Magazine, because every reader is completely 

in love with this genre. We love the exciting plots and the 

settings. We love being transported not only to a different 

place, but a different time. We love the heroines who 

are like us and the heroines we wish we could be more 

like. But most of all, we love the heroes. There is just 

something about a historical hero which sets him apart 

from modern men. They are intriguing, sexy and, let’s 

face it--whether wielding a broadsword or commanding 

a Viking longboat, wearing tight buckskin breeches or a 

wild highlander’s kilt--they are all basically catnip to their 

millions of dedicated readers. 

So what is it about the historical hero that has us 

all coming back time and time again for more? For the 

sake of you, dear reader, and every reader of our fabulous 

genre out there, I have decided to take one for the team 

and get down and dirty into some in-depth analysis. 

Is it all about the boots? The enduring appeal of 

a pair of well-turned calves in tight leather seems to be 

a draw for sure. They certainly do wonders for a gentleman’s 

legs, and I would argue that goes for whichever 

man happens to be wearing them. However, it isn’t just 

the boots which have us swooning, but the whole sartorial 

ensemble they come wrapped in. Breeches and braies, 

tailcoats and tunics, chainmail and tartan, stetsons and 

chaps, greatcoats and cloaks all apparently serve to make 

the hero of yore significantly more attractive than their 

modern counterparts. I have yet to meet a historical 

romance fan who doesn’t sigh at the sight of a soft, baggy, 

undone and untucked linen shirt, especially if the said 

shirt is damp and clinging to the skin of the wearer as he 

emerges from the lake at Pemberley, hair wet, bronzed 

skin glistening with droplets of cool, clear water… (Excuse 

me while I reach for my smelling salts and lie limply 

on my chaise lounge for a moment) 

But the historical hero’s clothes are a “nice to 

have” and not a “need to have” (if you’ll pardon the 

intentional double entendre) and certainly they come 

fairly low on the list of things we love most about them. 

Clearly, if book sales are anything to go by, we also have a 

big thing for titles. Dukes outsell any other aristocrat by 

far in the historical romance charts. But lairds and earls 

are also very popular, we can give or take a marquess and, 

bizarrely, princes not so much. Unless they are foreign 

princes in which case all bets are off. The foreign prince 

is exotic and enchanting, and if he needs a princess who 

are we to argue? 

Although a British prince isn’t anyone’s cup of 

tea in a historical romance. I suppose this comes from 

20 


21 


us in our fantasies because 

women are rescu- 

ers at heart. And of course, it helps we can see inside the 

hero’s head pretty much from page one and have already 

worked out exactly what he needs by chapter two. But 

historical heroes are always so deliciously stubborn and 

determined to suffer that it thankfully takes them many, 

many, many chapters of anguish, calamity and fighting 

against the inevitable to finally see the light and we love 

to watch that epic journey unfold. 

All that being said, I believe that the real reason 

we love them to distraction is actually very simple. 

The historical hero, no matter who he is, is always a 

true gentleman at heart. He is unfailingly loyal and will 

protect those he loves until his dying breath. He is kind. 

Respectful. Always the epitome of chivalrous. Unlike 

the typical misogynists which pepper the real history 

books, the heroes in our books know exactly how to 

treat a woman. By that I don’t mean they open doors for 

the ladies, although they do and gladly, but they take the 

time to get to know her and talk to her without expecting 

more. Seductions are slow and the stakes are higher, 

which means all the glorious chemistry and turbulent 

romantic emotion has considerably longer to simmer. 

Obviously, this is all down to the social conventions of 

the time as well, so the simple touch of two gloveless 

hands is as meaningful and as visceral as any night of 

passion in a 21st century novel. Perhaps more so because 

it matters. 

knowing enough about the real history of a time period 

to realise that most English princes were vain, spoiled, 

often cruel and in most cases not at all good hero material 

at all. Look at Prinny as a classic example. The Regent 

was hedonistic, vain and so portly that rumour has it he 

needed to be winched on his horse (on the days when 

his gout wasn’t flaring up). Perhaps it was simply the 

fashion for royal inbreeding which puts us off a princely 

hero from Blighty? Either way, I haven’t read a historical 

romance where the hero was an English prince in forever. 

In fact, I can’t think of a single one. However, if my 

bookshelf is to be believed, a typical crush in a Regency 

ballroom was caused entirely by the profusion of eligible 

dukes from the era who were all desperately in want of a 

wife. Not that most of them would admit it, of course! 

Which brings me neatly onto the next reasons 

we love our historical heroes so much. As brave and loyal 

and tough as they all undoubtedly are, absolutely all of 

them ultimately need saving. It goes without saying that 

saving can only occur with the love of a good heroine! 

No matter which guise the beloved historical hero comes 

in, he comes fully loaded with emotional baggage. The 

tortured hero. The wounded hero. The loner. The mysterious 

stranger. The reclusive lord. The reluctant knight in 

shining armour. The enemy she loathes above all others. 

The rake who will always make the very best husband… 

just as soon as he has worked out why he is a rake in the 

first place, resolved all those deep-rooted and emotionally 

scarring issues from his childhood and emerged 

reborn thanks to the love of a good woman. 

It goes without saying the good woman is always 

22 


But those old-fashioned constraints mixed with the breath catching as he galloped away with you into the 

perfect historical hero create a palpable and exciting sexual sunset. Happily ever after. Together forever… 

tension which is often missing in contemporary books. When Or at least until the next dashing historical 

they finally give in to the passion which consumes them, hero comes along. Because hey- you’re only human and 

the sparks crackle off the page, because it means something. there are no hard and fast relationship rules with a book 

Something magical and special and eternally bonding. And boyfriend. He’ll simply be waiting for you until you need 

when the books is done you mourn its passing because, in him again, patiently like the gentleman he is in your 

these fraught modern days filled with stress, immediacy and Kindle library or on your keeper shelf, preserved for all 

materialism, that hero transported you somewhere wonderful 

and magical for a little while. He lifted you to sit with that while he is always in want of a wife, a true historical 

eternity. Because it is a truth, universally acknowledged, 

him atop his noble steed, and you escaped your bonds. Your hero also never gets old. 

Virginia Heath 

Author of scandalous Regency romantic comedies 

with a dash of intrigue. 

Visit her website at virginiaheathromance.com

own wit and observations. 

Researching 

a Real 

For The Highland Lass, I discovered that 

one of Robert Burns’ letters refers to the 

song, ‘The Highland Lassie, O’ written 

in the spring of 1786, which tells us how 

important Mary Campbell was to the 

poet: “This was a composition of mine in 

very early life, before I was known at all 

Historical 

Figure 

By Rosemary Gemmell 

in the world. My Highland lassie was a 

warm-hearted, charming young creature 

as ever blessed a man with generous 

love.” All grist to the mill of research. 

Archived Newspapers and Magazines 

And what about archived newspapers 

and magazines? Nowadays, many of 

them are available on microfilm at local 

libraries. When researching details for 

As readers of historical fiction, perhaps 

you’ve sometimes wondered how authors go 

about including real historical figures in their 

books? It’s not quite as easy as making everything 

up, but there are lots of ways we can 

find out about real people in the past and then 

fictionalise them through imagination! 

Since we all share an interest in history, perhaps 

you might enjoy discovering some of the 

secrets to bringing real people to life in fiction 

like I did with my Regency novel, Dangerous 

Deceit, which features Lord Byron, and my dual 

timeline novel, The Highland Lass, which features 

Robert Burns and Highland Mary (Mary 

Campbell). 

where we can find his account of the Great Plague and Great Fire 

of London. Since he was also a naval administrator and Member 

of Parliament during the 17th century, he has plenty to say about 

the Restoration period. We can even access the diaries online these 

days! If you’re more interested in Queen Victoria, her very interesting 

journals are also available online, and you might be surprised to 

the historical chapters of The Highland 

Lass, I visited the old Watt Library in 

Greenock, the town where much of the 

story is set. I had access to copies of 

the original Greenock Advertiser, dating 

from 1802, and the later Greenock 

Telegraph. It was exciting to find several 

interesting facts reported at the time, 

which were then incorporated into the 

story. 

Museums 

Museums and preserved buildings offer 

another great approach. In addition to 

statues or busts of famous people, they often have extracts from letters, 

diaries or other personal artefacts. Robert Burns’ birthplace in Ayrshire 

contained many references to such a world-famous poet, and the villages 

where Burns and Mary Campbell met have hardly changed since 

the 18th century. 

One of the inns at Mauchline, Poosie Nancie’s, is exactly the same as it 

was in Burns’ day, with the small, wooden-beamed room where the poet 

and his friends used to drink and chat in the 18th century. For the modern 

part of the novel, which partly takes place in Dunoon, Argyllshire, 

the local Castle Museum contains a replica of Highland Mary’s child- 

Diaries 

find that she was not as strait-laced as everyone thinks. 

One of the most fascinating resources for 

historical research is diaries. Don’t we all enjoy 

reading such personal accounts from someone 

who lived at a particular period in history? 

It’s a great way to learn about their manner of 

speech and their daily observations. Many of us 

will have heard of The Diary of Samuel Pepys, 

Letters 

As with diaries, letters can tell us so much about another person 

when written by hand. Many have been preserved in collections that 

you can now buy in book form. Imagine finding the surviving letters 

from Jane Austen to her sister in the book, My Dear Casandra. 

Perfect for researching the Regency period, with its wonderful illustrations 

of the fashions and modes of transport, as well as Austen’s 

24 

25 



hood farmhouse, while a statue of the 

girl stands on a plinth overlooking 

the River Clyde. 

Graveyards 

Perhaps you enjoy wandering around 

old graveyards? Most of the tombstones 

are inscribed with dates and 

some offer further details. My inspiration 

for writing about 18th century 

Highland Mary began with a fascination 

for her since childhood, as she is 

buried in my hometown, Greenock 

on the river Clyde. 

Her grave stands in the large, ancient 

cemetery and contains references 

about her connection to Robert Burns, with a 

lovely engraving of the couple. A small remembrance 

garden has been added with a plaque 

containing further details. 

In Alloway in Ayrshire, the Auld Kirk where 

Robert Burns used to worship is now a ruin but 

the graveyard and tombstones remain, including 

those of Burns’ father and his close friend, Gavin 

Hamilton, who gets a mention in the novel. It 

was from the Hamilton gravestone I found the 

inscription: “The poor man’s friend in need, the 

gentleman in word and deed.” 

best research materials are books and journals that offer 

accurate information about a historical figure. Those 

written as close as possible to the period offer the most 

immediate details, although some might be corrected 

when more information comes to light. 

A good example is the earliest book I could find about 

Robert Burns, which was loaned to me by elderly 

friends. First published in 1800, only four years after the 

poet’s death, The Life of Robert Burns by James Currie 

is a wonderful source containing Burns’ poems and 

songs and many of his letters. Even more useful are the 

notes at the end of many of the poems which set them in 

context. This edition was published in 1838 and contains 

“additional particulars, many of which were never before 

made public.” 

Another excellent book is Regency People by Ian Grimble 

in which he has drawn together personal accounts 

of the Regency period through the eyes of well-known 

people at the time. From this, we can read some of Lord 

Byron’s and the Duke of Wellington’s observations about 

their society and people, plus Sir Walter Scott’s own account 

of Scotland at the time. 

Doesn’t it offer a more rounded picture of a famous 

person when we read about them through a contemporary’s 

eyes? As Robert Burns himself said in the poem 

‘To a Louse’: “O wad some Power the giftie gie us, to see 

oursels as ithers see us!” 

One final idea is finding out about local societies and 

clubs wherever you live, as they often provide a wealth 

of historical information. The Greenock Burns Club, regarded 

as the Mother Club, one of the first in the world, 

has lots of archive material about Robert Burns and 

Highland Mary. 

These days, we are fortunate in having unlimited access 

to the Internet for research, but there is nothing to beat 

visiting a location where the past is still visible or reading 

the personal diaries and letters of a historical figure. 

Then we can use our imagination to give 

them new life in books, as readers or 

writers! 

Photographs, Paintings and Postcards 

Other great sources are photographs and paintings, 

which can give an indication of a person’s 

appearance and physique. Old postcards are often 

collectors’ items and many offer scenes from the 

past in particular countries or villages. The most 

well-known painting of Robert Burns hangs in 

many of the places visited, as well as several depicting 

Highland Mary, all of which helped with 

descriptions in the novel. 

Secondary Sources 

Once the original sources are exhausted, the next 

26 


27 


Online Historical Sources 

• British Library Sounds – unique recordings from all over the world: http://sounds.bl.uk/ 

• Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians: - British Library resources: http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians 

• Pepys Diary: http://www.pepysdiary.com/ 

The Beauty 

of the Beast 


• Queen Victoria’s Journals: http://www.queenvictoriasjournals.org/info/about.do 

• The Domesday Book Online – English history in the 11the century: http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/index.html 

• The Transport Archive – British transport since the 18th century: http://www.transportarchive.org.uk/ 

• Visit Scotland Timeline: http://www.visitscotland.com/about/history/timeline/ 

Rosemary Gemmell 

is a published historical and contemporary novelist from bonnie Scotland. 

Her short stories, articles and poems have been published in UK magazines, 

in the USA, and online. She has a Masters in literature and history 

and is a member of the Society of Authors, the Romantic Novelists’ Association, 

and the Scottish Associations of Writers. She loves to dance! 

Website: https://www.rosemarygemmell.com/ 

28 


Some fairy tales are 

truly timeless. They resonate 

far more than others and linger to be reinvented 

and retold in endless variations. ‘Beauty and the 

Beast’ has always stood out for me as the ultimate 

romantic story and the template for almost all 

romance stories. It dovetails into the mythic trope 

of a woman’s love softening a man’s rougher edges 

and transforming him into the ideal hero. It lays 

out the premise that things are not always what 

they seem and that from misunderstandings bonds 

can be forged that can overcome any obstacle. 

Let’s be honest. ‘Beauty and the Beast’ has 

more to offer grown-up readers than many other 

tales with simpler plots or even unhappy endings. 

We’re more likely to be swept away by this story 

because of its developed relationship than having a 

heroine who passively slumbers her way to happiness 

(or dies while trying). 

Like other timeless stories, this one stands 

up to reinterpretation and endless revisions. It 

invites us to reimagine the tale as the Beast takes 

many forms and Beauty’s methods to tame him 

can be limitlessly innovative. The story can be 

sweet enough for young audiences or searing 

enough for adventurous adult eyes, but it is always 

recognizable. 

Perhaps there is another unspoken reason 

for its enduring status… Simply stated, when we read romance 

novels that echo this tale, we are inherently tuned in to the Beast’s 

perspective and not necessarily to Beauty’s dilemma. 

I don’t think many women immediately identify with 

Beauty. While we all want to be seen as beautiful, it’s rare to possess 

the confidence to instantly see ourselves in that role. So in 

order to make Belle more appealing, it is understood that she is 

also lovely on the inside. (Again, a familiar note in every romance 

novel because it more readily invites us to step into her shoes.) We 

identify with Beauty’s best inner qualities and not necessarily with 

29 


her gorgeous bone structure. She is smart and intuitive. 

We admire her stubborn sweetness that shifts her hero’s 

universe around. (In Disney’s version, she is also a book 

lover—immediately boosting her appeal as we bookworms 

adore one of our own kind!) 

We like her. 

We love him. 

Romance novels are the warmest and kindest 

of fantasies and an extension of fairy tale promises 

about becoming a princess in our own right. In ‘Beauty 

and the Beast’, it is our shaggy, gruff hero who offers 

another path to empowerment. 

He wins our hearts because we identify with 

someone who is imperfect and flawed, scarred and 

rejected—someone who is ‘other’ and longs to be loved 

becomes a nearly magical power that removes prejudice 

and simultaneously simplifies and complicates the 

dilemma of our Beast and Beauty. 

A long time ago, a friend once told me that for 

women, love is ultimately about character. They said that 

men fall in love with women they are attracted to but 

that women are attracted to the men they love. I argued 

at the time and thought it was a bit sexist but sometimes 

it’s a difficult generalization to ignore. I didn’t want to see 

men as shallow though I liked the idea of women being 

savvy enough to see beyond someone’s appearance. 

There might be some truth on both sides of my 

friend’s assertion. If women are hardwired from caveman 

days to seek a protector and provider, then handsome 

never wins if it comes with a villainous or weak 

character. We have to look beyond a brawny exterior 

HRM is looking for quality short 

stories, articles, art, photography, 

and book news. 

"Love is found when the Beast is seen for who he 

really is and not his terrifying mask." 

for who they are on the inside and not judged by an 

outer shell. Who hasn’t ached to be accepted or truly 

adored for their best qualities and not for the size and 

shape of their bodies? There’s more than a bit of unfairness 

in a world that measures a person by things that 

they can’t control, and here is the ultimate remedy. 

Love is found when the Beast is seen for who he 

really is and not his terrifying mask. 

Sigh. 

not seen at all… 

Love can also be found for the Beast when he is 

A common shortcut or variation in romances 

with this theme is blindness. When one of the fated 

couple cannot physically see the other’s shortcomings, 

doors are thrown open and whatever restrictions might 

be in place get altered quickly. (I should confess that I’m 

guilty of this device myself in one of my earliest forays 

into historical romance, ‘Blind Aphrodite’.) The disability 

to make sure our cave is safe and those we care for are 

protected. If personal confessions are allowed here, it is 

inherently moments when my own dear man is being 

an amazing father or unknowingly sweet and thoughtful 

that make my heart beat faster and not how big his 

muscles are when he’s working in the yard with his shirt 

off. 

We love the Beast because he deserves to be 

loved. (Don’t we all deserve to be loved?) 

So in our fairy tale, the Beast is loved warts and 

all—because isn’t that what love is all about? He lets us 

see ourselves from his vantage point—and we become 

Beauty. 

What else can I say? I love a great romance story. 


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Calendar and Submit Today! 

historicalromancemagazine.com/submission-guidelines 

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31 


I 

heard there were thousands 

of “lost houses” across 

Scotland’s rolling hills, abandoned relics 

with a vibrant yet eerie beauty, so my husband and I decided 

to spend our honeymoon finding them. What could be more 

romantic than walking through ancient love stories and tales 

of secret romance—especially for a writer? It never made 

sense to me why anyone would desert these stunning castles 

if he or she had the good fortune to possess one. Yet in the 

Victorian era, it seemed almost in vogue to leave one’s country 

estate windowless and roofless and continue on with life. 

With a blend of period research and discussions with locals, I 

put together an understanding of this movement. It answered 

some of my nagging questions… and sparked my storytelling 

imagination. I began writing novels that featured big old 

houses with an air of mystery, with my current one, Finding 

Lady Enderly, revolving around an abandoned monastic 

library within a castle. 

Why abandon? 

The industrial revolution brought a huge shift to the 

The Lost Houses: 

Abandoned 

country 

houses 

across 

Scotland 

By Joanna Davidson Politano, 

Author of Finding Lady Enderly 

country. Heavy taxes were levied on the peerage for 

the first time in centuries, and with the huge increase 

in urban industry, the working class fled rural lives 

of servitude for better opportunities in factories and 

plants. Finding servants to keep up a country manor 

became difficult and expensive. To us, the stately castles 

and gothic feats of architectural genius are romantic 

and compelling, but to wealthy Victorians they often 

became an impractical white elephant that drained resources. 

I was relieved to discover that many attempted 

to save these homes, though, especially if they were the 

ancestral family seat. Owners grew creative in trying to 

maintain their country estates, making drastic leaps— 

such as marriages of convenience. We met a woman 

on our trip whose ancestor made her living arranging 

matches between titled but impoverished Scottish aristocrats 

and American heiresses willing to take a chance 

on a stranger in a foreign castle. Most, she had been 

told, made a brave go of it and even settled amiably into 

family life. Others locked the adjoining door between 

their suites and lived their separate lives within the 

same rambling castle. 

One memorable story that her ancestors had 

told was of an older laird who was battle-scarred 

inside and out when he married a naive, plain woman 

from New York and accidentally fell in love. He called 

her daisy, because it was the very plain and open spirit 

scorned by New York’s smart set that managed to draw 

him out of his shell and into the light of day again. Despite 

an age difference of about twelve years, they were 

matched souls who loved each other deeply. Many of 

her land-owning clients, such as the battle-scarred 

heir, had inherited a debilitating debt along with the 

estate, while others ran the family fortunes into the 

ground themselves. It only took a single generation to 

ruin centuries of wise management. Either way, the 

only commodity these once-wealthy heirs had was a 

title and their hand in marriage, both of which were 

often offered to a wealthy heiress upon first meeting. 

Between her money and his nobility, they completed 

each other—at least on paper. Perhaps there was 

another reason. We 

asked local residents 

whenever we 

could about their 

understanding of 

why the castle near 

them had been 

abandoned, and 

often we heard, 

“because 

it’s haunted.” After 

the Jacobite uprisings 

and wars for 

independence, 

much blood was 

shed over the 

grounds of these 

castles, which had 

often been built as 

fortresses, especially 

along the coast. 

Most stories of 

haunting, though, 

were about jilted wives or young maidens who met an 

early death, love stories turned tragic or old family feuds. 

What happened to the roof and windows? 

That was my next question as we drove up to 

these crumbling homes that were all missing rooves and 

windows. Why did this seem to be part of the abandonment 

process? I asked around, and dug through some 

archives to find the answer. In fact, there are several 

possibilities. According to locals, these massive country 

homes were taxed as estates if they had a roof and 

windows. Without those, they were not considered a 

residence and the taxes were much less. Much of this 

seems to be urban legend, but a “window tax” did exist 

in this period, with a goal of fairly assessing levies based 

on a home’s value and size. Windows were a luxury, so 

the more one had, the more it was assumed one could 

pay in taxes. In reality, the owners likely sold all valuable 

materials before abandoning, including metal, slate from 

32 

33 



the roof, furnishings, and glass from the windows. What 

wasn’t sold was simply looted. 

Are they still worth seeing? 

This was my husband’s question as I showed him 

the map our two-week stint. We visited intact manor 

homes that were open to the public as well, but in the end 

we both enjoyed the stunning ruins most of all. Each had 

“treasure” to offer us. 

There was one delightfully creepy abandoned 

tower high up on a hill behind a castle where we stayed 

that revealed a real treasure. A couple hiking through 

the woods just a few years before us stumbled across this 

tower ruin and a dainty ring with a large diamond setting 

inside. They thought it must be fake, but when they 

investigated, it turned out to be a very old piece with an 

antique setting and valuable stones. The couple managed 

to return it to the descendants of the original owners—a 

wealthy heir from the nearby estate and the shepherd’s 

daughter he’d secretly married. That tower had been 

erected on his family property without his parents’ 

knowledge (most estates had thousands of acres, so it 

was not hard to hide things) and there they carried on 

their marriage whenever he could escape. That diamond 

ring had been missing since around the Regency era, but 

detailed drawings were able to authenticate the piece. 

We never encountered a diamond, but each abandoned 

castle we saw offered treasure troves of story fodder and 

depth of understanding for my research. In some you 

could climb high up in remaining towers and look down 

to see the entire blueprint for the castle, its layout still 

embedded in the ground like a map. You could see—as 

pictured—exactly how thick those walls were in 

the ancient castles because of their use as fortresses, and 

get a sense of how the house had been laid out and run. 

The erosion of walls and floors also offered a look at the 

most fascinating secret tunnels, escape routes, rudimentary 

plumbing systems, and—my favorite—the priest 

hole. During times of religious persecution throughout 

the centuries, men of the cloth were often secreted 

away in the very walls of these manor homes. 

These priest escape routes sometimes included 

elaborate tunnel systems, but often they were 

no more than a room built into the thick outer 

walls of a castle. In generations of religious peace, 

these priest holes and tunnels were often used as 

clandestine systems for lovers to meet. Quite often 

families would forget about the priest hole or 

the tunnel system until some adventurous youth 

discovered it and made it useful again. 

Overall, the greatest “treasure” that 

remains in these abandoned relics is the beauty 

they offer even in ruin. Because of some gray area 

in Scotland’s trespassing laws, called the “right to 

roam,” you’ll often find people wandering about 

the ruins and enjoying them still. It’s funny how 

quickly nature reclaims what man once thought 

he subdued, and nature’s brand of destruction 

34 


35 


Falling in Love with Classics ... 

Jane Austen 

By Susannah Fullerton 

is simply a return to beauty. The ruins are, in their own way, a spectacular blend of ancient epic love 

stories and the nature that now crowns them in their ruined glory. 

Joanna Davidson Politano is the awardwinning 

author of Lady Jayne Disappears and A Rumored 

Fortune. 

She freelances for a small nonfiction publisher but 

spends much of her time spinning tales that capture the 

colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives. She is always 

on the hunt for random acts of kindness, people willing 

to share their deepest secrets with a stranger, and hidden 

stashes of sweets. She lives with her husband and their 

two babies in a house in the woods near Lake Michigan 

and shares stories that move her at www.jdpstories.com. 

36 


Reading the novels of Jane Austen has totally 

changed my life! I’m not exaggerating when I say this – 

her books have delighted me, shaped my career, brought 

me most of my good friends, influenced my travels and 

even had an effect on my house decoration and what I 

wear. 

It all began when I was a twelve year old girl 

growing up in New Zealand. It was summer holidays 

and we were staying in the city of Christchurch, when 

suddenly my mother announced that she thought I might 

be ready for Jane Austen. She propped herself up with 

pillows, I lay across the bottom of the bed at her feet, 

and she began to read Pride and Prejudice. Little did I 

dream then how that famous opening sentence (“It is a 

truth universally acknowledged …”) would change my 

life. I was entranced by the story and each day begged 

my mum for more chapters. I was still too young to appreciate 

the irony of Austen’s style, and so got impatient 

at times when my mother paused in her reading to laugh 

out loud. But I fell for Elizabeth and Darcy, was desperate 

to know what would happen to them, and before 

long I was re-reading the book for myself. 

For many years I turned to Jane Austen simply 

for pleasure. I made my way through the other five novels, 

never got any to read at school, but did find myself 

challenged by Mansfield Park as part of my university 

course. When I went as a newlywed to live in London, 

one of the first things I did was to join the Jane Austen 

Society (UK) and attend the one meeting per year that 

they held in those days. 

37 


It was when I moved to Australia that my love 

of Jane Austen’s novels began to take me into a new 

sphere. I joined the Jane Austen Society of Australia 

and, within a few years, was made first secretary, then 

Vice President and finally President. I have not held 

that position, running the largest literary society in the 

country, for well over 20 years. I adore JASA and have 

learned so much from the talks and conferences, have 

made so many fabulous friends, and have been so enriched 

by my involvement with that wonderful literary 

society. It has also been marvellous to be able to attend 

some of the conference held by JASNA in the USA and 

Canada – they take place in October each year, always 

in a different city and I’ve made many lovely friends at 

those events. 

As President of JASA I began to give talks 

about Jane Austen’s world and fiction. When people

enjoyed a talk, they asked if there were other classic 

authors I could discuss, so one talk led to another and 

another. I now work as a lecturer giving a great range 

of talks on famous writers all over Australia. Those 

talks led to my literary tours and for the past 16 years 

it has been a joy to take groups of Australians and New 

Zealanders and a few Americans to the UK, France, 

Italy, Scandinavia and the USA, showing them the 

homes of writers, the graveyards where they rest, the 

landscapes which inspired them and the libraries which 

hold rare editions and manuscripts. Of course, knowing 

how much pleasure the works of Jane Austen have 

given me, makes me eager to share the pleasure around. 

Are you a Jane Austen virgin? Have you yet to find your 

life enriched by her books? Have you only seen the film 

versions and not read the actual novels, or have you perhaps 

not read any of them since you were made to read 

one or two at school? Can I encourage you to make Jane 

Austen a part of your life? 

If you have never read one of her books before, then the 

best place to start is Pride and Prejudice. With such an 

appealing heroine and hero, a “light, bright and sparkling” 

story to delight you, you will soon fall in love. 

My personal favourite is Emma which I rate the greatest 

novel ever written by anyone, but I think you should 

reserve that one until you have gained a slightly greater 

familiarity with her style. Try Sense and Sensibility 

or Northanger Abbey, and then give yourself the treat 

of Persuasion which always closely follows Pride and 

Prejudice in the popularity polls. Then you will be ready 

for the challenge of Emma and of that rich and complex 

novel Mansfield Park. But you can’t sit back even then, 

thinking you’ve read all of Jane Austen, for there is still 

much more to look forward to. I love her unfinished 

Sanditon (soon to appear as a movie, finished off by Andrew 

Davies, that veteran of TV adaptations) and also 

The Watsons. Lady Susan is wickedly fabulous with its 

naughty, unscrupulous heroine, and Jane Austen’s juvenilia, 

the stories she wrote as a teenager, show a youthful 

genius which has been likened to Mozart’s, and is 

huge fun to read. And when you’ve read all of that, you 

still have her letters (mostly written to her sister Cassandra) 

and can make a start on the many different biographies 

that are available. And then you can turn to the 

critical works which continue to appear at an amazing 

rate and which will teach you about the background to 

the novels, the subtleties of her style and will give you 

an even greater appreciation of her genius. I had such 

fun writing my own books about her – my book Jane 

Austen and Crime shows what hanging offences she 

included in her fiction and how such crimes as elopements, 

duels, poaching and gambling were regarded 

by her contemporaries and readers have told me that 

they’ve seen her world in a new way after reading it. 

And, finally, you can sit down and watch your 

way through all the film versions (with more to come 

in the next year – a new Emma, a new Clueless and the 

Sanditon I mentioned). And with all that behind you, it 

will be time to embark on a journey of re-reading all the 

novels, because Jane Austen is a novelist who simply 

demands to be re-read. It is only by going back to her 

again and again that you can begin to fully appreciate all 

she offers. 

So … my suggestion is that you make a cup of 

tea, curl up somewhere comfortable, and open a novel by 

Jane Austen. My suggestion must, however, come with 

a warning – Jane Austen is an addiction for which there 

is no known cure, and your life will never be the same 

again! 

Susannah Fullerton 

President of the Jane Austen Society of 

Australia, Literary Lecturer, Tour Leader and 

author of Jane Austen and Crime, A Dance 

with Jane Austen, Happily Ever After: Celebrating 

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Jane 

& I: A Tale of Austen Addiction. 

To subscribe to Susannah’s free monthly 

newsletter, ‘Notes from a Book Addict’, 

or to order any of her reading guides or 

books, visit https://susannahfullerton. 

com.au/newsletter/ 

38 


39 


From the Desk of an Antique Treasure Hunter 

Tokens of Love 

in the Georgian & 

Victorian Eras 

Most people think of a love token as a small 

gift or gesture that expresses affection for someone 

we care about. It might be a bouquet of flowers, a 

box of chocolates, a card, or even a piece of jewelry. 

And while this generic term is commonly used today, 

in actuality a Love Token is the proper name of 

a specific object that was part of the courtship ritual 

between some men and women during the 

Georgian and Victorian eras. 

A few years ago, I was browsing through one 

of my favorite antique shops and came across a 

collection of small silver discs displayed on a black 

velvet board in one of the glass cases. These shiny 

pieces were each stylishly engraved with a name, an 

initial, or a monogram. I adore old things that 

are monogramed, so they immediately caught my 

eye. The antique dealer told me they were called 

Love Tokens and were given as gifts hundreds of 

years ago as symbols of love and remembrance. 

While flipping a number of the tokens over in my 

hand, I noticed they were once British and 

American coins that dated from the eighteenth and 

nineteenth centuries with one side rubbed smooth 

to showcase an engraving. After purchasing a few 

of them, I became curious how the custom started 

and how exactly they were used. So, I decided to 

do some investigating, and I’d like to share what I 

learned with all of you. 

For centuries, people have carried specific 

coins with them to help bring good luck. I know 

someone who has been carrying a lucky coin with 

them since college. Unfortunately, it’s easy to confuse 

your lucky coin with any other coin in your 

pocket and accidentally spend it. Centuries ago in 

England, people found a way to prevent that from 

happening. They would bend their lucky coin twice 

with one side up and one side down. These coins 

were known as benders, and if you’ve ever heard the 

term a crooked sixpence, this is where it came from. 

During the late seventeenth century, some 

people stopped bending their lucky coins and began 

to engrave them, instead. Many of these coins had a 

simple linear design. But by the eighteenth century, 

people began to engrave regular coins, as well. 

These coins were used to commemorate special 

dates such as a birth, death, or marriage. By the latter 

half of that century, some men were having coins 

engraved with their names or initials and presenting 

them to the women they loved as tokens of their 

affection. These engraved coins became known as 

Love Tokens. 

To create one, you would take your coin to a 

jeweler or engraver and they would smooth out one 

or both sides of the coin. The coin would then be reengraved 

with the initials of the person giving the 

token, a name, an important date, a place, or an 

event. They were usually given as an expression of 

love and might also be used in a proposal of marriage. 

Keep in mind, coins were worth a lot more 

back then and destroying your currency for someone 

you loved was a way to show how much they 

meant to you. And the amount of the currency 

could hint at the condition of your finances. 

By the early nineteenth century, this custom 

spread from Great Britain to the United States and 

by the mid-nineteenth century, Love Tokens were 

also being given as gifts to family members and 

friends. Some have small holes near the top where 

the recipient could attach the token to a chain she 

could wear around her neck or around her wrist as 

a bracelet. At the beginning of the twentieth 

century, the United States Government outlawed 

the practice of engraving coins and the custom of 

exchanging Love Tokens went out of style in America. 

There are some heartbreaking traditions 

surrounding Love Tokens, as well. During this same 

time period, Britain was sending convicts to penial 

colonies in Australia. Around the time of their 

sentencing, some convicts made Love Tokens for 

their loved ones and friends as mementos. Today, 

there are approximately 314 convict Love Tokens 

housed in Australia’s National Museum that date 

from 1762 to 1856. Most of these tokens were purchased 

from Timothy Millett, a British dealer and 

collector. In this collection you will find tokens with 

the convict’s name and the date they were 

transported, along with the duration of their sentence. 

The tokens that I find particularly sad are the 

ones that have the classic engraving of “When you 

see this, remember me”. 

I discovered another touching use of Love 

Tokens while browsing through a collection that 

included some examples of them in The Foundling 

Museum in London. Beginning in the late eighteenth 

century, unwed mothers could leave their 

40 

41 



illegitimate infants with the Foundling Hospital if 

they were not able to care for them. The Hospital 

would change the child’s name and raise them in the 

orphanage with other children who came from similar 

circumstances. Since the children’s names 

were changed, one way a mother could identify their 

child if they were able to come back and claim 

them, was by leaving some type of identifying object 

with the baby. In a number of instances, the 

item that was left was a Love Token. 

So, if you’re like me and have a passion for 

antique hunting, you might want to add these little 

gems to your list of things to collect. You may even 

be lucky enough to find yourself coming across a 

Love Token with the name of someone you know. It 

happened to me recently when I found a Love Token 

in a museum that had the full name of my friend 

Elisabeth Hobbes on it along with the name of a 

man named John Lisk. Now, we are both wondering 

about this other woman named Elisabeth and what 

kind of life she led with this gentleman named John. 

Happy hunting, gang. Until next time. 

Laurie Benson 

BOOK 

REVIEWS 

Laurie Benson is an award-winning, internationally 

published author of Regency romances. 

Her latest book is Mrs. Sommersby's Second 

Chance. You can find out more about Laurie 

and her books by visiting http://www.lauriebenson.net. 

Book reviews include 

Teacup Ratings (How much they liked it) 

& 

Heat Level (How hot it gets) 

The scale is 1 -5 

42 


43 


Ancient & Medieval 

Book Reviews 

His Clandestine Bride 

(The Wild Rose Press, 2019) 

By Tora Williams 

Heat Level: 3 

Medieval England 

288 pages 

When sixteen-year old Isobel 

deBrockton pledged her heart to 

young Edmund Granville neither 

expected the vows to be quickly 

broken. Their love is destroyed 

when Isobel unexpectedly agrees 

to a more advantageous alignment 

than one with Edmund 

who is only a third son. Angry 

and resentful, Edmund goes to 

the Holy Land in service of his 

king. When Isobel discovers Edmund’s 

desertion, she is forced 

to accept Sir Roger deStanton as 

her husband ensuring that the 

child she carries in secret will 

be born a legitimate heir. Once 

widowed and free of the abusive 

Sir Roger, Isobel is content to 

run Molbren Castle and raise her 

young son, Will, independent of 

masculine interference. The last 

thing she expects is for Edmund, 

returned from the Crusades as the 

Earl of Redmarch, to turn up at 

Molbren seeking a fugitive from 

the crown’s justice. 

In His Clandestine Bride, 

Tora Williams explores the masks 

Edmund and Isobel must wear to 

protect themselves from unbearable 

heartache. She is wary of 

Edmund because he once abandoned 

her. Edmund, physically 

scarred from battle and emotionally 

wounded by childhood abuse, 

distrusts Isobel believing she broke 

her solemn vows simply to secure 

a title for herself. Edmund and 

Isobel struggle to keep their true 

feelings hidden, but neither can 

ignore the strong attraction that 

pulls them together and the bond 

they share through their son. Older 

and wiser, yet still wounded by past 

misunderstandings and transgressions, 

Isobel risks treason by telling 

Edmund a deliberate lie knowing 

he might never forgive her and that 

she could lose her son forever. 

The main reason I enjoyed 

His Clandestine Bride so much 

was the pacing. Most scenes were 

short covering the action in one 

place at one time which gave the 

novel a cinematic feel. The author 

also alternated viewpoints between 

the hero and heroine making their 

misundersandings of each other’s 

feelings and motivations quite 

clear. As a reader, I could not help 

but hope that they would find their 

way back to love! 

Review provided by Colleen T. 

Regency & 

Victorian 

The Perfect Debutante 

(Amazon Digital Services, 2019) 

By Annabelle Anders 

Heat Level: 4 

Victorian England 

Book One, Not So Saintly Sisters 

Series. 336 pages. 

The story is a Victorian marriage of 

convenience, Louella Rose Redfield, 

the perfect debutante, is to 

be married to Captain Cameron 

Samuel Benjamin Denning, Viscount 

Hallewell heir to a dukedom 

in exchange for an abandoned 

and possibly cursed mine on her 

father’s property that has long been 

rumored to have a large vein of 

gold. Cameron’s father the Duke 

purchased him a commission in 

the navy with the condition that 

he return at the age of thirty and 

marry the bride of his father’s 

choosing. Cameron and Louella 

have some history as a disgruntled 

teen when he and another boy 

were quite cruel to Louella and her 

sister. She has never forgiven him 

for that. 

This book comes with a 

trigger warning from the author 

and I agree that it is quite necessary 

to state that the book has a heroine 

who cuts herself and while the author 

does deal with the cutting in 

a sympathetic and honest manner 

these parts of the story were very 

uncomfortable for me to read to 

the point that I would have to put 

the book down and go for a walk 

because even when she had a good 

day Louella would get her needles 

out and punish herself. She carries 

a lot of grief and guilt over the 

death of her younger brother and 

the treatment of her older sister by 

their parents and uses cutting to 

cope with these feelings. 

Cameron makes an excellent hero. 

He is kind and honorable and does 

his best, accepts responsibility for 

his actions and apologizes when he 

is wrong. I can’t say that I would 

have chosen to read this book 

after reading the trigger warning 

had I not agreed to review it but 

ultimately the story of these two 

turning their marriage of convenience 

into a hard-won HEA was 

well worth reading. 

Review provided by: Norah G. 

The Meyersons of Meryton 

(Amazon, 2019) 

By Mirta Ines Trupp 

226 pages. 

Heat Level: 1 

Regency, England, J.A.F.F., Jewish 

"We have faced our shortcomings. 

If anything, my love, I believe in 

Fate. Nothing or no one will deter 

me! You will be the mistress of 

Pemberley and I will be the happiest 

of men." 

This is the first Pride and 

Book Reviews 

Prejudice variation I have read 

and I have to say it was truly 

delightful! The story begins with 

Elizabeth and Darcy ready to be 

wed, but they seem to be thwarted 

at every turn. First by Lady 

Catherine, Darcy's aunt and then 

by other circumstances beyond 

their control. 

In the small town of 

Meryton, where the Bennet family 

resided, Rabbi Meyerson and 

his family come to town to set up 

a place of worship for the Jewish 

community. They stay with the 

Bennet's for one night before 

they can get their own home set 

up. The discussion on Jewish 

customs and beliefs that set the 

stage for a large part of the story 

are very enlightening. 

But all is not as it appears 

since Rabbi Meyerson 

was also sent to uncover some 

secrets and enlists the help of Mr. 

Bennet. Ultimately, it seemed 

everyone gets involved. Appearances 

by many of the wonderful 

characters of the original Pride 

and Prejudice story surface and 

make this book a pure joy. 

Suspense, intrigue and 

strong emotions carry this story 

to the last page. I could only 

smile at envisioning the Bennet 

family, Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane 

and Mr. Bingley trying to find 

their happy ending. I recommend 

this story and trust me, 

you will not be disappointed! 

Review provided by Lori D. 

Regency & Victorian 


44 

45 




Book Reviews 

The Lady and Her Secret 

Lover 

(Illustrated Romance, May 

2019) 

by Jenn LeBlanc 

Book Seven, Lords of Time Series. 

366 pages. 

Heat Level: 4-5 

Victorian England, W/W, Saga 

all, you’re sure to tear up a bit and 

smile as you see love conquer all. 

Lady Louisa Present begins her 

third season with little hope of 

finding anyone to suit her father or 

herself until she makes eye contact 

with Maitland Elliot-Rigsby, one 

of the girls making their come 

out. The beautiful blonde maybe 

looking for a titled gentleman, but 

Louisa captures her attention. The 

girls make their way to one another 

and begin a friendship that blossoms 

into so much more. Their 

mutual sexual awakening is astonishing. 

Their powerful forbidden 

love is both a blessing and a curse. 

Louisa’s father is intent upon her 

following his “order” to marry well 

and when he discovers the impor- 

A first kiss 

and your 

first book 

should be 

tance of Ellie in Louisa’s life he sets 

out to destroy their relationship. 

Even though Hugh has his own 

problems, he rescues Louisa and 

keeps her safely hidden far away. 

Hugh is in love with Amelia who 

is pledged to a duke. Three years 

later Louisa returns to London 

still burning for Ellie who has 

never lost hope of seeing her beloved 

again. Yet, how can Louisa, 

Ellie, Hugh and Amelia find a way 

to be together and be accepted by 

society? 

Review provided by Kathe Robin. 

Author notes content warning: 

Sexual Assault 

The Highlander Who 

Protected Me 

(Zebra Publishing, 2018) 

By Vanessa Kelly 

Book One, Clan Kendrick Series. 

352 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 

Regency, London/Scotland 

agrees to claim Ainsley’s secret 

baby in an effort to rescue her from 

unthinkable expectations. 

Vanessa Kelly has created a 

cast of characters worthy of filling 

the pages of her new Clan Kendrick 

series. Despite being first in 

series, the expansive backstories of 

almost every character Kelly introduces 

may leave readers wondering 

if they’ve missed a few books. Rest 

assured, the complicated backstories 

not only make for multi-layered 

characters; they seem to make 

way for more books in the series. 

Both Ainsley and Royal 

have suffered pain and violence, 

Kelly weaves their emotional 

recovery into their love story. 

Smart, snarky dialogue and likeable 

characters move a sometimes sad 

and complicated story towards its 

ultimately satisfying ending. 

Review provided by Beth A. 

Book Reviews 

The Earl’s Runaway 

Governess 

(Mills & Boon Historical, 

2019) 

By Catherine Tinley 

Harlequin Romance, 288 pages. 

Heat Level: 2 

England 1810 

A smashing good read and an 

afternoon diversion… 

William Ashington is the 

reluctant new Earl of Kingwood. 

This devil-may-care man about 

London is about to be transplanted 

to the country to contend with a 

rundown estate, flighty Lady Fanny 

and guardian to the minor Lady 

Cecily. Running from the advances 

of her step-brother Marianne 

Grant changes her name to Anne 

Grant and become the governess to 

Lady Cecily. 

Ash is in desperate need of 

help in setting the estate and family 


LeBlanc’s 7th Lords of Time fits 

perfectly into the erotic romance 

series. The love between Louisa 

and Ellie is heated and explicit, 

yet genuine, loving and tender. 

However, gentle readers be warned 

there is a sexual assault that may 

be disturbing and a thread of 

mental illness as well. You’ll be 

rooting for the main characters to 

be together and how the problem Is 

solved is both ingenious and perfect 

for them, though perhaps a bit 

out of historical context. Still and 

Superb 

Of Ink & Pearls 

PUBLISHING CO 

Editing Publishing Marketing 

46 

“How far would you go to protect 

someone you love?” 

Lady Ainsley Matthews is 

an heiress in demand, but she’s all 

but promised to a man she cannot 

love. Meanwhile, Royal Kendrick is 

a scarred Highland soldier who has 

survived war and personal tragedy 

only to find himself in love with 

a woman he cannot have. When 

Ainsley is attacked by the man her 

family is pushing her to marry, a 

baby complicates things even more. 

Friends become lovers as Royal 

47 

to rights. Anne and her managing 

ways is the perfect partner. 

The more she tries to stay in the 

background Ash pulls her into the 

responsibilities of the estate. 

This delightful romp is a must read. 

It moves quickly and the characters 

are well drawn from the hero and 

heroine down to the scullery maid. 

There is no sagging middle and a 

more than satisfactory happily ever 

after. 

Review Provided by Deborah B. 




Book Reviews 

The Claiming of the 

Shrew 

(Amazon, April 2019) 

By Shana Galen 

Book Five, The Survivors Series. 

227 pages. 

Heat Level: 3 

This non-stop read is exactly what 

readers crave. Savor this delicious 

swoon-worthy love story. 

During the war with Napoleon, 

Benedict Draven is commanding 

a group of men sent on a 

suicide mission in Portugal when 

he’s approached by a woman with 

a gun demanding he marry her. 

Catarina Neves will use any means 

possible to escape marriage to an 

abusive fiancé. Benedict initially 

refuses Catarina’s request, but seeing 

the ends to which she will go to 

marry one of his men, he agrees. 

Benedict leaves on his mission 

immediately following the ceremony. 

In the intervening five years 

Benedict returns to England and 

Catarina has become a famous lace 

maker in Barcelona. She arrives in 

London with her sister to request 

an annulment from Benedict so 

that she can remarry. Benedict 

Saving the Scot 

(Entangled: Amara, 2019) 

By Jennifer Tretheway 

Book Four, The Highlanders of 

Balforss Series. 308 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 

up a way to exchange her arranged 

marriage for life as an actress. 

What follows is a love story filled 

with Shakespearean-style twists 

and turns. 

Louisa and Ian are both 

charmingly flawed characters. 

Despite their best intentions, they 

are both magnets for drama and 

danger. The full cast of characters 

is likeable. Trethewey’s attention to 

detail is admirable. Because their 

adventure has so many plot points, 

readers may find themselves 

surprised at the number of times 

the HEA is snatched out of their 

grasp just when the story seems 

to be wrapping up. This is only a 

problem if you haven’t fallen in 

love with Louisa and Ian. For most, 

this will be a satisfying read with 

imaginative twists and turns. 

257 pages. 

Heat Level: 5 

Carribean Early 18th Century 

This book delivers a swashbuckling 

adventure that combines pulsepounding 

action with a sweet and 

spicy character-driven romance. 

Anne Bonny, ex-pirate, expects to 

spend the rest of her days locked 

away in Port Royal, separated from 

her children. An unexpected rescue, 

however, finds Anne starting 

over in America with a new last 

name, a sprawling home, and…a 

waiting fiancée? But Anne refuses 

to place her trust in another man. 

She’ll show the lord she’s no proper 

wife, and his agreement with her 

father will be null and void. The 

only thing she didn’t expect? A 

Book Reviews 

determination. Addison rises to 

meet her challenge with a decadent 

streak of wicked. But Addison also 

has is ooey-gooey cinnamon roll 

ways—an innate kindness and 

patience, especially where Anne’s 

children are concerned. Positively 

swoon-worthy. Expect a good old 

fashioned wooing with secrets and 

conflict galore. 

Historical adventurers rejoice 

for there be pirates and peril, 

afoot! 

Review provided by Michaelene M. 


has never forgotten his “wife” and 

simmering attraction. 

Regency England 

oddly enough has remained faithful 

to her. He is suspicious about 

Scotland/America 1820’s 

To expand his business, 

Lord Addison Blackhurst agrees 

THE CLAIMING OF THE 

SHREW is pure Galen and all 

wonderful romance; as well as they 

story fans of The Survivors’ Club 

series have been anticipating since 

Galen dropped the hint that Lieutenant 

Colonel Benedict Draven 

had a secret wife. This May/December, 

marriage of convenience 

love story is simply perfect; filled 

with unforgettable characters and 

a slow burn romance that warms 

readers’ heart. The added information 

about lace making adds 

a depth for readers who desire 

fascinating tid-bits of history. 

her motives for suddenly seeking 

him out and discovers Catarina is 

being blackmailed into marrying 

a competitor’s son. Mutual desire 

leads them to turn a marriage of 

convenience into a true union. 

But they will still need the help 

of Draven’s men to save Catarina 

from a ruthless villain. 

Review provided by Kathe Robin 

48 

Scots, pirates, and actresses… oh, 

my! 

Rich in detail, Jennifer Trethewey’s 

“Saving the Scot” takes readers on a 

sea voyage that spans from Edinburgh 

to Connecticut. Highlander 

Ian Sinclair captains a merchant 

ship, but all he really wants is to 

return to military life. When he’s 

promised a commission in exchange 

for safely delivering the 

general’s “Daughter-from-Hell” to 

her American fiancé, he sees a way 

out. Meanwhile, Louisa Robertson 

(the daughter in question) dreams 

My Bonny Heart 

(Soul Mate Publishing, 2016) 

By Synclair Stafford 

Book One, Pirate’s Progeny Series. 

to marry a woman he’s never met 

with children he’s never seen. He 

isn’t prepared for the tempestuous 

beauty who is unaware of Addison’s 

agreement and refuses to be his 

wife, nor the lady’s children who 

slowly steal his heart. If only he 

could uncover Anne’s secrets, and 

claim the beauty within. 

This tale struggled a bit 

in the beginning, but as our two 

main characters meet, tempers 

flare, banter ensues, and passions 

flare high. Anne is a vivacious, 

plucky heroine who captured my 

heart with her strength, wit and 

49 

Make a Viscount Beg 

(Amazon, May 2019) 

By Tammy Andersen 

Book 5, How to Reform a Rake 

Series. 125 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 


A Bet Among Snow-Stranded 




Book Reviews 

Lords... 

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been 

in this situation--you’re travelling 

the Old Kent Road by rocky 

carriage, it starts to dump snow on 

increasingly treacherous terrain, 

you’ve an aching head from too 

much carousing the night before, 

and it dawns on you and your 

best mates that the solution to all 

of the above is to stay the night 

at the next available brothel. Not 

a regular Saturday night for you? 

Well that’s a shame because this 

is the opening salvo of Tammy 

Andersen’s How To Reform a Rake 

series, of which Making a Viscount 

Beg is the fifth and final book. In 

her preface, Andersen encourages 

readers to download and read the 

(free!) prologue to the series, also 

entitled How To Reform a Rake. 

This quick and jaunty read delivers, 

laying groundwork for the 

other books in the series, including 

the fifth installment. In the short 

story, the genesis of a questionable 

late-night bet among dissipated 

lordlings is revealed, which really 

added to my appreciation of the 

series finale. Andersen perfectly 

sets the table for the inevitable 

hijinks to come between our five 

heroes and the objects of their bet 

- five feisty sisters. Readers gets an 

amusing sneak peek into each of 

the rakish lords’ personalities and 

a glimpse of their camaraderie for 

one another, even if we are mentally 

moving their antics firmly into 

the Bad Decision column. 

By the time we get to the fifth 

book, Adelaide Ducat has witnessed 

all four of her older sisters 

fall, one by one, for the members 

of the merry band who made the 

original bet. To their credit, Adelaide’s 

sisters are all well on their 

way to reforming each of their 

personal rakes. Of the original 

group of scoundrels, the only one 

who has managed to avoid parson’s 

mousetrap is Chase Averstone, viscount 

and dissolute perma-bachelor. 

He has absolutely no desire 

to enter into matrimony, which is 

just as well because Adelaide can 

barely stomach him – or is that 

rustling in her tummy something 

else entirely? Sure you can’t stand 

him, Adelaide, suuuuuure. 

What I enjoyed most about this 

book is the immediate, palpable 

attraction between Adelaide and 

Chase. I also admired Chase’s 

appreciation for Adelaide’s smart 

mouth and quick wit. He’s been 

with scores of beautiful women 

over the years, but he is drawn to 

Adelaide for more than just her 

looks. In fact, he pounces on every 

opportunity to verbally spar with 

her and eventually divulges some 

of his demons as his trust in her 

grows. As for Adelaide, she is a 

woman who knows her mind and 

speaks it. Often. As Chase thinks 

to himself following after a particularly 

heated exchange, “The woman 

was fecking glorious.” Rawr. 

There are many other aspects of 

this story that make it a diverting 

read, including the strong and 

loving bonds among the five Ducat 

sisters and the fraternal affection 

among the five lords. Throw in 

50 

a little peril and parental angst, 

and you have yourself a perfect 

afternoon or two of reading. I will 

definitely be adding the preceding 

four books to my TBR pile! 

How to Train Your 

Baron 

(Entangled, 2018) 

By Diana Lloyd 

Book One, What Happens in the 

Ballroom Series. 302 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 

Regency, Scotland 

A fabulous read! 

When Elsinore Cosgrove slips 

out of a ballroom, she has no 

idea it will lead to a hasty marriage. 

Engaged by mischance 

to an infuriating, handsome 

Scottish baron who doesn't even 

know her name, Quin Graham is 

not what she expected. Using all 

her feminine wiles, along with advice 

gleaned from a training guide 

for hunting hounds, Elsinore is 

determined to mold her baron into 

the husband she wants and to teach 

him how to heel. Quin Graham is a 

man with many secrets. If another 

scandal can be avoided with a sham 

marriage, so be it; but the clumsy, 

curious, and clever Elsinore refuses 

to be set aside and the last thing he 

needs is to fall for his wife. 

The heroine, Elsinore, was such a 

fun character. I loved how innocent 

and fearless she was in all of her 

comedic adventures. They were 

funny and lighthearted. The hero, 

Quin, had a troubled past but his 

participation in her adventures 

makes him very lovable. Together, 

they are quite the pair and with 

each turn of the page, left me rooting 

harder and harder for them 

to have the happily ever after they 

both deserve. 

This was a book that I hated 

to put down and when I did take 

a break, I craved the chance to pick 

it back up to read more. This is the 

first book of Diana Lloyd’s books I 

have read and it will definitely not 

be my last. This is an easy, fun and 

engaging read full of comedy, spicy 

scenes, with historical and literary 

references. 

Review provided by Kim H. 

Bewitched by the Poor 

Man 

(Prairie Muse Books, 2018) 

By Laura Landon 

Book Two, Rich Man/Poor Man/ 

Beggar Man/Thief Series, 180 

pages. 


Regency, England 

Quinten Marvell, the new Duke of 

Somerset, should have been on top 

of the world. Instead he was broke. 

He’s inherited a crippling pile of 

outstanding debts from his father 

along with the pressure to recover 

his lost legacy. Determined to save 

the only home he has left, fate 

points him toward marriage with 

his wealthy neighbor’s daughter. 

Miss Alice Moore could 

have anything her heart desired except 

beauty and her father’s proposition 

to Quinten sets a maelstrom 

51 

Book Reviews 

into motion. Quinten’s fears have 

nothing to do with her scars, but he 

worries about imposing a lifetime 

of being snubbed as a commoner. 

Will he sacrifice her happiness to 

save himself from a life of poverty? 

Can she come to see him as more 

than a fortune-hunter? 

An American Lady 


by Emma Brady 

284 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 

A tough story to recount 

without giving too much of the 

story away. No spoilers here but 

these are two strong willed main 

characters, perfectly matched, 

and there’s an excellent villain. I 

strongly recommend it for anyone’s 

must read list. 

Review provided by Deborah B. 






Book Reviews 

In 1871, Sinclair Brown loses her 

parents and barely escapes with her 

life in the great fire that struck Chicago. 

All she has left is her father's 

shipping business and her grandparents 

who live in England, the 

Duke and Duchess of Davenport, 

whom she has never met. When 

she finally arrives in London, she 

finds her grandmother all ready 

to launch her into society to help 

her to find a husband. To say that 

she is wary, puts it mildly because 

Sinclair is an opinionated bluestocking, 

who has learned everything 

about her father's business. 

She knows she can run it and will 

not let a man rule her life. Then 

she finds out that a great friend of 

her grandfather's, Lucas Sutton, 

the Earl of Westmore, is to be her 

chaperon while he escorts his sister, 

who is also attending the season. 

"Lucas Sutton, Earl of 

Westmore, may I introduce my 

granddaughter, Sinclair Brown?" 

Tilting her head slightly, Sinclair 

couldn't stop from openly staring 

at the man. Broad shoulders 

draped in an expensive black 

jacket, it was his eyes that sent 

chills across her skin. They were 

the richest green color she had ever 

seen and they twinkled as he bent 

to brush a kiss across her hand." 

Let the adventure begin! 

This story had so many layers and 

emotions, it kept me turning the 

pages to see what would happen 

next! Of course, Sinclair makes a 

splash into society, oh, yes! in more 

ways than one and clashes with 

Lucas almost at every turn. She is 

an American through and through 

and used to more freedom, so they 

are constantly butting heads. He is, 

of the mindset, as most men were 

during that time, that women were 

ornaments and decoration and 

not capable of anything else. Yes, 

even I wanted to knock him silly 

at times! But there was a sizzling 

attraction that could not be denied 

and it came off the pages. 

Humor, intrigue, a battle 

of the wits and such wonderful 

banter between Lucas and Sinclair 

bring this story alive.The author 

has created a unique cast of characters 

with several twists and turns 

that had me guessing what would 

happen next! Cannot wait to read 

more from this author! 

Review provided by Lori D. 

A Perfect Plan 

(Dream Big Publishing, 2016) 

52 

By Alyssa Drake 

Book One, Wiltshire Chronicles 

series. 290 pages. 

Heat Rating: 3-4 

1853, Victorian, England, Mystery 

Samantha Hastings lives happily 

in the country, but is forced to 

return to town where she discovers 

her childhood nemesis is now 

her guardian. Benjamin, Lord 

Westwood, has his own problems 

and decides, for sanity’s sake, to 

quickly find her a husband. Except 

Benjamin discovers he has 

feelings for her which leads to 

his perfect plan: he and Samantha 

will enter into a marriage of 

convenience. But when a family 

secret is revealed, and the revelations 

thrust Samantha into mortal 

danger, will Benjamin’s perfect 

plan be her saving grace or will 

murder be their undoing? 

Samantha Hastings was a 

likeable heroine, but struck me as 

a little self-centered and thoughtless 

at times. Her speech seemed 

a little too modern for 1853. I 

appreciated her inclination to 

consider bolting over balconies 

when in an awkward situation 

(we can all relate). Benjamin was 

a sympathetic hero, intelligent, 

appealing and likeable. Their 

rocky childhood history lent 

credibility to their current tenuous 

relationship. 

I’m always on the lookout 

for new authors in this genre, and 

Ms. Drake’s story had all the traditional 

historical romance ingredients 

plus a dash of murder and 

mystery. The Prologue was fairly 

intense, but the author’s knack for 

choosing the right adjectives to 

set the right tone compelled me to 

turn the page. A few more specific 

period details would better anchor 

the reader in the setting. Though I 

think too many adverbs cluttered 

the writing (“…stared pitilessly.”); 

one action sequence was confusing 

(“Grabbing Mr. Hastings by his 

hair, the man yanked, crushing Mr. 

Hastings’ mouth with his hand.”) 

and the use of forms of address 

needs attention, overall, I recommend 

“A Perfect Plan”. 

Review provided by Trish G. 

Lovely Digits 

(Soul Mate Publishing, June 2019) 

By Jeanine Englert 

210 pages. 

Heat Level: 3 

Setting: Victorian, England 

“Lovely Digits” is a book full of 

romance and mystery. This book 

has a multitude of murders to solve 

all wrapped in an interesting love 

story. The title of the book is a little 

confusing but once you put that 

aside readers will enjoy this well 

told story. 

Set in the small English 

town of Clun in the year 1849, 

Lucy Wycliffe prepares bodies for 

their funeral rites. John Brodie, the 

newly arrived constable is assigned 

to the investigation of two recent 

murders and as the story unfolds 

Lucy and John work together to 

solve the mysterious deaths while 

their attraction to each other 

Book Reviews 

grows. 

The author did a good job 

with her descriptive writing about 

this small town and the people 

within it. The chemistry between 

John and Lucy is subtle and slowly 

builds as they work together to 

solve the mystery. Lucy’s beauty 

and intelligence as well as her 

straightforward common sense 

prove to be irresistible to John 

while his kindness and compassion 

for her make for a great love story. 

Lucy says in a particularly moving 

line that “other than her father, no 

man had taken an interest in her 

intellect and abilities.” 

I would recommend this 

book to readers who enjoy a romance 

woven through a puzzling 

and sometimes frightening mystery. 

Review provided by Sara S. 



New Frontiers 

Book Reviews 

Controlled Burn 

(The Wild Rose Press, 2019) 

By Lynda J. Cox 

264 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 

19th century Wyoming Territories, 

Western 

Cox’s heroine faces an inspiring 

struggle to rebuild her life… 

When a blow to the head 

renders Allison Adams blind 

and stricken with amnesia, she is 

confused and doesn’t recognize 

the man claiming to be her husband 

nor remember that they have 

two children together. In fact she 

doesn’t remember her trip to the 

Wyoming Territory, and believes 

she’s still a school teacher in 

Georgia. This is the setting for the 

love story between Allison and her 

husband A.J. Adams. 

The author’s description of 

the rustic western setting, natural 

scenery and country home makes 

me feel as if I was living alongside 

the characters in this little town. 

Allison is determined to move forward 

with her life and thrive even 

though everything around her is 

new. A.J. is a likable character who 

is patient, kind and funny even 

as their previous life is uprooted 

around him. One of his best lines is 

“You won me over with your intelligence, 

your sense of humor, your 

heart, and your tenacity.” (Swoon!) 

I would recommend this 

book wholeheartedly. Its dark 

opening was new for me and I 

wasn’t sure at first if I could keep 

reading, but in the end the characters 

and story won me over. It 

transports you in time to the untamed 

west with its sweeping views 

and the love story between Allison 

and her lost-then-found husband 

A.J. 

Review provided by Sara S. 

Gilded Age & 

World Wars 

Sugar Moon 


By Jennifer Hallock 

318 pages. 

Heat Level: 5 

Gilded Age, Philippine-American 

War 

Rich in culture and history, Jennifer 

Hallock takes the reader on 

a sweeping adventure of romance, 

redemption, and healing in the 

sugar fields of the Philippines. 

Benjamin Potter is rebuilding his 

life after serving in the war. Working 

on his brother-in-law’s sugar 

farm, he hopes to mend fences with 

his family and begin again. But 

there’s more than just demons in 

his dreams; there's hope for more 

with a woman all too real. Allegra 

Alazas is a woman on a mission 

for betterment—both for herself 

and the students she teaches. And 

once she meets Benjamin? She 

finds herself wanting to soothe the 

nightmare-ridden but hard working 

American man. But when she 

starts uncovering the ex-soldier’s 

secrets, will she able to work her 

healing into his heart? 

These characters were so vibrant! 

Benjamin has numerous obstacles 

stacked against him, but he also has 

an inevitable sense of humor and 

determination regardless of his past 

that makes his strength of character 

shine. That’s before Allegra 

comes in with her feisty, driven 

spirit. The portrayal of women— 

and Allegra, in particular—uplifts 

and inspires—and I found myself 

grinning multiple times at her 

antics as well as her insight (erotic 

and otherwise *winks*). She challenges 

Benjamin as much as herself, 

and it was beautiful watching 

her relationship with him unfold. 

Told in dual points-of-view, readers 

are able to delve into both the past 

and present times, and it allows the 

plot to branch off into unexpected 

places that keeps you flipping the 

pages. Readers will find that “Sugar 

Moon” sparkles with wit and romance 

as it delivers the characters' 

pitfalls, victories, and love. 

Review provided by Michaelene M. 

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54 

55 



Book Reviews 

Book Reviews 

Supernatural & Time Travel 

The Marriage of Time 

(Amazon, April 2019) 

By Mariah Stone 

Book 3, Called by a Viking Series. 

196 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 

Time Travel/Viking 

Cursed Viking Earl Desperately 

Seeking Healer, Mother, and 

Shield-Maiden . . . 

A fundamental reason for my 

boundless love of historical romance 

is that it provides an accessible, 

albeit fictional window into 

bygone eras. In my mind, there is 

no better way to learn cultural history 

than couched in a love story. 

The Marriage of Time, Book 3 in 

the Called by a Viking series by 

Mariah Stone, validates this assertion. 

Take an enemies to lovers/ 

mistaken identity/forced proximity 

trope, add LOTS of Viking cultural 

references, and sprinkle in time 

travel between very modern times 

and the early Middle Ages, and by 

Odin, you have a book that sets 

itself apart in all the best ways. 

When I learned that the 

book’s back-in-time setting was 

875 A.D., my modern sensibilities 

(and reliably skeptical brain) 

went on high alert. Would I be 

able to suspend my disbelief that 

the main characters would be able 

to relate to one another? Could a 

modern gal accept the confining 

social mores of the early Middle 

Ages? Turns out, I had no need to 

worry. Stone pens the main character, 

Hakon, as an alpha male with 

surprisingly progressive beliefs. He 

accepts that Mia, his new bride, 

wants to actively serve as healer 

for his community and even serves 

as her assistant when an epidemic 

arises in the village. Similarly, this 

hulking warrior with a heart of 

gold inherently understands the 

concept of female consent. Though 

married and without any prior 

discussion on the subject, Hakon 

reassures Mia that she has nothing 

to fear from him. They will not 

consummate their marriage until 

she is ready to take that step. Insert 

twitter-pated sigh here. A feminist 

Viking – sign me up for the next 

longboat! 

All kidding aside, Hakon 

and Mia’s story arc was heartfelt 

and unrushed. Though there was 

an instant attraction, they grew to 

trust one another only gradually, 

by taking risks and exposing their 

vulnerabilities. Hakon shares the 

painful origins of his moniker, 

“The Beast,” while Mia shares the 

traumatic events leading up to her 

travel back to Viking times. They 

soon discover that past losses can 

begin to heal when the right individual 

is standing by one’s side. 

As I am sure is the case 

with many time travel romances, 

one of the central obstacles is how 

to deal with the fallout of living 

in two different presents. Stone 

does an admirable job of bringing 

Hakon and Mia’s time dissonance 

to an acceptable resolution. Her 

research around village life in 

Norway during the first century 

A.D. kept me engaged throughout 

the entire book. Thank goodness I 

was reading on a device and could 

query Old Norse words, mythology, 

and geography as needed. I had 

little prior experience with Viking 

romances, and Stone’s third entry 

in this series set the bar high. I am 

eager to continue my foray into this 

refreshing new territory, starting 

with the preceding two books, and 

count myself lucky to have been introduced 

to this sub-genre through 

Mariah Stone’s lovely writing. 

Content Warning: For those who 

find the caution useful, there are 

references to past domestic violence 

from the survivor’s point of 

view, though not explicitly described 

in real time on the page. 

Devil Take the Duke 

(Blue Tulip Publishing, 2019) 

By Sandra Sookoo 

Book One, Lords of the Night Series. 

442 pages. 

Heat Level: 4 

Regency, England/Paranormal 

Tale As Old As Time . . . a tempestuous 

variant on the classic Beauty 

and the Beast tale that does not 

disappoint. 

Devil Take the Duke is 

the first book in Sookoo’s Lords 

of the Night series, and in the 

prologue, we learn of a curse cast 

over a century ago upon a group of 

English lords who vilely mistreated 

a caravan of women. While the enchantment 

has passed down from 

generation to generation, it can be 

broken if a descendant fulfills certain 

conditions within the requisite 

timing. It is with this knowledge 

that the reader is introduced to 

Donovan Sinclair, the present Duke 

of Manchester, a shameless lothario 

and shifter. Specifically, a wolf cohabits 

Manchester’s mind while he 

is human and compels the duke to 

shift into lupine form most nights. 

While Donavan enjoys some 

aspects of being a shifter, breaking 

the curse is never far from his 

mind. 

As fate would have it, 

Donovan comes upon Miss Alice 

Morrowe, a beautiful spinster 

whose vision is severely impaired 

and a potential key to finally breaking 

the curse. Abandoned by her 

relations years ago, Alice must 

fend for herself and relies upon the 

good will of her village to assist her 

in eking out a meager living as a 

blind woman. When Donavan and 

Alice’s worlds collide literally and 

figuratively, an unlikely but passionate 

connection ignites, and the 

two embark upon a courtship. Alice 

is pragmatic enough to be wary 

of what the rakish duke is offering, 

but she cannot help her deepening 

feelings and undeniable attraction 

for the first man ever to make 

an effort to see past her affliction 

to the person within. Ironically, 

Donavan would prefer Alice not be 

able to peer quite so clearly into his 

dual nature and the vulnerability it 

has engendered. 

One thing I admire most 

about Alice is her unwavering 

autonomy. She embraces her whole 

self, disability included, and makes 

the best of her circumstances, no 

matter what life throws at her before 

and after meeting her singular 

duke. Moreover, even as Donovan 

enacts a decidedly calculated 

plan, Alice offers compassion and 

unconditional love, something the 

lonely duke has never before experienced. 

Despite some spectacular 

faltering along the way, Donovan 

eventually embraces his strong 

desire to become a man deserving 

of Alice’s affections. His heartfelt 

gestures, thoughtful consideration 

of her disability, and slow but 

steady tumble into true love leave 

the reader willing to forgive him 

his (many) shortcomings. Alice 

and Donovan’s physical desire for 

one another makes for an enjoyably 

steamy read, and I always find 

a tale of two social misfits finding 

their soulmates satisfying. Sookoo’s 

glimpses of Donavan’s fellow accursed 

lords reveal just enough 

of their personalities to entice the 

reader into wanting more. I have to 

admit I am glad to have discarded 

my preconceived notions about 

paranormals long enough to give 

Devil Take the Duke a chance and 

am keen to continue exploring 

Sookoo’s richly-penned night-time 

universe in particular. 

For those who find the 

caution useful, this book contains 

a scene of near sexual violence that 

may cause some readers unease. 

Review provided by Chris L. 

Supernatural & Time Travel 

56 


57 



Book Reviews 

Book Reviews 

Inspirational 

The Anonymous Bride 

(Thorndike Press, 2011) 

By Vickie McDonough 

Book One in Texas Boardinghouse 

Brides, 352 pages. 

Heat Level: 1 

Christian, Western, 1886, Texas 

A nice read for Saturday afternoon…This 

is a story of love and 

redemption. 

Luke Davis left his town 

heartbroken after the love of his 

life married another man. Rachel 

Hamilton never told him the 

real reason she chose a man who 

happened to be the richest man 

in town. Years later, Luke returns 

home war-weary and takes on the 

role of sheriff. A tale of unrequited 

love is turned around by a couple 

of mischief making cousins who 

cause a group of mail order brides 

to descend on the town. 

As he struggles to decide 

which of the women is right for 

him, it’s the widowed Rachel who 

he can’t avoid. Rachel has a battle 

of her own when she can’t simply 

watch the man she loves marry 

anyone else but her. 

As an inspirational romance, 

this book delivers a good 

message without coming across 

as pushy or overt. The characters 

were not especially unique and 

the plot doesn’t offer too many 

surprises with predictable paths to 

the inevitable happy ending. The 

pacing is not hurried at all as the 

past and past mistakes haunt most 

of the action. The mystery of why 

the heroine married the bad guy is 

solved quickly for the reader. The 

story made this reviewer wish the 

couple would simply talk to resolve 

things but it did offer a nice diversion 

and there is solid story-telling 

here. 

Review provided by Jawahier A. 

A Heart Set Free 

(Smitten Historical Romance, 

2016) 

By Janet S. Grunst 

Inspirational Romance, 264 pages. 


Christian, Virginia, 1770 

Heather Douglas needs to leave 

Scotland, but her only available option 

is indentured servitude. After 

a difficult crossing, Heather lands 

in Alexandria, Virginia where she 

is spotted on the dock by Matthew 

Stewart while she waits for someone 

to purchase her indenture. 

Matthew is a farmer who recently 

lost his wife and is now looking 

for someone to take care of his 

children. While he does purchase 

Heather's indenture, he can’t live 

with an unmarried woman, and so 

he decides to marry her before taking 

her home. 

Heather wants her freedom and 

feels she cannot fully love Matthew 

with the indenture hanging 

over her head. Matthew realizes 

that the only way he may be able 

to keep her is by setting her free. 

Throughout the story, Heather and 

Matthew rely on God to help lead 

them through their adversities and 

guide them as their feelings for 

each other grow. 

This is the first in Janet S. Grunst’s 

A Heart Set Free series. It was a 

sweet, heartwarming romance. The 

relationships between Heather and 

Matthew, as well as their children, 

were all very relatable. Of course, 

true to life, there were parts of the 

story where, had the characters 

simply talked to one another, there 

wouldn’t have been as many problems 

or misunderstandings. The 

pacing sometimes trended to the 

slow-side and I found myself wanting 

the story to move along more 

quickly. While I’m not typically an 

Inspirational reader, I enjoyed the 

story very much. 

Review provided by Amy F. 

Hope for Tomorrow 

(Mantle Rock Publishing, 2018) 

By Michelle DeBruin 

294 pages. 

Overall Rating: 4 Teacups 

Heat Level: 1 Fan 

Setting: Edwardian Era 

“Hope for Tomorrow” is an clean, 

fun romance. The story takes place 

in 1910 when a teacher, Karen, 

comes to a new town and boards 

with a family that includes a handsome 

young man, Logan, who also 

happens to be a preacher. Karen 

has made up her mind to not be 

interested in any preacher, ever. 

Against her better judgement, she 

begins to have feelings for Logan, 

who is more honest and kind than 

her own preacher father had been. 

Logan, however, believes he should 

remain single during his ministry, 

but he has feelings for Karen that 

are growing stronger each day. 

They work together in a nearby 

church, and they grow closer together. 

Another local man tries 

to get Karen's attention which 

adds to the tension and challenges 

their relationship. 

I greatly enjoyed reading this 

book, it's an excellent story of 

blossoming love. 

Review provided by P. Jones. 

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Inspirational 

58 

59 



Book Reviews 

the impostor trope, Cale’s entry, 

Merryweather. An unapologetic 

and place by dropping related 

Book Reviews 

“Beauty and the Bounder,” deliv- 

romantic and believer in signs, 

ephemera, think newspaper 

Anthologies 

ers a delicious treat as war veteran 

Sebastian Virtue arrives in Bath to 

hunt for a wealthy wife and finds 

his not-quite-above-board plans 

unravelling when he meets the 

bold and musical Lady Emilia, his 

intriguing neighbor. 

In “The Earl Takes a Wife,” 

Adrian de Courtenay takes it for 

granted that Lady Celia, fresh from 

the school room, is enamored of 

him, but he refuses to end his blissful 

days of bachelorhood before he 

is good and ready. A series of false 

Emma is undaunted by this quirky 

professor’s abhorrence of chaos and 

disorder. Though they couldn’t be 

more unalike, the couple, with the 

help of Aunt Harriett’s renowned 

divining umbrella, discovers that 

together they strike the perfect 

balance. Readers will melt at an 

adorable handmade card bestowed 

at the Valentine’s Day Ball. 

Rounding out the collection 

is a moving woman-in-peril 

tale. In “Candles in the Dark,” 

Warfield presents us with an 

ads and theater handbills, in 

between stories. A budding romance 

below stairs in the Prologue 

and Afterword serve as 

satisfying bookends, wrapping 

up this darling book with a big 

red bow. While none of the 

stories portray anything more 

explicit than hungry looks 

and passionate kisses, I still 

found myself mentally fanning 

away the steam created by the 

characters’ chemistry, not to 

mention heaving dreamy sighs 

Put Your 

Blurb 

Here! 

Available through the 

HRM advertising shop 

Lady in Waiting 

Charlotte Brothers 

Medieval, Heat 4 

coming soon 

Level-headed Philippa 

is dreading the arrival 

of Lady Evelyn's betrothed. 

When Evelyn 

weds, Philippa will 

have no one to stand between herself and danger. 

When the wedding day arrives, it's Philippa at 

the altar next to the brooding Lord Richard, but 

an angry lord can make a dangerous husband of 

convenience. 

Anthologies 

starts and misunderstandings be- 

exceedingly honorable retired ser- 

as five couples surrendered to 

Valentines from Bath: 

A Bluestocking Belles 

Collection 

(Amazon, Feb. 2019) 

By Jessica Cale, Sherry Ewing, Jude 

Knight, Amy Quinton and Caroline 

Warfield 

Heat Level: 2 

tween hero and heroine find them 

headed to the altar sooner than 

expected, the promise of wedded 

bliss not so immediately assured. 

Singular Charis and 

scarred Eric, the lovely couple featured 

in “The Beast Next Door” by 

Jude Knight, grow up as neighbors 

and best friends, promising themselves 

to each other before Eric 

geant whose gruff demeanor does 

little to disguise his thoroughly 

kind heart. When wounded veteran, 

Douglas Marsh, encounters 

the struggling and brave Esther 

Hopkins, his new mission becomes 

clear--to see to her security, even 

if his assistance could jeopardize 

a major contract for his family’s 

struggling candle manufacturing 

the magic of true love. 

“The song was new to 

him, but the notes felt so familiar, 

they seemed to have been 

pulled from the space behind 

his heart.” I mean, seriously. I 

dare you not to sigh. 


goes away for ten years. When he 

business. Esther cannot thank this 

Regency England 

Anthology, 485 Pages. 

returns, their friendship is poised 

to bloom into something more, if 

only Eric can manage to reveal one 

taciturn man enough for his timely 

aid, but the feelings she experiences 

whenever he is near are far from 

“She beamed – there was no other 

tiny little secret. One cannot help 

simple gratitude. 

word for it – and he was struck 

but cheer for these perfectly suited 

I enjoyed the way each sto- 

down . . . .” 

soul mates, and honorable Eric is 

ry included scenes from the Valen- 

In this anthology, authors 

the swoon-iest hero of the collec- 

tine’s Day Ball but kept the couples 

Cale, Ewing, Knight, Quinton, and 

tion. 

mostly separated. That their stories 

Warfield play cupid on behalf of 

A charming tale of op- 

were not painstakingly interwoven 

five couples and mostly hit their 

posites attract, Quinton’s “The 

added a layer of plausibility and 

mark. A Valentine’s Day Ball held 

Umbrella Chronicles” follows the 

encouraged this reader to imagine 

at Bath’s posh Upper Assembly 

precise if compulsive mathemati- 

herself as just another attendee of 

Rooms serves as the backdrop for a 

cian, Dr. John Edward Hartwell, 

the ball taking a turn about the 

pivotal moment in each story. 

as he stumbles into the path of a 

room and observing the goings-on. 

For those who enjoy 

whirling dervish of a lady, Emma 

The authors cleverly evoke time 

60 

61 



Storybook Scotland 

enthralled with history at home. Yet of all the Scottish 

castles, Dunrobin was voted most romantic. Set in the 

Northern Highlands and boasting 189 rooms, it’s truly 

storybook. When I visited, I was struck by how much it 

resembles a French chateau. The visitor favorite and 

perhaps the most photographed of castles seems to be 

Eilean Donan, also in the Highlands. I marveled at its 

dramatic island setting and the connecting bridge. Best 

known of all Scottish castles is the iconic Edinburgh 

Castle, followed by Balmoral Castle, described by Queen 

Victoria as her “dear paradise in the Highlands.” If you’re 

planning another trip to Scotland as I am, head toward 

Aberdeenshire, reputed to have more 

castles per acre than anywhere in the United Kingdom. 

Last but not least, there’s Wedderburn Castle 

along the Scottish borders. Once home to my sixthgreat-grandfather 

who lost both castle and title when 

he rebelled against the English king and was shipped to 

by Laura Frantz 

Author of A Bound Heart 

I was once asked by a Scotsman if 

my country had castles. No, I replied, too hastily. Given 

Scotland’s ancient history and its three thousand or so 

castles, both standing and in ruins, my American mind 

went blank. Later I thought of Biltmore in North Carolina 

and Hearst Castle in California, But, beautiful as they 

are, they are somewhat historically new. Overlapping 

centuries with all their rich history create a storybook 

magic that make Scottish castles second to none. One 

can easily envision Rapunzel letting down her hair from 

a turreted tower or Sir Lancelot charge the iron gates of 

the enemy. 

Whether standing amid the crumbling stones 

of Duart Castle, a longtime stronghold of Clan Maclean 

or the more contemporary opulence of Balmoral, now a 

favored residence of Queen Elizabeth, each castle tells a 

remarkable story. Take the spellbinding Donnottar on its 

cliffside perch, the place of many pivotal events in Scottish 

history. Or Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe (awe, 

indeed!). Then there’s Craigievar Castle, a pleasing pink, 

said to be the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella. 

Or Linlithgow, rumored to be haunted where guests say 

they’ve heard the rustle of silk skirts. And don’t forget 

Castle Urquhart where swordsmen often fought to the 

death in spiral suitcases still standing. 

Of all the castles in Scotland, Castle Sween in 

Argyll is said to be the very oldest, according to Historic 

Environment Scotland. Built in the 1100s, the castle 

overlooks a deep lochor lake. An interesting feature is 

the lack of windows or doors aside from the entrances. 

For centuries the castle was disputed by the clans and is 

now protected by Historic Scotland. 

Scotland’s youngest castle is thought to be the 

stunningly situated Carbisdale built between 1906 and 

1917 for Mary Caroline, duchess of Sutherland. Dubbed 

the Castle of Spite, it has a caustic history. Even the 

clocktower is missing a clock, not giving onlookers the 

time of day. It is said the elevated location was selected 

so the dowager duchess could look down on her estranged 

relatives when they passed by in their private 

train. 

Recent research reveals that nearly half of all 

Brits have never visited a Scottish castle, giving some 

credence to the belief that we don’t seem to be that 

62 


63 


Virginia Colony, Wedderburn has been restored and is now a favored tourist attraction and wedding venue. It’s also 

the inspiration for my tenth historical novel, A 

Bound Heart. Add a handsome, kilted laird, a beekeeping heroine, a generous dash of suspense and romance, and 

you have a great deal more than Scottish shortbread! 

A Regency 

Picnic 

"From Scratch" with 

Deb Marlowe 

Laura Frantz is a Christy Award finalist 

and the ECPA bestselling author of several books, 

including The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow 

Little, The Colonel’s Lady, and The Lacemaker. She 

lives and writes in a log cabin in the heart of Kentucky. 

Learn more at www.laurafrantz.net. 

It’s an idyllic scene—springy turf, a soft breeze, a gorgeous 

view, fabulous company and a delectable spread 

of food. Who doesn’t love a picnic? I once had an 

editor who would write wistfully at the end of my edits, 

“Couldn’t we add a picnic?” And who can blame her? It’s 

a scene ripe with potential in a historical romance novel. 

Of course, the idea of eating outside is scarcely 

a new one. But when did it become a fashionable event? 

In England, dining al fresco grew popular in the pleasure 

gardens that sprang up after the Restoration and 

continued to draw stylish patrons right through Queen 

Victoria’s reign. Regency readers, especially, are likely 

familiar with the supper boxes at Vauxhall Gardens and 

their famous, thinly sliced ham. 

But a picnic was slightly different. By definition 

it historically meant a meal taken outside, in which 

each person attending contributed a food item. This 

type of small gathering of intimates, choosing a spot of 

outdoor beauty and making an event of a repast taken 

there, became a fashion early in the nineteenth century. 

The ideal of Romanticism, and its idealistic sensibilities 

and celebration of nature, held sway at that time and 

helped make picnics a ‘thing’ for ladies and gentlemen of 

leisure. 

And though picnics grew in popularity among 

the leisure class, someone had to do the work to make 

the fun happen. Sometimes the burden was shared and 

indeed, every guest would contribute a dish. Other 

times, one host would take on the task of providing the 

65 


venue, transportation and the entire meal. Either way, 

usually a servant or a group of them would be tasked 

with transporting the food, dishes, linens, seating, shade, 

and guests, and with setting up and taking everything 

down. 

What would a Regency picnic spread consist of? 

Ease would be a major consideration, of course. Cold 

meats could be made ahead of time and chicken, ham 

and tongue were staples. Meat pies in handheld sizes 

were ideal. Fresh fruits in season, like grapes or strawberries, 

required no preparation. Pickled vegetables and 

cheese could be easily packed. Bread and butter were a 

staple at any meal. And desserts were looked forward 

to, especially syllabubs, individual cakes or heavier cakes 

that could be sliced ahead of time and hold up. 

For beverages, cold tea or lemonade were an 

easy choice, or for a special occasion, Regent’s Punch 

could be brought along. This was reportedly the Prince 

Regent’s favorite, and it was made by steeping tea, sugar 

and citrus peels together, and adding citrus juice, cognac 

and rum. This mixture would be stored until it was time 

to serve, when it would be topped off with champagne. 

Picnicking became a common addition after 

a day of an organized hunt. In contrast, sometimes

entertainment and games were the point of the day, and 

guests were also expected to help fill the roster. In fact, 

later in the Victorian era, according to Harper’s Bazaar, 

one or two Picnic Societies sprang up in London, in 

which members moved the festivities indoors, would 

meet regularly and contribute to an evening of food, 

music, speeches, singing, and theatricals. 

I have, in fact, included two picnic scenes in 

my Regency novels. One was a formal occasion, but 

the other was a simple affair in the Scottish highlands. 

The latter included one of the hero’s favorite desserts, 

Sticky Pudding. This is a denser cake, made with dates 

and drenched in a delicious caramel sauce. It is an ideal 

picnic fare, as thick slices can be wrapped and stored 

separately ahead of time—just be sure to bring the napkins! 

I’ve made this recipe several times for my writer 

friends and it has been well received all around. You can 

actually see me whip it up in a video for Deb Marlowe’s 

Regency Kitchen at http://www.debmarlowe.com/debmarlowes-regency-kitchen.html 

Mrs. Beattie’s 

Sticky Pudding 

(Requires a Bundt pan) 

Ingredients 

Pudding 

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 cups chopped, pitted dates (6 ounces) 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1 cup sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

But if a Sticky Pudding sounds too heavy, you 

might try the classic English dessert, syllabub. A syllabub 

is a combination of cream and alcohol, whipped 

up into light and airy deliciousness. It has an affiliation 

with outdoor consumption, because the legend 

was that Charles II kept cows in St. James Park just in 

case he wanted to stop, while out riding, and have a 

cow milked directly into a bowl of booze. It was still a 

favorite during the Regency and recipes were included in 

Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management. It can 

be consumed on its own or used in a trifle or over fresh 

berries. 

Recipes 

2 large eggs 

Directions 

I think a Regency themed picnic would be so 

much fun, either in costume or out! If any of you decide 

to get one together, please share the pics with us here at 

the Historical Romance Magazine! 

**butter and flour for greasing and flouring pan 

Sauce 

1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1/4 cup unsalted butter 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 teaspoon brandy (optional) 

For pudding: 

Preheat over to 350°F. Butter and flour a Bundt pan. Bring dates and 

1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. Remove from 

heat. Stir in baking soda (the mixture will foam up) Set aside. Let cool. 

Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. In an electric mixer, 

66 


Directions 

beat butter, sugar and vanilla. (mixture will be grainy) Add 1 egg. Beat 

to blend. Add half of dry ingredients and half of date mixture. Beat to 

blend. Repeat with remaining egg, dry ingredients and date mixture. 

Pour into Bundt pan. Bake until a tester in center of cake emerges clean, 

40-45 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove 

from pan. Cover and let stand at room temperature. 

For Sauce: 

Bring sugar, cream and butter to a boil in a small saucepan over medium 

heat, stirring constantly. Continue to boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. 

Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and brandy. 

Pour over pudding and Enjoy! 

English Syllabub 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup wine (I use a Riesling) 

5 tablespoons of honey 

1 lemon, zested and juiced 

a dash of nutmeg 

3 tablespoons of brandy ( I use a cherry flavored version) 

1 cup of whipping cream 

3 egg whites 

Combing the wine and honey, gently heat until honey dissolves. Add lemon zest. Let mixture cool completely. Add 

lemon juice and brandy. Add nutmeg. Add the cream slowly and combine ingredients, then whisk vigorously until it 

holds a soft peak. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until they hold a soft beak. Fold the egg whites gently into the 

cream mixture. The syllabub can be eaten soon after beating or left to chill for a couple of hours. 

Deb Marlowe loves to read, write, bake and geek 

out with her family. You can find information on her 

Regency historical romances and see her totally amateur, 

untrained, history-tidbit-laden videos of her making historic 

recipes at her website: www.DebMarlowe.com 

67 


A Trip Back through Time 

in a Shaker Village by Ann H. Gabhart, author of The Refuge 

Have you ever met a Shaker? Probably not 

unless you’ve been to the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village 

in Maine where two Shakers still reside in the only active 

Shaker village remaining. The other nineteen villages that 

once dotted the eastern states and Kentucky, Ohio and 

Indiana have long passed into history. Fortunately for history 

buffs, many of those villages have been restored with 

museums that show how Shakers once lived and thrived 

in those places. 

The Shakers were a religious group that called 

themselves the Society of Believers in the Second Coming 

of Christ. The founder of the group was Ann Lee, a 

woman born in England who brought a small group of 

eight followers to the new country of America in 1774. 

Those outside the society called the Society members 

Shakers because of how they were sometimes so overcome 

by spiritual emotion during their singing and dancing 

worship that they would tremble and shake. 

68 


The Shakers actually embraced this name 

originally coined in ridicule and used it on their seeds, 

elixirs and other products they sold to the “world” as the 

Shakers called those outside their villages. In fact, Shaker 

was probably the first trusted name brand in the United 

States. 

The Shakers did have some beliefs that set them 

apart. They gathered their converts in villages they 

hoped would be like heavens on earth. They eschewed all 

manner of worldly trappings and sought peace and unity 

in all things. Since they intended their villages to be like 

heaven, they were celibate since Jesus says in the Bible 

that there are no marriages in heaven. 

In their large houses, the men lived on one side 

of the hallways and the women on the other. The Shaker 

leaders were so serious about keeping their rules of living 

as brothers and sisters that they had two staircases in 

every house. That was to keep even an incidental touch 

on the stairways from plummeting their converts into 

sin, as they might say. It does appear they did understand 

human nature. 

The Shakers’ most familiar saying is “Hearts 

to God. Hands to work.” The Shakers believed that 

work was a way to worship, and so every able-bodied 

Shaker member or aspiring convert had to work with 

their hands. Another of their sayings, attributed to their 

Mother Ann, was "Labor to make the way of God your 

own; let it be your inheritance, your treasure, your occupation, 

your daily calling." 

This call to work even included their ministry 

leaders, two brethren and two sisters, who lived apart 

from the rest of the community in order to remain 

unbiased in regard to any disputes that might arise in the 

village. These leaders lived in the upper floor over their 

meetinghouse and had their own private workshop close 

by. 

One of the Shaker sayings was “Do your work 

as though you had a thousand years to live and as if 

you were to die tomorrow.” This statement was meant 

to encourage their members to work efficiently and at 

the same time, do the very best work they could. In the 

pursuit of this excellence and efficiency, the Shakers 

69 


came up with many inventions in 

order to make their work easier and 

better. A Shaker sister is credited 

with inventing the circular saw when 

she observed the brothers using a 

crosscut saw and thought of how her 

spinning wheel worked. The Shakers 

were ahead of the times with the 

equality of the sexes. While work 

was still divided along gender lines, 

women did hold leadership roles 

and were considered equals in the 

society. That was radical thinking for 

the early 1800s. 

The Shakers were known for 

their fine craftsmanship in regard 

to the furniture they built and the 

structures in their villages. At a time 

when ornate design was popular, the 

Shakers made everything simple. 

They had a worship song “Tis a Gift 

to Be Simple.” One of their reasons 

for making furniture without deco-

I had to put that in a book, 

which I did in The Seeker. 

With The Refuge, the sight 

of the cradles in the Shaker 

museums made me wonder 

about babies in the village 

and started me down a new 

story road. 

rative additions was that it made them easier to clean. 

They had peg boards around every wall so they could 

hang things up off the floors to make sweeping easier. 

Their chairs were hung upside down to keep dust off the 

seats. Their beds had wheels to be more easily moved for 

cleaning under them. 

They not only crafted brooms and invented a 

machine to make the first flat brooms, they had worship 

songs where they acted out sweeping away sinful 

thoughts and actions while they sang. The Shakers 

staunchly believed in cleanliness as their Mother Ann 

told them “Good spirits will not live where there is dirt.” 

That went back to making their villages heavens on earth 

for dirt would not be in heaven. 

At their peak in 1840, the Shakers had 6,000 

members in their twenty villages. But times changed. After 

the Civil War, the Shaker products couldn’t compete 

with the similar things being made in the industrialized 

factories. Jobs were easier to find and people weren’t so 

ready to live by the Shaker rules. The main rules were 

communal property where a convert gave over ownership 

of any possessions to the Society, celibate living with 

all living as brothers and sisters, and confession. They 

also had many rules they hoped would contribute to the 

unity of their society such as wearing similar clothing 

and even rules on which knee should first hit the floor 

when they kneeled to pray. 

For all their oddities and rules, they were a 

peaceful people known for their generosity, hard work, 

and superior products. They built amazing buildings 

out of the material they had at hand. The Pleasant Hill 

Shaker Village Centre House was built in 1835 from 

stone quarried from the nearby river cliffs. Micajah 

Burnett came into the Pleasant Hill Village as a teenager 

and although untrained, became a gifted architect who 

designed many of their buildings. He also built these 

amazing stairways in their Trustee building that has survived 

through the years. It now holds a restaurant where 

you can order Shaker fare and see these twin staircases 

as they wind up through the air. 

Those two things, the Centre House and those 

beautiful staircases have made an appearance in almost 

all my Shaker stories and they do again in my new Shaker 

release, The Refuge. The Shaker generosity to those in 

need is in evidence in this story set in 1850. The Shakers 

never turned away those in need and took in orphans 

and the destitute. Even if the needy person was simply 

passing through, the Shakers gave them food. This was 

difficult for them during the Civil War, when both the 

Union and Confederate armies would come through 

their villages in search of food. When I read about how 

the Shakers at Pleasant Hill set up trestle tables beside 

the road and kept them filled with food for the soldiers 

to grab as they marched through their village, I knew 

Thank you for joining 

me on this historical tour 

of the Shakers. If you are ever 

near any of the villages open 

to visitors, I hope you’ll take 

an actual walk on the same 

walkways that Shakers did 

many years ago. 

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71 


Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling and award-winning author of 

several Shaker novels—The Outsider, The Believer, The Seeker, The 

Blessed, The Gifted, and The Innocent—as well as historical novels—River 

to Redemption, These Healing Hills, Angel Sister, Love 

Comes Home, and more. Writing as A. H. Gabhart, she is also the 

author of the popular Hidden Springs Mysteries series. She has been 

a finalist for the ECPA Book of the Year and the Carol Awards, has 

won two Selah Awards for Love Comes Home, and won RWA’s Faith, 

Hope, and Love Award for These Healing Hills. Ann and her husband 

enjoy country life on a farm a mile from where she was born in rural 

Kentucky. 

Learn more at www.annhgabhart.com 

72 


The Secret to Creating 

a "Super-Couple" 

I have written articles and blogs on creating 

“real” characters for years, but I’ve never been able to 

pinpoint the answer to an often-asked question: “What 

is the secret to creating characters who are so real and 

memorable that readers get attached and feel as though 

these characters really lived?” 

I generally get so deeply involved with my 

characters that when I am writing them, the hero feels as 

close to me as my own husband, and I have no problem 

walking right into the heroine’s shoes. There are times 

when I still “feel” Jake Harkner, from my Outlaw series, 

standing or sitting right beside me. The same thing still 

happens with Zeke Monroe, the hero from my Savage 

Destiny series, which I wrote 40 years ago and which is 

still a great seller! Why? I think it’s because Zeke and Abbie 

from that series became a “super-couple.” 

Certain of my characters are so real to me that 

I sometimes think I will meet them when I die. Readers 

have asked me how I manage such reality. Part of the 

answer is that soon after I start a book I don’t feel like 

the author “creating” a story any more. I feel like the 

spirits of people from the past are “telling” their stories 

- through me. I don’t see us as author and characters. I 

see us as me and some people I used to know. I’ve never 

quite known how to pinpoint the ways I make this happen, 

but … of all things … I recently I found the answer 

in SOAP OPERA DIGEST, and blogged about it (www. 

rosannebittner.blogspot.com). 

When I was given the opportunity to offer 

an article for this first edition of Historical Romance 

Magazine, I decided a conversation about writing the 

“super-couple” would be a great way to help launch the 

magazine. We are, after all, talking about romance and 

great love stories here, and the “super-couple” is often 

by Rosanne Bittner 

73 


the result of those love stories. 

The Soap Opera Digest article that helped me 

answer the age-old question – “What’s the secret to 

writing the super-couple?” – was an interview with Eric 

Braeden, who plays the legendary and very rich Victor 

Newman in THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. I have 

watched this soap whenever I can for a good 35 years, 

(probably longer), and Mr. Braeden has been a cornerstone 

character on the soap that entire time. Last year 

he wrote a book about his life called I’LL BE DAMNED, 

which I purchased because I really like and respect this 

man’s personal life and his acting. 

In this particular article about Mr. Braeden, the 

interviewer asked him about soaps and what it takes 

to create iconic soap characters that become “supercouples” 

or in some other way long-term, memorable 

characters that support and stabilize the soap, and who 

are probably the reason certain soaps remain extremely 

popular for years and years and are never cancelled. 

The character of Victor Newman is one such 

character, and although he can be ruthless and mean and 

makes you almost hate him at times, he has had a long, 

long relationship with his lovely wife Nikki (played by 

Melody Thomas Scott) who was a stripper when Victor 

met her! These two soon became a “super-couple,” and 

they have endured as the foundation of this soap ever 

since. Even as they have aged over the years, Victor and 

Nikki remain favorites on the show and even still share a 

deep romance as elders of the soap. And in spite of Victor’s 

ruthlessness, his love for Nikki, and hers for him, 

always shows through, even when they are apart. There 

is something about Victor that fans love – and that Nikki 

loves. It’s the same with Nikki - something about her that 

fans love – and that Victor loves. 

After all my searching for the right word that 

describes WHY these characters are so loveable and 

memorable and why viewers can’t quite let go of them, it 

was Eric Braeden who hit the nail on the head. The key 

is VULNERABILITY. Thank you, Mr. Braeden, for your 

description of what makes fans empathize and fall in 

love with certain characters over others. 

For some reason, I never came up with that 

"I feel like the spirits of people from the past are 

“telling” their stories - through me. I don’t see 

us as author and characters. I see us as me and 

some people I used to know. " 

word – vulnerability - as the one primary necessity in 

creating memorable characters, even though I have used 

vulnerability heavily in most of my books, especially 

in my SAVAGE DESTINY series and my OUTLAW 

HEARTS series. The heroes (and often the heroines) 

in my books come from some kind of tragedy, usually 

due to war or to an emotionally destructive childhood. 

When you make readers understand WHY the main 

characters are so vulnerable and easy to sympathize with 

in the story, you have those readers hooked – and you 

have them rooting for those characters, even if they may 

not me the most likeable or the most law-abiding or the 

most gentle and loving people in the story. 

In Mr. Braeden’s words, “Essentially what people 

react to, I think, is vulnerability in the characters they 

watch. I don’t care how mean they are, how ruthless 

they can be or whatever, but there is a vulnerability, and 

there’s a vulnerability in Victor’s relationship to Nikki 

and vice versa. I think that is what people respond to. 

Some actors protect their vulnerability enormously and 

don’t allow you to get in, and others do.” 

I think here Mr. Braeden is saying that it’s those 

actors who expose their characters’ vulnerabilities in a 

real, empathetic way, who end up creating memorable 

characters in whom the viewers fall in love. Thus, some 

become soap icons, and some don’t. It’s the actors who 

seem to BE the character they play who create the biggest 

icons. Some soap actors get hate mail because the 

character they play is so mean and devious, while other 

actors are loved because fans love the characters they 

play. Fans identify the actors with their characters, forgetting 

that it’s just acting. And most people empathize 

with the vulnerability of the characters they love or don’t 

love. The same thing happens with readers who see the 

vulnerability in certain characters in a book. They will 

put up with and even root for a mean and nasty character 

if they understand what happened to make that 

person the way he or she is. 

In the case of Victor Newman on THE YOUNG 

AND THE RESTLESS, he was abandoned at an orphanage 

at a young age and never knew real love growing up. 

He soon learned he could depend only on himself if he 

wanted to survive and succeed, and becoming rich helps 

him feel safe and protected from that world that hurts so 

much. When you’re rich, no one can get to you, or so he 

grew up believing. For my character Jake Harkner in my 

Outlaw books, his vulnerability comes from an extremely 

abusive childhood. He saw his father kill his mother and 

little brother, and from then on he could not stand to 

see abuse of a child or a woman – to the point that he 

is so protective of his own family that it often gets him 

in trouble with the law. His own abuse led to killing his 

father, and that event affects every decision Jake makes 

from then on. It also affects his own low self-esteem, even 

though he can be a good and caring man. His ruthless 

background follows him his whole life. 

I have sometimes mentioned that deep down inside, Jake 

is a man who desperately wants to be loved, and needing 

that love is his biggest vulnerability. His wife, Miranda, 

loves him beyond measure, in spite of his ruthless past 

and mean nature – because she understands the deepseeded 

reasons for his behavior. Jake always feels he is 

not deserving of her love, or of his children’s love. In 

return, Miranda’s vulnerability is needing the wonderful 

feeling of safety she realizes when Jake is by her side. She 

was afraid and alone when she met him and he helped 

her go west to find a brother. On the way, Miranda grew 

to depend on Jake’s strength and his ability with fists and 

guns to protect her. Jake in turn found a woman with a 

big heart who was willing to forgive his past and love him 

in spite of it … and the longer he helped her on her journey, 

the more that need to protect grew in his soul, as did 

Miranda’s need to FEEL that safety and protection. These 

shared needs make my readers empathize with these two 

and makes them root for their happiness. 

I never thought of vulnerability as possibly the 

one and only characteristic that brings our characters to 

74 


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life to the point of falling in love with them, caring about 

them, and in the long run hating to ever leave them 

(which is why I’ve written several series stories and trilogies). 

When I think about it, some of my characters are 

far more vulnerable to loving and needing to be loved 

than others; and it’s those who were the most vulnerable 

and with the most tragic (and believably so) pasts that 

became the most real to me and to my readers – and the 

ones of whom even I had the hardest time letting go. 

The biggest clue to creating genuine empathy on 

the part of readers is to make whatever tragedy certain 

characters have experienced as real and believable as 

possible, rather than outrageous and beyond believable. 

For me, that is the other clue to creating a super couple. 

REALITY. Pair that with VULNERABILITY, and you 

have a story – and characters - not soon forgotten. 

The next time you, as a reader, fall in love with a 

certain hero and heroine and absolutely hate the thought 

of their story ending, ask yourself why. My bet is that 

it will come down to reality and vulnerability. So from 

author to readers - Happy Reading! If you are reading my 

books, I hope you will let me know if you see the reality 

and especially the vulnerability in the characters you love 

best! Feel free to contact me on Facebook or through my 

e-mail – rosannebittner17@outlook.com. I am also on 

Twitter and Goodreads. Enjoy! 

A Stitch in 

Time 

Nancy Feldman 

Bringing History to 

Life through Fashion 

Rosanne Bittner is a USA TODAY best-selling author with 68 

books in print, most of them about America’s “Old West” and full of real 

American history. She has also written about the American Revolution, 

the Civil War, the Indian wars, the building of the Union Pacific Railroad 

and many other famous American historical events. She has been 

writing for 40 years and has won numerous writing awards. She and her 

husband of over 53 years live in southwest Michigan but have traveled 

the West for as long as Rosanne has been writing. They have visited just 

about every site depicted in Rosanne’s books. Rosanne’s newest book, 

LOGAN’S LADY (Sourcebooks), was published in March 2019. 

Her books are sold in Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble, and all her titles 

are available at Amazon.com. Visit Rosanne’s web site at 

www.rosannebittner.com to learn more about her books. 

76 


I have always been a giant ham—and that’s not 

just because of my close personal identification with 

the icon of plus size glamour, Miss Piggy, but because a 

sense of theatricality has always been part of my genetic 

makeup. I started performing on stage at the age of 

three and kept it up for years—I even considered it as a 

career. In real life, I have always been quite insecure, so 

being on stage gave me confidence. Subtlety has never 

been my strong suit, so embodying a larger than life 

character on stage allowed me a cathartic way to channel 

my gigantic personality away from the unsuspecting 

public with whom I interacted on a daily basis. It was 

terrific fun. My favorite time of the process was always 

the day we got our costumes. Would I get something 

fabulous? A tiara? Please say that I’ll get a tiara! Or 

maybe a giant hat... 

Circumstances change, we grow up, and the realities 

of life set in. Being a performer is a very difficult 

life, and fortunately I discovered that it was not for me 

while I could still change my mind. And since my favorite 

part was always playing with the costumes, I decided 

that that was where I should be. I focused on costume 

design for what remained of college and then pursued a 

degree in fashion design. 

I joined the 

world of wardrobe and never looked back. I’ve made 

quite a career as a Dresser and Wardrobe Supervisor, 

which has been extremely fulfilling. I get to be part of 

77 


the energy of a live show without the pressure of having 

to go to the gym! And while I am very content not to be 

the center of attention on a daily basis, I would be lying 

if I said I’ve never paraded around a wardrobe room in 

an abandoned tiara just for fun, but only in the privacy 

of the backstage. I’ve never been into cosplay or historical 

reenacting, so I never thought getting to play dress 

up in public would ever be an option. I was content to 

live in the world of Masterpiece Theatre and Historical 

Romance novels, and would just savor the days when I 

could wear a tiara while doing laundry. 

I credit my friend Brynn with my newly found 

love of adult dress up. A proud New Orleanian, most 

of her year was spent planning for her next Mardis Gras 

costume. When we discovered the Historical Romance 

Retreat and saw that it had a dress up component, she 

convinced me we should give it a go. I’ve always been 

a strong stitcher and have been trained in the basics of 

pattern making, but creating historical garments was 

very new to me. I quickly discovered an entire world of 

historical costumers and resources I never knew existed. 

The planning, research, and execution of my costumes 

was so incredibly rewarding that I became hooked. And 

let me tell you—it’s way more fun to wear a bustle in 

public than hidden away in some theater basement. 

You don’t have to be master pattern maker to 

do this. The historical reenactment and cosplay com-

munity has established quite a marketplace of 

patterns, goods, and tutorials. I believe what 

really makes the look pop is a solid foundation 

of period appropriate undergarments, 

which can easily be purchased from places like 

Redthreaded or Etsy. Historical patterns typically 

have really thorough instructions for both 

machine sewing and historically accurate hand 

sewing (I have had success with Truly Victorian 

and Laughing Moon Mercantile, but there are 

countless other companies as well). Historical 

Sewing with Jennifer Rosbrugh and American 

Duchess are a couple of the blogs I follow that 

have helpful tutorials and resource guides. And 

of course, there’s a rabbit hole one can easily fall 

into with Instagram hashtags like #historicalcostuming 

and Pinterest searches. My biggest 

challenge has always been finding patterns with 

an adequate size range as I am a very large gal, 

but they are out there if you look hard enough. 

For me, dressing up is about having fun 

and feeling fabulous. It’s not about historical 

accuracy, though I’ve always been the first to 

yell in a movie theater about historical inaccuracies 

in costume designs. (Seriously Belle, do 

you know what kind of ladies in the eighteenth century wandered 

through town with their skirts hiked up? Ahem. Let’s just call 

them “working girls.) And it’s not just about the dresses—it’s 

about the whole look. I always repeat the mantra ‘go big or go 

home’ when internally debating costume elements. Why wear 

one rhinestone necklace when you can layer two or three? How 

many plumes can I fit in my hair? Challenge accepted. I once 

had an author compliment my ensemble by saying “I love how 

you have such a sense of theatricality.” And I think that’s what 

gives me the confidence to do this. I mean, why wear a giant 

hat if you’re not going to flaunt it? In real life I am voluntarily 

relegated to the sidelines where no one notices my many insecurities. 

But when I’m all dolled up and corseted and bejeweled, I’m a 

princess. 

I invite all of you to follow along with me as I share my 

love of historical costumes and dress up shenanigans in upcoming 

issues of Historical Romance Magazine. I will be sharing the 

inspiration behind my projects, works in progress, and other fun 

I encounter along the way. In real life I am voluntarily relegated 

to the sidelines where no one notices my many insecurities. But 

when I’m all dolled up and corseted and bejeweled, I’m a princess. 

Perhaps this will inspire you to make something for yourself and 

embrace your own inner fabulousness. After all, everything is 

better if you’re wearing a tiara! 

Nancy has been a professional wardrobe technician and costumer 

for almost two decades. She has worked on Broadway, television, 

theme parks, and theaters across the country. She’s currently 

the Wardrobe and Makeup Supervisor for Blue Man Group at 

Universal Orlando Resort where she can often be found reading 

romance novels backstage between cues. 

79 


EAT LIKE A VIKINg 

with Gina Conkle 

Food. It’s a basic need and a source of pleasure. 

What we eat can also define class and culture. The 

same was true for Vikings. Kings and jarls were known 

to bring out fine glassware, spread white table cloths 

(yes, really!), and roast a pig for high value guests. 

That’s nice for highborn folk, but what about the average 

Viking matron who wants to put dinner on the table? 

How does she manage the day to day business of farm 

and family? 

The summer of 2016 I decided to put these 

questions to the test. After doing a little research, I 

announced to my family that I would grow a Viking 

vegetable garden and cook Viking meals. My all-male 

household smiled and nodded at my crazy idea. 

What follows is my adventure from that fun summer 

project, or you could call it Four Things I Learned when 

Eating like a Viking. 

1. They ate their green veggies 

Do you think Viking moms had a hard time getting their 

kiddos to eat their veggies? History doesn’t say much 

there, but one thing is clear: Vikings ate kale. Lots of 

it! I loved reading that big strapping warriors chomped 

on the power vegetable. So, of course, I grew kale. I was 

amazed to see it was the first to sprout in my garden. 

Turnips, leeks, and onions also topped the list of Viking 

vegetables. 

2. They ate “super” fruit 

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Most people know berries are chock full of antioxidants. 

For the typical shopper, that means 

grabbing blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries. 

But there’s another berry that quadruples the 

anti-oxidants found in blueberries—the lingonberry. 

It’s small, red, tart like a cranberry, and you 

guessed it, its native to Scandinavia. 

With super lingonberries, no wonder Vikings 

could roam the seas. Nordic people ate them 

fresh or dried them like raisins, which makes the 

berry travel well. 

But what about the busy matron who stays home 

to tend farm and family? 

3. Bread in a bag 

This was by far my favorite find in researching 

Viking food. Like so many moms on the go, 

dinner plans sometimes fall through the cracks. 

Norse women had the same problems you and I 

do, trying to get through her to do list, but unlike 

the modern woman, she didn't have a drive thru. 

Enter bread in a bag (and sometimes dinner in a 

bag). 

Most breads in Vikingdom were pan fried. We 

know about the ovens in Lejre, but it's possible 

most Norse women boiled dough like dumplings 

or knodeln. Anglo Saxon sources tell about meals 

being wrapped in linen or other cloth and boiled 

in stock. 

There's no definitive evidence that confirms 

Vikings did this. However, some finds in Viking 

archaeological sites hint at this cooking method. 

A matron could wrap up dinner in a linen bag, toss it in a 

cauldron of stock, and let it slow cook all day or boil it if she's 

short on time. 

I did a version of bread in a bag with lingonberries. The verdict: 

It’s good! 

Here’s the recipe: 

~2 cups of flax* flour 

~1 cup water 

~1/2 cups dried lingonberries 

~honey to taste 

Mix the ingredients together until the dough is a consistent 

lump (it'll look like a large scone only doughy). 

Dust your linen cloth or cheesecloth with a sprinkle of flax 

flour (most Vikings would've used barley or rye for this 

recipe). Knot the "bag" and put it in a pan of boiling water. I 

prefer to use bone broth for meals in a bag versus bread with 

berries. 

Cook for 30-40 minutes. Remove the bag with tongs and let it 

sit until cooled. 

When the bag is not too hot to the touch, you can cut or 

untie the top and voila! Bread in a bag...Viking fast food. Try 

it with a little butter. 

4. Dairy products were a mid-summer 

mainstay 

Cheese, skyr**, milk, and buttermilk were common 

sources of protein. Vikings were accomplished cheese 

makers. They typically ate only two meals a day. However, 

during long summer workdays, they’d stop to 

replenish themselves with buttermilk. It was considered 

refreshing, even getting a mention in the Sagas. 

Tables were brought forth and they were given food: 

bread and butter. Large boxes with skyr were also placed 

on the table. Bard said: "I regret much that I have no ale 

to offer you, though I would have liked to." You will have 

to suffice with that which is here. Olvi and his followers 

were very thirsty and drank the skyr. At that Bard 

brought out some buttermilk and that they drank as well. 

~Egil's Saga 

The Norse like their dairy foods. Tradition tells of Viking 

raiders who went to conquer a region in Spain, but the 

locals fought hard, leaving the invaders stuck on an 

island in the middle of a river. Lore has it those Vikings 

traded in their war hammers to become cheese farmers, 

and to this day that area is known for its hard cheeses, 

which is another place I’ll have to research food-wise. 

Doing this summer project put the fun and tastiness 

back into history. I hope you give one of these recipes a 

try. If you do, stop by my Facebook page, GinaConkle- 

Writer and let me know how it went. 

Bon appetite…Viking style!

*Flax flour. The more common grains Vikings used would've been rye, barley, or oats for their breads. Flax wasn't 

thought of as much for food, rather it was grown as a working plant. The fibers were used to make linen. Fatty linseeds 

used in cooking (as they are today). Some breads discovered at Birka's archaeological digs had flax seeds in them. 

**Skyr (pronounced skeer) is a cultured, yogurt-like dairy product. It’s been an Icelandic staple since the Book of Settlement 

days (the late 800s). It's similar to Greek yogurt but milder in flavor. 

Gina Conkle 

Award winning author of Viking and Georgian romance. 

Visit ginaconkle.com 

The Bookworm and 

the Beast 

By Jude Knight 

"I will not be able to come here after today," Charis 

informed the dog. She had met him first a week ago, when he 

appeared out of the trees to demand attention. Each day since, he 

had been waiting when she arrived at her favourite reading spot: 

the bench outside the old forgotten folly in the woods on the 

neighbouring estate. 

The dog leaned more heavily against her dress, tipping 

his head even higher, his eyes shut in ecstasy. Charis took the 

hint, and worked her scratching fingers from behind his ear to 

under his chin. She was rewarded with a sigh. 

Charis echoed it. "They have never cared before. Fifteen 

years I have been coming here, and they have been happy to 

have me out of the house. But the earl who owns the estate is 

coming to stay, Mama says. Perhaps he will be nice, dog. Perhaps 

he won't mind a girl who only wants a quiet place to read." 

He wouldn't be nice, though. After all, even Charis—who 

was bored by gossip and uninterested in the fashionable world— 

had heard about the Earl of Wayford. He was wild to a fault and 

selfish to the core. And while the books Charis read did not exactly 

explain what 'wild to a fault' meant, she knew a girl could 

be ruined by such a man — and ruined was a very bad thing; one 

that would affect not just her, but her five sisters. 

They were annoying, noisy, and silly. They constantly 

interrupted her to drag her into their activities, none of which appealed 

to her in the least. But she loved them. 

One couldn't rewrite people in real life to make them 

82 


83 


easier to live with, or safer for a quiet and harmless 

trespasser who loved to read. One could only find 

another refuge. 

She sighed again. 

The best she could hope for was that the 

nasty man would go away again soon. The sooner 

the better. 

*** 

Ever since his return a sennight ago, Eric 

had watched Charis from his vantage point in the 

hidden loft above the folly, wary of putting their old 

friendship to the test now both of them were grown. 

But he couldn’t let her leave without speaking to 

her, here in the sanctuary they had found together 

so many years ago. 

Would she be frightened? Horrified by his 

scars as she had not been by the unsightly growth 

that had devastated his childhood? In London, 

when he had asked about Miss Charis Dalrymple, 

most people looked blank. They recalled the eldest 

Dalrymple sister, who had married a baron, and the 

third and fourth, who had made a hit in their Season 

just last year. But only a few managed to bring 

Charis to mind. “Quiet,” one of them told him. 

“Shy. Didn’t take.” 

Quiet, he expected. She had always been reserved 

with those she did not know. But shy? If so, 

she had changed in the ten years since his brother 

Aleric had died, and his mother had determined that 

the freakish changeling inflicted on her as a third 

child must be carved into a suitable replacement 

heir, should something happen to the first. 

Charis was saying goodbye to the dog. He 

could delay no longer. He leaned out of the window 

and called her name. “Charis.” 

She leapt to her feet and looked up, her 

brows drawn together. 

How beautiful she had grown. The men of 

London must all be blind. Her wide blue eyes narrowed, 

and then she smiled and held her hands up 

as if she would fetch him down through the window. 

“Eric? Eric, is it really you?” 

Ugo gave an amiable bark, and wagged 

his tail, then collapsed onto the grass at 

Charis’s feet. She frowned again, looking 

from the dog to its master. “He is yours? 

Oh, but he has been here this last sennight. 

Eric, have you been hiding from me for a 

week?” 

“I did not want to scare you, Charis. 

I never thought you would know me right 

away. But wait, I will come down.” 

The loft had not been made for 

human occupation, being simply a space 

above the room below, with two window 

spaces designed to be viewed from the 

ground. But Eric had worked out long ago, 

when escaping from his brothers during his 

mother’s six-monthly visits, that he could 

swing from one of the surrounding oaks 

and gain access. His greater height and that 

of the trees made it even easier, and in moments 

he had joined Charis on the ground. 

“Of course, I knew you,” she 

greeted him. “No one has eyes like yours, 

Eric. And no one calls me Charis except 

you. Here!” She backed to sit again on the 

bench, sweeping her gown to one side and 

patting the place beside her. “Come and 

sit with me and tell me everything you’ve 

done since last we could write. Oh, Eric, 

when Nanny died, I felt as if I had lost you 

both, and I can only imagine how you must 

have felt so far away from home! I am so 

sorry.” 

“I thought it was worse for you,” 

Eric told her, “stuck here and no one knowing 

or caring how important she was to us 

both.” 

When Eric had been sent to Italy, 

Nanny had been given a cottage in the village 

and a pension. “I will write, Nanny,” 

he had said. “I will write to you and you 

can tell Charis what the letters say.” They 

had already reluctantly agreed that Charis 

would not be able to receive letters from 

him directly, not just because he was a boy 

and a flawed one at that, but because no one 

in the Dalrymple household knew of Charis’s 

secret excursions and the friendship she and 

Eric had formed. 

“My dear boy,” the old lady told him, 

fondly. “I never did learn to read, and now it’s 

too late, for my eyes are not what they used to 

be.” 

Charis gave her a hug. “I shall read 

them to you,” she promised. And so Eric 

wrote each letter for the two females who 

loved him, sending them good news and bad. 

Philip, the tutor assigned to instruct and care 

for him, who came to be his closest friend. 

The repeated operations to remove the strawberry 

growth that marred the whole left side 

of his face. The infection that nearly killed 

him. The new friends he made when he was 

well again and Philip took him into Italian 

Society. There, the scars became something 

of a passport to new friendships as he and 

Philip vied to make up more and more outrageous 

stories about their cause. His favourite 

cast him as a ruthless brawler who had met up 

with a bandit better than he at knife fighting. 

In the story, the bandit was so impressed with 

his courage that Eric stayed with the gang for 

six weeks, being trained by the bandit. 

And then the letters stopped. Six years 

ago, the village rector wrote, expressing his 

condolences on the death of Mrs Parker, and 

enclosing the most recent of Eric’s missives, 

unopened. And since then, nothing. 

Eric had stayed in Italy even after he 

reached his majority. This village had been 

his prison, not his home, and the only two 

people who ever cared about him were lost, 

for surely Charis had forgotten about him as 

she moved into Society and acquired the suitors 

she richly deserved. Handsome men, men 

who were accepted by their families, men 

with their own fortunes. 

But here she was, sitting beside him, her 

lovely eyes shining. “Oh Eric, I am so glad you are 

home,” she exclaimed. 

And he was, he realised. Home for him had 

always been Nanny and Charis. “I never forgot 

you,” he told her. 

She looked down, suddenly shy. “I never 

forgot you, either.” 

Greatly daring, he asked the question that 

had been burning within him since his stay in London. 

“Is that why you never bothered with the men 

of the ton?” 

Charis blushed, and would not meet his 

eyes. “They were all silly,” she protested. 

“And you are promised to me.” 

“A childhood promise,” she murmured, so 

quietly he had to bend closer to hear her, the urge to 

put an arm around her and rest his lips on the tender 

flesh of her check so strong that he moved away 

again immediately, so he did not alarm her. 

He had pinned his hopes on that promise for 

the first part of his decade away, fallen into despair 

when their last link was cut, and — when forced 

to return to England — suppressed every foolish 

thought of rekindling the romance that had never 

had a chance to grow. Those thoughts were out of 

control now, rampaging across his consciousness, 

yelling ‘Mine’, ‘Mine’, ‘Mine’, like the Norman 

barons who were his remote ancestors. 

“Am I to court you, then, and win the adult 

woman’s promise?” he asked. 

*** 

Charis was barely aware of the path home, 

turning by rote into the short cut through the home 

woods, and slipping quietly along behind the 

stables so she could come at the house from the opposite 

direction of the Wayford estate. 

Eric was home. He was tall and handsome 

and charming, but underneath it all, the same sweet 

friend she had missed for ten long years. He even 

still remembered their childhood vow to wed, 

which she would not hold him to, of course, once 

he got to know her again. 

84 

85 



Her own family did not care to know her, 

and none of the people she had met in London 

pursued more than a surface acquaintance. To be 

fair, they interested her no more than she interested 

them. She had long known that her love of books 

and her way of questioning the world set her apart. 

She would rather be lonely than have to pretend to 

be someone she was not. 

Perhaps Eric would not lose interest. They 

had been friends once; they were on the way to 

being friends again. Once she had recovered her 

balance after the surprise of seeing him, and his 

shocking interest in courting her, they had talked as 

if they had never been separated. 

She managed to reach her room without being 

intercepted. When the door opened half an hour 

later without a knock to announce her visitor, she 

was sitting at her desk writing in her diary in the 

code she had devised to keep her nosy sisters from 

learning her secrets. 

“Cas, you will never guess.” That was 

Matilda. Eugenie didn’t wait for Charis to try. “The 

earl has been here for a whole week, but hasn’t 

been visiting.” 

Charis knew that, because Eric had told 

her, assuring her the earl wouldn’t bother her if 

she came to meet Eric again tomorrow, back at 

the folly. Could she do it? She shouldn’t. It would 

make her mother angry if she found out. On the 

other hand, Eric would keep her safe, she just knew 

it. 

Eric, she knew, was some kind of relative 

of the earl’s, and the man and his family should be 

ashamed that they treated Eric so badly over something 

he could not help. To be fair, she supposed the 

earl would have been a child at the start of it, and at 

least he had brought his cousin or whatever home 

after all this time. 

The earl was touring all his estates, Eric had 

said, but would be staying here for a few weeks. 

“We will have time to get to know one another 

again,” Eric promised. 

“Cas, you’re not listening!” Matilda 

stamped one elegantly clad foot. 

Phoebe, who was still in the schoolroom 

but already planning her wardrobe for 

the next Season, snorted. “She never listens. 

She has her head in a book even when she 

isn’t reading a book.” 

“Cas, this is important,” Eugenie 

insisted. “Mama is going to invite the earl to 

dinner, and you must at least try to be normal. 

Mama’s friend Mrs Greenham says her sister 

in London says he is definitely looking for a 

wife. And why not one of us?” 

Dear me. But the man was wicked. 

“Why would you want to marry a man who 

was wicked?” she asked. 

“You mean the fighting?” Eugenie 

waved one hand. “I wouldn’t mind. He can 

stop doing it now.” 

Fighting? Was that part of being wild? 

Charis thought about some of the men in the 

stories she’d read and decided it made sense. 

Fighting, and drinking, and treating women 

badly. 

“I would not count on that,” she 

warned her sisters. “Mrs Eggleston says you 

should never marry expecting your husband 

to change, because you’ll be disappointed.” 

“Oh, Cas,” Eugenie groaned. “You 

and your old village women.” 

“Mrs Eggleston was a farmer labourer’s 

wife, Cas,” Matilda pointed out. “One 

can’t expect common people to understand. 

Gentlemen are different.” 

“Mama says an earl would be an excellent 

catch,” Phoebe said, and smoothed her 

skirts. “I am going to ask Mama if I can stay 

up and have dinner with you when he comes.” 

Had Mama run mad? Just this morning, 

she had demanded that Charis stay close 

to home while the earl was in the neighbourhood, 

and now she would let the man marry 

one of her daughters? 

That settled it. Charis was meeting 

Eric tomorrow. 

“Oh Cas,” her sisters chorused. 

“Where ever have you gone now?” 

“We might as well leave her alone,” 

Matilda suggested. 

They trooped out, Eugenie pausing 

in the doorway for a parting word. “Cas, you 

will be nice to the earl, won’t you?” 

*** 

In the end, Charis didn’t meet the earl 

when he came to dinner. She had lingered 

too long with Eric that morning, their courtship 

having progressed to gentle and enticing 

kisses. Caught in the rain on the way home, 

she had been summarily dried, sent to have a 

hot bath, and then tucked into bed by Mama, 

who persisted in believing Charis retained 

the weak chest that had plagued her when she 

was fifteen. 

Charis didn’t argue. She had no wish 

to watch her sisters make up to a man her own 

mother described as wicked, and with that 

mother’s approval, too. Besides, she wanted 

to dream about her own man. Her Eric. He 

had promised to talk to her mother and the uncle 

who was nominally her guardian, although 

Uncle Ben was never brave enough to argue 

with Mama. Charis hoped they would favour 

Eric’s suit, but — as she said to Eric — she 

was of age and they had no power to deny her. 

Having gone to bed so early, she was up 

looking out of the window at the pouring rain when 

the maid arrived to make up the fire. There would 

be no walk to the neighbouring estate today. How 

would she manage a whole day with seeing Eric? 

Perhaps he would call. He had said he would do so, 

but only after he had asked Uncle Ben for permission 

to court her. Her! She smiled and twirled a 

little, startling the maid. 

“Never mind me, Annie,” she reassured the 

girl. “It is just that I am happy.” 

She was the first to breakfast, and had 

begun the first of the daily tasks assigned to her before 

anyone else came down. It was her week to do 

the flowers in the drawing room, a task she rather 

enjoyed. She bent to the job of removing the spent 

heads and replacing them with the fresh flowers 

from a bucketful sent in by the gardener. 

“Ah. Cas. I am glad to find you here, my 

dear.” 

“Mama?” Mama was never up this early. 

Whatever could be wrong? 

“I was concerned the cold might have gone 

to your chest.” 

“I am quite well, Mama, as you see.” 

Perhaps she could ask Mama for a carriage 

to take her into the village, and stop on the way 

to see Eric? No. It was impossible. The coachman 

would tell everyone for miles around. 

Mama was still talking. Charis scrambled to 

put the jumbled noise she’d half heard into words 

and sentences. “Such a pity you had to miss dinner 

last night, Cas. I make no doubt you would have 

been glad to have met the earl. But, indeed, you 

will have other opportunities. I have the most exciting 

news, my dearest child. Indeed, I never thought 

I would see this day. Charis, I am so proud of you.” 

Charis furrowed her brow, looking around 

at the vases to see what she might have done to 

prompt such an unusual declaration. 

“To think. My little bookworm is to be the 

Countess of Wayford.” 

“What!” Charis must have heard wrong. 

86 

87 



“Yes, indeed. I do not marvel at your surprise, 

Cas. I was astounded, as was your Uncle 

Ben, when the earl said he had long admired you, 

and would have no other to be his bride.” She patted 

Charis on the shoulder. “No other, Cas. Did you 

hear that?” 

“But I do not know the earl, Mama,” Charis 

protested. 

“Exactly as it should be, dear. But he has 

seen you, and he wants you, and Uncle Ben and I 

have said yes on your behalf.” 

Charis sat, rather heavily, on a handy chair. 

“No. No, I cannot marry the earl. And I will not 

marry him. I am promised to another.” 

Mama drew herself up and glared, her ebullient 

mood shattered. “Another? I know of no other, 

and who is more suitable than Wayford, pray?” 

“His cousin. Mama, you must listen…” 

Grisham, the butler, appeared in the doorway, 

his expression saying that callers at this hour 

of the morning had abandoned all propriety, but 

that Grisham would nonetheless do his duty. 

“The Earl of Wayford, Ma’am,” he announced. 

“See?” Mama insisted, hissing the words in 

a low voice. “He is eager to meet you.” Her tone 

changed to the forced social cheer Charis hated. 

“My dear Wayford. How charming to see you again 

so soon.” 

Charis refused to look up. This was a nightmare. 

How could she possibly be betrothed to two 

men? She who had never had a single suitor? 

How could she get out of this? Would Eric 

consent to an elopement? Perhaps he had enough 

money for them to marry by special license? Would 

he lose his employment if he married the woman 

that the earl wanted? 

Thinking furiously, she hardly noticed when 

Mama and the earl finished their conversation. Only 

when two beautifully polished shoes came into her 

field of vision did she realise that Mama had left 

the room and she was alone with… She looked up 

into familiar and beloved green eyes. “Eric? How 

88 

did you get here?” 

“Charis, I need to tell you…” 

“Eric, they want me to marry the earl. 

I have said I won’t, but Mama would not take 

any notice. Will you help me to make her 

listen?” 

Eric scratched the side of his cheek. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to marry the 

earl,” he asked. 

Charis was indignant. “How can you 

think I would? After we…” she blushed to remember. 

She was not ruined, Eric had assured 

her, and would not be because they would be 

married before he would show her the rest.” 

Eric’s tender smile showed his mind 

had travelled with hers. “It’s just that…” 

“Can you imagine me as a countess?” 

Charis asked. 

“Easily,” Eric assured her. “I have 

been imagining you as a countess for ages. 

Charis, can you just let me…” 

The door flew open, and Matilda and 

Euphemia tumbled into the room, Phoebe just 

catching herself from falling on top of them. 

“You– you–.” Charis turned back to 

Eric, who was trying not to laugh. “They were 

listening at the keyhole, the little baggages. 

You girls apologise to…” She couldn’t call 

him Eric to her sisters. Nanny used to call him 

Lord Eric. Was he still… 

Matilda did not wait, scrambling to 

her feet then curtseying. “I beg your pardon, 

Lord Wayford,” she murmured. Euphemia 

followed, and then Phoebe, each begging 

Lord Wayford’s pardon and receiving a polite 

bow and smile from Eric. 

The pieces fell into place. Charis 

could barely wait until she had pushed her 

sisters out the door and shut it behind them. 

“You are Lord Wayford.” 

“Yes. I was trying to tell you.” 

“You are the wicked earl,” she accused. 

“No, that was my eldest brother. He 

died, you see.” 

Charis paused in her tirade, her ready 

sympathy rising. “I am sorry.” 

Eric shrugged. “I barely knew him, 

and the few memories I have of him are unpleasant. 

He is the one who said I should not 

be called Ric, but Freak or Wreck, and my 

mother called me Wreck from that day on.” 

Phoebe winced, but could not be 

diverted even by Eric’s past sufferings from 

Eric’s current crimes. “Why did you not tell 

me who you were?” 

“I have been trying, Charis darling.” 

“I mean before. When you first came 

home, or at any time these past five days?” 

Was he playing some kind of game? But he 

had asked her to marry him. Yes, and sought 

permission from her mother and her guardian. 

He was shifting from one foot to 

another, embarrassed. “I should have, I know. 

But I wanted… Charis, from the moment I 

became earl, ladies have been trying to marry 

me. None of them knew me, and few of them 

cared if they even liked me.” 

“You thought I was like that?” Charis 

looked down at her hands to hide the tears 

that came unbidden. 

“No!” Eric squatted before her, lifting 

her chin and kissing away the tears. “Never, 

my darling. Rather the opposite. I thought 

you might be the one woman in England who 

would reject me because I am an earl. I’m 

still afraid you might. You won’t will you?” 

Charis was struggling to hold onto 

her indignation at Eric’s deceit, which was 

especially difficult with his eyes so intent on 

hers. He was so close. If she leant forward 

just a bit, she could have one of those heartstopping 

kisses. But she did not want to be 

a countess, did she? Did she, if it meant she 

was Eric’s countess? 

She frowned, just as the door burst 

open again, this time propelled by Ugo, one hundred 

pounds of wet mountain shepherd dog, barking 

his delight at having found Eric — yes, and 

Charis as well. 

In moments, the sisters had joined them. 

Mama, too, all of them screeching when Ugo 

stopped his frantic greetings to his master and Charis 

long enough to shake himself, and to spray the 

whole room with his burden of rain. 

At last, Ugo overcame his excitement 

enough to listen to the wrath in Eric’s voice, and 

to slink behind Charis’s sofa, sliding underneath 

enough to rest a cold wet chin on her foot. “I am 

sorry, Mrs Dalrymple,” Eric told Mama. “He must 

have slipped his collar and followed me.” 

Mama managed a weak smile. “He is a– a 

handsome beast, is he not?” 

“He is a wicked creature, who thinks charm 

will fish him out of well-deserved trouble,” Charis 

said sternly, fixing her beloved with a stern frown. 

“Now, Cas,” Mama started, her eyes wide 

with alarm. 

“If he wants me to be his countess,” Charis 

continued, “he will need to realise that certain 

behaviours are not acceptable.” 

“You should never marry expecting a man 

to change,” Eugenie commented, with a sly grin. 

“Or a woman, either, I suppose,” Matilda 

suggested. 

“I wouldn’t change a thing about Charis. 

She is perfect just as she is,” Eric assured them. 

“She reads a lot, you know,” Phoebe 

warned. 

“I do too,” Eric said. 

Matilda nodded. “And she often doesn’t 

listen.” 

Eric smiled at Charis, his eyes crinkling. “I 

don’t mind repeating myself.” 

Eugenie sighed. “The worst thing is she just 

goes away. You think she is somewhere and she has 

wandered off somewhere else.” 

Eric held out one hand toward Charis. 

“What do you say, my darling? Where do you wan- 

89 



der to, when you go somewhere else?” 

He knew, of course. He had always been 

the one she had wandered to. The one whose absence 

these past years had left her hollow. The one 

who had returned and filled her with joy. Just like 

that, her doubts disappeared. She didn’t care a jot 

more than she had a day ago for being Wayford’s 

countess, but it seemed the title went along with 

being Eric’s wife. 

She sighed, forcing her face into mournful 

lines, but she also took Eric’s hand and spoke 

before the alarm in his eyes could grow. “I suppose 

my wandering days are over, Lord Wayford. Why 

should I wander when you are my home?” 

THE END 

Jude Knight’s writing goal is to transport readers to another 

time, another place, where they can enjoy adventure and 

romance, thrill to trials and challenges, uncover secrets and 

solve mysteries, delight in a happy ending, and return from their 

virtual holiday refreshed and ready for anything. 

Rediscover Why Historical 

Romance Was Your First Love… 

In a magical historical hotel setting, this five 

day retreat is a book lover's dream come true. 

Join some of the world's most celebrated 

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If we don’t see each other in a couple of weeks 

(September 2019), then please join us in 2020! 

Jude writes everything from Hallmark to Regency Noir, in different 

eras and diverse places, short, medium and extra long. 

Expect decent men with wounded hearts, women who are 

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