Best of
Regency

1986

The Parfit Knight


Stella Riley - 1986
    Oakleigh Manor is the home of Rosalind Vernon who lives alone but for her devoted servants and an ill-natured parrot, cut off from the outside world by the tragic result of a childhood accident. But Rosalind is brave and bright and totally devoid of self-pity - and it is these qualities which, as the days pass and the snow continues to fall, touch Amberley's heart. On his return to London, the Marquis persuades Rosalind's brother, Philip, to bring her to town for a taste of society, despite her handicap. But the course of Amberley's courtship is far from smooth. Philip Vernon actively dislikes him; Rosalind appears to be falling under the spell of the suavely elegant Duke of Rockliffe; and worse still, Amberley is haunted by a dark and terrible secret that, if revealed, may cause him to lose Rosalind forever.

The Drayton Legacy


Rona Randall - 1986
     When Joseph Drayton, the head of the family, refuses to let his sister marry — and, what’s more, sends her suitor packing — he little knows what turmoil he’s creating for the future. For Jessica is pregnant by her lover, and her predicament has far reaching consequences in the close-knit community of the Staffordshire village of Burslem. Joseph Drayton, Master Potter, is immaculate in velvet and lace, narrow-minded in the efficiency with which he runs the family business but untrammelled in his private ambitions. Those ambitions include Meg, the spirited gypsy girl who slaves in his turning sheds, but not Martin, his gifted younger brother. Martin is bound by indentures to work five years in Joseph’s pot bank, but longs for the day when he comes into the Drayton legacy and can express his artistry in a more personal way. In this he is helped by his friend, Simon Kendall, the canal digger, a humble genius who can neither read nor write but whose vision as an architect and engineer transforms the potteries trade… The Drayton Legacy is an involving novel, rich in character and detail, which takes as its background the rapidly industrialising potteries of the 18th century. Told with humour and insight, the story of The Drayton Legacy will grip all readers who enjoy colourful, authentic historical romance.

Regency Charade


Margaret Mayhew - 1986
    But this was beyond the pale: he had wagered away Kielder Castle to the notorious gamester Richard Drew - with the spirited Kate still living there!Happily, Drew did not immediately turn Kate out onto the outlying moors. But he did proceed to ensconce himself at Kielder with every indication that he would stay.He hadn't yet reckoned with Kate or her campaign of collapsing ceilings and nocturnal ghosts, all created to discourage Drew from getting too settled - especially when Kate realized she could keep Drew out of sight, but not out of mind...

Kissing Cousins


Diana Campbell - 1986
    First Trowbridge saved her from the base designs of Mr. Dennis Drummond before that ungentlemanly gentleman could strip Cecily's honor from her. Then the viscount saved her good name by making her his bride in a ceremony as swift as it was startling. It was only as Trowbridge's wife that Cecily began to suspect how she was expected to repay that debt--not merely with the love that she was so very willing to give, but with her legacy of wealth that this man who called himself her lord and master seemed so fearfully eager to acquire. The viscount might have her hand in marriage and her heart in thrall--but he had not reckoned with the fury of a young lady who would rather stoop to folly than submit to being fooled....