Narrator

Lindy Nettleton

Lindy Nettleton
  • Fanny and her groom had been tricked! Parents on both sides, all impoverished, had decided to recoup their families’ losses by marrying their children to the progeny of a wealthier neighbor. The joke was on them, however, when it was outed that neither family had a penny to its name.

    Charles was not the dark rogue of Fanny’s girlish fantasies, but he was chivalrously determined that she should meet someone more appropriate for her than he. And for her part, Fanny was determined that Charles find a woman of greater means who would, perhaps, be the answer to his prayers. Yet as each lover set out to find someone for the other, each was left with the nagging notion that true love might have nothing to do with riches.

  • Heartwarming stories of summer romance from four acclaimed Regency authors

    From the zestful tale of the mistress of a manor masquerading as a servant girl—and its surprising consequences—to the story of a love that blossoms at a royal birthday fete, here's a collection of romantic summer regencies sure to delight. Stories include "The Summer of Discontent" by M. C. Beaton, "Lady Fair" by Cynthia Bailey-Pratt, "A Summer's Folly" by Sarah Eagle, and "Tides of Love" by Melinda Pryce.

  • She had a long way to go from the wedding to becoming a wife.

    When Lady Anne Sinclair vowed to marry before her spoiled beauty of a sister, she had no idea the "anyone" would be the Marquess of Torrance. Long the darling of the ton—and considered quite the confirmed bachelor—he succumbed to Annie's charms and, almost magically, made her his wife. But Annie's lifelong battle for attention had ill-prepared her for married life. In a tipsy reverie on her wedding night, she blurted out her real reason for marrying the Marquess, and her husband's formidable pride shut the door on any further communication.

    Only a crisis of major proportions could bring the headstrong newlyweds together. And no less than the chancellor of the exchequer, with sinister political ambitions known only to himself, embroiled Annie in a dangerous plot that taught her the truth about her wifely sentiments.

  • An aristocratic lady is accused of murder in a historical romance by this bestselling author.

    The upper class of the social circle regarded Sir Benjamin Wright with utmost honor and respect. Yet Lady Emma knew her husband was, in fact, a drunken jealous brute who delighted in humiliating her both in and out of the bedroom.

    His murder had been a blessing, she thought, until the constable's accusing finger pointed to her. But it soon became apparent that her late husband hid secrets—and enemies.

    When the practical Comte Saint-Juste arrived on the scene offering his services, Lady Emma was about to discover what the French dedication to l'amour really meant.

  • Two sisters vie for a notorious Marquess in this historical romance by bestselling author M. C. Beaton.

    Must one sister suffer in poverty while the other lives in the lap of luxury? This question plagued Harriet Clifton incessantly. Inviting herself to her widowed sister Cordelia's posh London townhouse for the season was surely the only way to meet a suitable partner—as well as escape drafty old Pringle House forever.

    The vain Cordelia was meanwhile casting her net for the notorious Marquess of Arden, a man who would rather court a mistress than wed a wife.

    Who would have believed that the Marquess would succumb to Harriet's countrified charms?—or that Cordelia would stoop quite so low as to try to conquer the Marquess at her own sister's expense?

  • 'Twas a most odd and unsuitable friendship … and very precious indeed!

    As the youngest of four unmarried vicar's daughters, Frederica feared her destiny was to die of tedium in the sleepy village of Barton Sub Edge. Her looks deemed "unfortunate," her willful notions damned as "difficult," she never dreamt the arrival of a rake would challenge her fate in the most surprising way.

    For Frederica and Lord Granton, the worldly gentleman from the city, had something in common: boredom. And thus a secret friendship was formed. Frederica lived vicariously through his tales of adventure while he found a delightful respite from the simpering females thrown his way.

    But when had their summer idyll turned to love? When had a country miss become a breathtaking lady? Worse, what the devil was a certified rogue who was much too old for her going to do about it?

  • An Edwardian love story by New York Times bestselling author M. C. Beaton

    Miss Marjorie Montmorency-James was lovely, young, and very impressionable. All these characteristics contrived to help her fall in love with a certain Lord Philip's picture when it appeared in the newspaper. Until the day she saw Lord Philip's photo, she had only fantasized about a mysterious lover whose shadowy features were never quite clear.

    Now she had a real live nobleman to dream about.

    Little did she suspect that she would soon meet Lord Philip in the flesh. How could she imagine such a thing? After all, what could justify a daughter of the middle class rubbing shoulders with the nobility?

    Then suddenly that great day was upon her; she was to meet Lord Philip. But nothing turned out the way Marjorie expected it would. Love—and danger—lay waiting for Marjorie in London.

  • Certainly the two should never have met.

    The handsome, wealthy Marquess of Rockingham was the most notorious man in London, as infamous for his violent temper as he was for his intemperate ways.

    Miss Lucinda Westerville was a country vicar's daughter, as innocent as she was lovely and as proper as a young lady could possibly be. Yet when this improbably matched pair met at a glittering social ball, they had struck the dubious bargain to become man and wife—in name only. But Lucinda soon found that she had taken on more than she bargained for when she vowed not to love this untamed, infuriatingly attractive man, when she tried to rein her own foolishly galloping heart.

  • Arranging a season for an unruly young lady whose habit is to enter drawing rooms by sliding down banisters presents a challenge at best—especially since the hoydenish Mira has a sister of incomparable grace and beauty.

    Mira isn’t at all daunted by the local society and its ridiculous marriage mart. Her heart belongs to Lord Charles, who has been the object of her dreams ever since she was a child. But alas, Charles has eyes only for her ever-perfect sister, Drusilla.

    Along the sidelines, the Marquess of Grantley enjoys Mira’s jealous antics—although pushing her sister into the fountains has practically ruined her social cachet. It is up to him to restore her to respectability and make her an eligible bride once again. When he succeeds, however, the lovelorn marquess will begin to wish he had left well enough alone. 

  • She was the flower of an East End slum who rose to become a star. But Poppy Duveen quit the stage to marry Freddie Plummett, the only real gentleman she had ever known—the bounder who died. When Freddie died, Poppy was left the castle, but she was also left in the clutches of Freddie's formidable uncle, Hugo, the dazzling Duke of Guildham.

    How could she admit, even to herself, this dangerous attraction? Instead, Poppy tried to turn her back on it—but it was no use. Clearly, Hugo thought her a mere waif, a common poor relation. Well, she'd show him and his snobbish family. She'd return to the stage as Poppy Plummett, conquer London, and make fools of them all!

  • A woman of independent means with a healthy dose of cynicism about those of the male persuasion, Harriet Tremayne is content with her circle of spinster friends and their devotion to literature, women's rights, and intellectual interests. When she determines to undertake the London season for her beautiful but featherbrained niece, however, she concedes she must appear less a bluestocking and more fashionable to successfully sponsor this impossible young lady whose only real desire, it seems, is to consume chocolate.

    Certainly, her modish new appearance has nothing to do with the attentions of Lord Dangerfield, a wicked man of the world who has designs on the fair niece yet spends an inordinate amount of time trying to sell Harriet on the virtues of his all-too-obvious attributes.

  • Even the inhabitants of secluded Nethercote looked pityingly upon young Henrietta, the vicar's sister; her plain features seemed to almost guarantee her a solitary future. And yet she had a determined spirit and magnificent hazel eyes. So when her great-aunt Hester left her unexpected wealth, Henrietta set out to conquer London's glittering high society and confound them all.

    But the fashionable elite was less than warm in its reception, especially when the newcomer, this bold minx, made clear her intention of winning the heart of one of society's most treasured gems: the irresistible, extravagant, heart-stopping Lord Beau Reckford, a prize wildly beyond her humble origins.

  • Annabelle Carruthers can only dream of being kissed by a man as dashing as Lord Darkwood. She remains locked in misery—married to a rakish drunk who gambles their lives into financial and social ruin.

    His sudden death—and rumors of spies and treachery—only make matters worse. Burdened with gambling debts, Annabelle fears she is on her way to the poorhouse. The only solution she can see is to offer herself up as mistress to the mysterious Lord Darkwood!

    Darkwood, however, is too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a lady such as Annabelle. Still, he is quite interested in rumors of her husband's espionage—a curiosity that will soon place them both in grave danger.

  • In any given glittering social season, Edwardian London's dizzying whirl had its share of surprises. The latest was Kitty Harrison, once achingly poor, suddenly an heiress and now, thanks to her determined mother, she was about to become a baroness. From the moment Kitty set eyes on Lord Chesworth she found him to be the most exciting man she had ever seen. But Kitty was young, innocent, and easily dazzled. She did not even question the motives of the dashing bachelor who swore he loved her even as he courted the scandalously beautiful Mrs. Jackson. All too soon Kitty's dream of marriage became a nightmare; someone was trying to kill her. Adrift in a sea of deception, Kitty soon realized that to save her life and win the only man she had ever loved, she would have to learn to play the game, only this time, her way: smarter, better—and for keeps.

  • Emily had been retrieved from orphanage life for the exclusive position of companion to Sir Peregrine's hound, Duke. Upon the gentleman's death, Emily and Duke inherited a fortune in diamonds. But Duke soon fell prey to greedy relatives, and Emily had to protect herself from Lord Storm, who had declared Emily's pedigree quite unsuitable, while at the same time threatening to steal her heart.

    M. C. Beaton spins a delightful Regency romance, complete with her trademark wit.

  • Poor little Susie. A beautiful dreamer, she imagined herself happy in a rose-covered cottage, only to find herself mistress of a great damp castle and wife to the elderly Earl of Blackhall. Luck, not the lecherous earl, contrived to spare her, and by her wedding night she was transformed to a wealthy young widow. But her trials had just begun. The old countess was determined to turn the simple country miss into a sophisticated lady. Meanwhile, handsome Sir Giles was determined to unmask her as a dangerously cunning young minx.

    Sweet, naïve Susie. Luck had brought her a fortune she'd never wished for, but what stroke of fortune could make her dreams of real and innocent love come true?

  • Handsome, dashing Henry Wright, the Duke of Westerland, needed a wife in a desperately short period of time. If he could not find a wife, he would lose the legacy he so desperately desired.

    Young, lovely, but sheltered Miss Frederica Sayers needed a husband just as much as Henry Wright needed a wife, only she needed a husband to save her from the life of shame that almost certainly awaited her when she fled the callous cruelty of her family.

    Marriage between the dashing lord and this reckless runaway was clearly the answer for both of them—until the duke discovered he had a duchess he could not tame and the duchess found that she would rather lose her spotless reputation than lose the duke to another beautiful woman who was everything she was not.

  • When a Puritan miss discovers the joys of Christmas, love's as near as the mistletoe.

    The Davenport sisters were alone, without even a dour-faced maid to supervise their strict puritanical devotions, until the elder, flame-haired Gillian boldly decided it was high time they let their hair down. Now, with the help of a kindly relation, the two daring misses exchange their somber attire for modish gowns and hairstyles that would surely give their parents apoplexy.

    But the best is yet to come: plum pudding, eggnog, carols, and a most breathtaking tree. The Davenport sisters revel in the rituals of Christmas—and in the selection of handsome gentlemen who decorate the festivities.

    But when Gillian is caught under the mistletoe by Lord Ranger Marden, she discovers things her mother never dreamed of telling her.

  • "I am Miss Lamberton. Miss Constance Lamberton. I hoped that you would employ me as your companion."

    So it was that quiet, reserved Constance came to the household of the haughty but beautiful Lady Amelia. She would serve as the lady's chaperone throughout the season's many festivities, finding herself an unwitting accomplice in Lady Amelia's scheme to trap the very eligible Lord Philip into marriage.

    But it was not Lady Amelia who won Lord Philip's heart. It was the pale, golden-eyed Constance herself. And very soon, Constance became Lady Philip Cautry. It was not a marriage made in heaven, but surely it would be in time.

    But then Constance disappeared. Lord Philip didn't know how or why. All that mattered to him was the safe return of his beloved Constance …

  • Love and jealousy abound in this playful romance, set during the British Regency.

    Everyone in the ton knew that Lord Hubert Challenge had married country mouse Mary Tyre for her dowry, but no one had yet guessed that Mary had actually fallen in love with her husband! And she was willing to try anything—sumptuous clothes, a saucy manner, even flirting with another man—to get her handsome husband's attention … until she learned that two could play at that particular game.

  • The tenth Earl of Berham does not know what to do. An attractive thirty-two-year-old bachelor, he has been appointed guardian of the young Freddie Armstrong, the eighteen-year-old grandson of his late father's dear friend. That's bad enough. Then he discovers that the boy is really a girl! It is against all convention and against his personal code to keep a young lady concealed in his own home. He must find a solution.

    The earl's frequent visitor, Lady Clarissa Rennenord, heartily agrees—but for less noble reasons. Lady Clarissa hopes to snare the earl in marriage and does not want any competition. She recommends that Freddie be sent to a seminary. No one but Lady Rennenord knows what a horrid place it is—and no one, including Lady Rennenord, expects Freddie to escape. Now Freddie is back, and the earl finds her presence unsettling in more ways than one.

  • Miss Honeyford was sour on romance, but she had been duly dispatched to London to save the family fortune by hunting for—and securing—a wealthy husband and thereby proving her role as a loving, if not entirely dutiful, daughter. Honoraria obeyed. But if she was reluctantly willing to surrender her hand, this beautiful young lady who could ride, shoot, and argue with any man was not about to lose her head or her heart to any of the dismal cads and lads of the marriage mart.

    First she met the arrogantly attractive Lord Alistair Stewart, who treated her infuriatingly like a little girl. And then she met the skillfully seductive Lord Channington, who treated her intoxicatingly like the desirable full-grown woman that she was. But now that she had a choice, which role would she choose and just how much risk was she willing to run?

    The Regency series brings us heroines of style, grace, and determination—women who are not afraid to use their smarts to seek the stature or standing they feel they need. They may come from humble beginnings or not, but what these heroines share is an unmatched determination that leaves us turning page after page as we follow them in their dance.

  • "I do not think I want to be married at all. I want to be rich. Very rich…"

    When Henrietta Bascombe opens a confectionary shop in order to turn her pittance of an inheritance into a fortune, her friends are shocked to hear of such a well-bred lady going into trade. The Earl of Carrisdown is both drawn to and repelled by her shopgirl status. Undaunted, Henrietta proceeds to hang out the traditional confectioners' sign of a golden pineapple and soon finds a set of beautiful women in her employ, drawing the attention of the Earl of Carrisdown's younger brother and best friend. Distressed by the situation, the earl makes it his mission to put Henrietta out of business. But he looks forward to tangling with the fiery sweetshop owner more than he's willing to admit.

  • When the Duke of Pelham returns to his town house at 67 Clarges Street, he is grimly determined to find a suitable wife—but completely unprepared for what the season has to offer.

    The duke’s title alone has always brought him more than his share of feminine attention; claiming not to believe in love, he has never been spurned by a lady. The duke’s self-imposed search is soon disrupted by the arrival in London of Miss Jenny Sutherland, a spoiled but beautiful country girl whose vanity is her tragic flaw. According to her guardian Aunt Letitia, lack of competition has made Jenny put on airs; in London, she will get the set-down she sorely deserves.

    Indeed, at her first important London party, Jenny’s blatant disdain for the duke leads to certain disaster. But no one has counted on the intervention of John Rainbird, the shrewd and resourceful butler at 67 Clarges Street. Rainbird befriends Jenny, suggesting she look in the mirror a little less often. The result is a mischievous scheme that will insure Jenny’s social success and determine the fate of the close-knit family of servants at 67 Clarges Street.

  • Another tenant for London's infamous house for the season, from the New York Times bestselling author

    Followers of the series will notice in this volume some personality changes in the odd assortment of retainers who keep the house at 67 Clarges Street, in London's Mayfair, at the ready for whatever entrepreneur will rent it as a launching pad into the London social season. This time the renters are an unlikely couple, the Goodenoughs, apparently father and daughter, she a great beauty, he silent and mysterious.

    Their secrets eventually become known to the downstairs troupe, but the indomitable butler Rainbird rallies the support forces. When Emily Goodenough's social gaffes and earthy winsomeness capture the ton's most eligible bachelor, another successful season at the house comes to a close.

  • M. C. Beaton brings you the fourth installment of her witty and charming House for the Season series.

    Lord Guy Carlton, late of His Majesty's regiment and weary from the war in France, has only wine, women, and song in mind when he rents Number 67 Clarges Street for the season. He certainly has no desire for a serious attachment—and never marriage!

    Then his merry eyes spot the lovely but very proper Miss Esther Jones. But what will be her fate if she falls in love with the notorious Lord Guy? Though Esther's business acumen has made her one of the richest women in England, her innocence could make her a victim of the wild ways of the ton—unless the downstairs staff at Clarges Street devise a campaign to reform the rake who is laying siege to her heart.

  • Lovely but penniless Harriet Metcalf is aghast when a nobleman’s will names her guardian of his snobbish twin daughters when they come out during the next London season. And is she wily enough for the intrigues of the ton—or its two most eligible bachelors, the Marquess of Huntingdon and Lord Vere? Harriet sees them as suitors for the twins, while the gentlemen see only Harriet’s charms. Soon she is falling in love with one of the dashing rakes … but a cruel betrayal will be her ruin unless the Clarges Street servants can save a lady’s honor when she loses her heart.

  • Number 67 Clarges Street—a good address in London’s elegant Mayfair with a dubious past and a lovably eccentric staff—is where the Hart sisters are taking up residence for the season. Beautiful and socially ambitious Euphemia and her younger sister, Jane, enter a world of balls, coming-out parties, and courtship with the hope of finding suitable husbands.

    But Number 67 has been deemed unlucky due to a long history of tragedy, including the mysterious death of a young and desirable past tenant named Clara. Little Jane, constantly overshadowed by her gorgeous sister, soon turns away from the London social scene and concentrates on solving the mystery behind Clara’s death. Her search leads to a discovery of danger, deceit, and romance as she works alongside the eligible and dashing Lord Tregarthan to unravel the baffling case.

  • Is Number 67 Clarges Steet the unluckiest house in Mayfair? Every season the beau mondes of the Regency would hire a house in the heart of London’s fashionable West End at disproportionately high rent for often inferior accommodation and yet Number 67 Clarges Street, a town house complete with staff, remains vacant from year to year. Could it be that it is associated with ill luck and even death? Something must be done so that the servants of this house don’t lose their livelihood.

    Salvation seems to come in the form of Roderick Sinclair who confirms he wishes to rent the house for the current season. The staff is overjoyed—until they find that Mr. Sinclair is a terrible miser who is planning no parties. Furthermore, his ward, Fiona, though a dazzling Highland beauty, does not seem to possess one bright idea in her head. But it is Rainbird, Number 67’s clever and elegant butler, who sees through her façade and resolves to help his mysterious mistress in whatever way he can.

  • Amy and Effy Tribble can’t believe their luck. After four seasons spent molding intractable, wayward, or just plain frumpy young women into marriage material, their fifth season in the chaperone business brings them a dream client.

    Maria Kendall is beautiful, impeccably mannered, effortlessly graceful, and extremely well-dowered. She is a perfect candidate for marriage, even if none of her real suitors—especially the proud and aristocratic Duke of Berham—quite live up to her dreams. But when the duke meets Maria’s vulgar and boorish parents, his proposal is quickly withdrawn. Amy and Effy soon realize that they face their greatest challenge yet—taking on not only Maria but the hopelessly common Kendalls as well.

  • Miss Harriet Brown, daughter of a Methodist minister, is the embodiment of propriety and Christian charity—too much so, perhaps, for her own good. The virtues Harriet possesses are far from fashionable, but Amy and Effy Tribble, chaperones-for-hire, feel confident that their new charge will attract a worthy vicar or two before the end of the season. First, though, they must vanquish confirmed rake and gambler Lord Charles Marsham, catch though he is, who seems perversely determined to woo Harriet. Little do the Tribbles know that Harriet has her own reasons for encouraging her unlikely suitor—and that they involve enlisting Lord Marsham’s help in marrying off the Tribbles! Gentle hints and flirtatious glances are not enough, Harriet fears, to bring Mr. Haddon and Mr. Randolph, the sisters’ longtime friends and admirers, up to the mark. No, a man’s touch is needed. Meanwhile, Lord Marsham seems to think that it’s Harriet who needs a man’s touch, while more nefarious plans are being brewed for the Tribbles’ future, as old acquaintances—and enemies—gather round in this rousing finale to Marion Chesney’s most delightful series.

  • The third novel in the School for Manners series finds the Tribble sisters, Amy and Effy, once again entangled in the machinations of the marriage mart. The formidable but lovable spinsters, who earn their living by sponsoring young girls and finding them husbands, take on the case of Delilah, a beautiful, mindlessly flirtatious country heiress.

    What puzzles everyone is why such a beauty is unmarried at twenty-three and why she is ensconced in the London school of the zany Tribbles. The answer is found in the handsome person of Sir Charles Digby.

    As usual the Tribble sisters, with their salty exchanges and impossible schemes, provide delightful entertainment. And even as Delilah finds happiness, the sisters hear that another customer is on the horizon, an event to be celebrated by Amy and Effy.

  • Lovely, wealthy, and well bred, Clarissa Vevian has been unable to find a suitable husband because of her terrible clumsiness. Her petite and fastidious mother, the Lady Clarendon, has tried to mold Clarissa into a dainty miss to fit the fashion, but until the fashions fit tall Clarissa, her mother's efforts are doomed to fail.

    Enter Amy and Effy Tribble, chaperones-for-hire, who have seen three charges through the perils of three seasons and into the waiting arms of eligible gentlemen. Can they do this for Clarissa? Only if they can prevent her falling down the nearest available staircase instead of into the embrace of an appropriate suitor.

    At Clarissa's approach, tea tables totter, curtains and carriages erupt into flames, and prospective suitors fall to their knees not to profess undying love but to howl in pain after being decked by an errant elbow or felled by a misplaced foot. And when Clarissa enters their home, the Tribbles fear their reputations for matchmaking success, as well as their carpets and furniture, may go up in smoke.

    Confidence is what Clarissa needs, the kind of confidence that accompanies the friendly attentions of someone like the graceful Earl of Greystone, who rescues the accident-prone Clarissa from an ambush by a would-be highwayman.

    The earl's feelings for Clarissa seem no more than brotherly, however, and Amy and Effy—when they're not keeping tabs on their own eligible gentlemen—are determined to help Clarissa become the stately, graceful woman that will win the earl's heart—and a few other battles too.