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The Historical Romance

Author : Helen Hughes

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 266 pages

File Size : 20,79 MB

Release : 2003-09-02

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1134932014

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Book Description

The Historical Romance explores the ways in which romance authors seek to represent our fantasies of life in the past. Examining how the cut-and-thrust swashbucklers of the 1930s gave way to female-orientated romances, Helen Hughes takes a comprehensive look at how romance authors have dealt with the turbulent question of female independence, and how traditional attitudes towards love, marriage and women's sexuality have been approached in more recent texts. Hughes also charts the ways in which the marketing of romance has developed, with the eventual explosion of the mass market and the blockbusting family sagas of the eighties. The Historical Romance unravels the formulaic and mythical nature of historical romance to provide a fascinating study of this highly popular genre.



Indigo

Author : Beverly Jenkins

Publisher :

Page : 359 pages

File Size : 43,57 MB

Release : 1996

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 9780380786589

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Book Description

When the notorious Black Daniel is carried, badly injured, into Hester Wyatt's home, there is no question that he will be cared for and protected. Once a slave herself, Hester regularly gives shelter to runaways, yet the man of mysteries she now harbours brings greater danger than she's ever known, for Black Daniel is a member of a unique elite class of pre Civil War blacks, involved in subversive underground activity, and is also after her heart whether she wants him or not.



My Dearest Enemy

Author : Connie Brockway

Publisher : Loveswept

Page : 386 pages

File Size : 35,97 MB

Release : 2010-12-08

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0307759970

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Book Description

Connie Brockway’s novel of unexpected love begins with a series of letters between a world-weary adventurer and the beautiful suffragette whose passion calls him home. “Dear Mr. Thorne, For the next five years, I will profitably manage this estate. I will deliver to you an allowance and I will prove that women are just as capable as men.” Lillian Bede is shocked when she is tapped to run the affairs of an exquisite country manor. But she accepts the challenge, taking the opportunity to put her politics into practice. There’s only one snag: Lily’s ward, the infuriating, incorrigible globe-trotter Avery Thorne. “My Dear Miss Bede, Forgive me if I fail to shudder. Pray, do whatever you bloody well want, can, or must.” Avery’s inheritance is on hiatus after his uncle dies—and his childhood home is in the hands of some domineering usurper. But when he finally returns, Avery finds that his antagonist is not at all what he expected. In fact, Lily Bede is stunning, exotic, provocative—and impossible to resist. Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from other Loveswept titles.



Slightly Dangerous

Author : Mary Balogh

Publisher : Delacorte Press

Page : 337 pages

File Size : 12,38 MB

Release : 2004-06-01

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0440334993

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Book Description

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Mary Balogh's The Secret Mistress. All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman did catch the duke’s eye—and she was the only female in the room who wasn’t even trying. Christine Derrick is intrigued by the handsome duke…all the more so when he invites her to become his mistress. What red-blooded woman wouldn’t enjoy a tumble in the bedsheets with a consummate lover—with no strings and no questions asked. An infuriating lady with very definite views on men, morals, and marriage, Christine confounds Wulfric at every turn. Yet even as the lone wolf of the Bedwyn clan vows to seduce her any way he can, something strange and wonderful is happening. Now for a man who thought he’d never lose his heart, nothing less than love will do. With her trademark wit, riveting storytelling, and sizzling sexual sparks, Mary Balogh once again brings together two polar opposites: an irresistible, high-and-mighty aristocrat and the impulsive, pleasure-loving woman who shows him what true passion is all about. A man and a woman so wrong for each other, it can result only in the perfect match.



The Shadow and the Star

Author : Laura Kinsale

Publisher : Zondervan

Page : 408 pages

File Size : 49,81 MB

Release : 2009-03-17

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0061751588

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Book Description

The New York Times–bestselling author of The Hidden Heart delivers “pure magic from beginning to end” in this unforgettable Victorian romance (Nora Roberts). The Shadow is wealthy, powerful and majestically handsome, he is a man of dark secrets—a master of the ancient martial arts of an exotic distant land. Scarred by a childhood of shocking degradation, he has sworn to love chastely . . . but burns with the fires of unfulfilled passion. The Star is lovely, innocent and nearly destitute, and drawn to him by a fevered yearning she could never deny—following her enigmatic “shadow warrior” into a dangerous world of desire and righteous retribution. Praise for Laura Kinsale “No one—repeat, no one—writes historical romance better.” —Mary Jo Putney, New York Times–bestselling author “Laura Kinsale is one of the romance genre’s brightest stars.” —Loretta Chase, New York Times–bestselling author “Laura Kinsale creates magic.” —Lisa Kleypas, New York Times–bestselling author



Outlander

Author : Diana Gabaldon

Publisher : Dell

Page : 560 pages

File Size : 43,17 MB

Release : 2004-10-26

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0440335167

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Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A STARZ ORIGINAL SERIES Unrivaled storytelling. Unforgettable characters. Rich historical detail. These are the hallmarks of Diana Gabaldon’s work. Her New York Times bestselling Outlander novels have earned the praise of critics and captured the hearts of millions of fans. Here is the story that started it all, introducing two remarkable characters, Claire Beauchamp Randall and Jamie Fraser, in a spellbinding novel of passion and history that combines exhilarating adventure with a love story for the ages. One of the top ten best-loved novels in America, as seen on PBS’s The Great American Read! Scottish Highlands, 1945. Claire Randall, a former British combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding clans in the year of Our Lord . . . 1743. Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of a world that threatens her life, and may shatter her heart. Marooned amid danger, passion, and violence, Claire learns her only chance of safety lies in Jamie Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior. What begins in compulsion becomes urgent need, and Claire finds herself torn between two very different men, in two irreconcilable lives. This eBook includes the full text of the novel plus the following additional content: • An excerpt from Diana Gabaldon’s Dragonfly in Amber, the second novel in the Outlander series • An interview with Diana Gabaldon • An Outlander reader’s guide Praise for Outlander “Marvelous and fantastic adventures, romance, sex . . . perfect escape reading.”—San Francisco Chronicle “History comes deliciously alive on the page.”—New York Daily News



The Dark Affair

Author : Máire Claremont

Publisher : Penguin

Page : 338 pages

File Size : 30,19 MB

Release : 2014-03-04

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1101609354

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Book Description

The Victorian era was full of majestic beauty and scandalous secrets—a time when corsets were the least of a woman’s restrictions, and men could kill or be killed in the name of honor… Lady Margaret Cassidy left a life of nobility behind in Ireland, forsaking her grieving homeland to aid war-ravaged men in England. Still, she never expected a cruel turn of fate to lock her into an unwanted betrothal with one of her English patients—much less one as broken and dangerous as Viscount Powers. Wrecked by his tragic past, Powers’ opiate-addled sanity hangs precariously in the balance, leaving him poised to destroy anyone who dares to utter the names of the wife and child he still so deeply mourns. So when he is forced to marry Margaret in exchange for freedom, he is shocked by the desire to earn her trust, her body, and—most alarming of all—her heart…



The Pillars of the Earth

Author : Ken Follett

Publisher : Penguin

Page : 1009 pages

File Size : 38,71 MB

Release : 2010-06-29

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1101442190

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Book Description

#1 New York Times Bestseller Oprah's Book Club Selection The “extraordinary . . . monumental masterpiece” (Booklist) that changed the course of Ken Follett’s already phenomenal career—and begins where its prequel, The Evening and the Morning, ended. “Follett risks all and comes out a clear winner,” extolled Publishers Weekly on the release of The Pillars of the Earth. A departure for the bestselling thriller writer, the historical epic stunned readers and critics alike with its ambitious scope and gripping humanity. Today, it stands as a testament to Follett’s unassailable command of the written word and to his universal appeal. The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of Philip, prior of Kingsbridge, a devout and resourceful monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has known . . . of Tom, the mason who becomes his architect—a man divided in his soul . . . of the beautiful, elusive Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame . . . and of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state and brother against brother. A spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy, and absolute power set against the sprawling medieval canvas of twelfth-century England, this is Ken Follett’s historical masterpiece.



Ravishing the Heiress

Author : Sherry Thomas

Publisher : Penguin

Page : 250 pages

File Size : 10,30 MB

Release : 2012-07-03

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 1101569042

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Book Description

Millicent understands the terms of her arranged marriage all too well. She gets to be a Countess by marrying an impoverished Earl. And in return, the Earl Fitzhugh receives the benefit of her vast wealth, saving his family from bankruptcy. Because of her youth, they have agreed to wait eight years before consummating the marriage--and then, only to beget an heir. After which, they will lead separate lives. It is a most sensible arrangement. Except for one little thing. Somehow Millie has fallen head over heels in love with her husband. Her husband, who has become her very best friend, but nothing more...Her husband, who plans to reunite with his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful and newly widowed Isabella, as soon as he has honored the pact with his wife... As the hour they truly become husband-and-wife draws near, both Millie and Fitzhugh must face the truth in their hearts. Has their pact bred only a great friendship--or has it, without either of them quite noticing, given rise to a great love?



What I Did For a Duke

Author : Julie Anne Long

Publisher : Harper Collins

Page : 330 pages

File Size : 10,21 MB

Release : 2011-02-22

Category : Fiction

ISBN : 0061885681

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Book Description

For years, he's been an object of fear, fascination . . . and fantasy. But of all the wicked rumors that shadow the formidable Alexander Moncrieffe, Duke of Falconbridge, the ton knows one thing for certain: only fools dare cross him. And when Ian Eversea does just that, Moncrieffe knows the perfect revenge: he'll seduce Ian's innocent sister, Genevieve—the only Eversea as yet untouched by scandal. First he'll capture her heart . . . and then he'll break it. But everything about Genevieve is unexpected: the passion simmering beneath her cool control, the sharp wit tempered by gentleness . . . And though Genevieve has heard the whispers about the duke's dark past, and knows she trifles with him at her peril, one incendiary kiss tempts her deeper into a world of extraordinary sensuality. Until Genevieve is faced with a fateful choice . . . is there anything she won't do for a duke?