Book picks similar to
The Actress and the Rake by Carola Dunn


fiction
historical-romance
historical
romance

A Man Of Affairs (Signet Regency Romance)


Anne Barbour - 1999
    Into her world comes Seth, adopted son of the Duke of Derwent, looking for a bride for the duke’s son. Though passions ignite between Seth and Eden, each must obey a primary duty. And Eden will protect her sister from the rakehell marquess if she can. Regency Romance by Anne Barbour; originally published by Signet

Victoire


Clare Darcy - 1974
    But soon she emerged under her own name as the leading light of the London season, with the hot-blooded, hot-tempered Tarn dancing attendance upon her, and a host of gallants, fortune-hunters, and rogues swarming around her.Victoire seemed such a defenseless innocent in this sophisticated world of elegant snobbery and cruel deception. But Victoire had no intention of becoming anyone's pawn or prey. Instead this captivating young lady was determined to give the most arrogant gentleman in all the realm an unforgettable lesson in love....

A Diamond in the Rough


Andrea Pickens - 2001
    Spurning the gaming halls and brothels, he secretly designs the most beautiful gardens in England. Then his ne'er-do-well father bets the ancestral manor on the outcome of a golf match, and it's up to Adrian to save his beloved home. But first he must travel to Scotland to learn the game. Miss Derrien Edwards is not a typical Scottish lass. Her bouncy blond curls tucked under a woolen cap, she satisfies her love of the links by passing as a young male caddie named "Derry". When Adrian arrives at St. Andrews links, he's paired with "Derry". While learning to play, Adrian struggles to ignore his strange attraction to the impudent caddie, and Derrien finds herself caught in her own trap. Secrets swirl as the day of reckoning arrives—and neither can afford to lose the game.

Miss Billings Treads the Boards


Carla Kelly - 1993
    But beautiful Kate was an impoverished orphan—and her only escape from a lecherous employer's embraces was to go upon the stage. It was dangerous enough that a charming French playwright wanted her as his leading lady, and an ambitious impresario demanded that she bare her charms to an eager audience. But when a magnificent marquess, Lord Henry Grayson, proposed that she join him in a masquerade of mating in a mock marriage, Kate found that putting on an act in public could be even more perilous in private...if the act was an act of love....

An Advantageous Marriage: A thrilling Regency romance


Alice Chetwynd Ley - 1979
     The scheming Turville family have met their match… 1816, England The aristocratic Turvilles had always deplored an unfortunate connection with Trade through the marriage twenty years previously of the Baron’s brother with the daughter of a Yorkshire manufacturer. But, Eugenia, only child of this marriage is not only an orphan — she is also her grandfather’s sole heir and extremely wealthy. Keen to keep the Turville money in the family, Lady Turville deigns to overlook her niece’s rustic manners in order to force a match between Eugenia and one of her sons. But Eugenia is not the simple country girl she was expecting… Will Lady Turville’s plans come to pass? Could Eugenia fall for one of her cousin’s charms? Or will she make an advantageous marriage elsewhere…? AN ADVANTAGEOUS MARRIAGE is a classic historical novel by Alice Chetwynd Ley: a traditional British, Regency romance, set in nineteenth-century England. ‘I would recommend this book and this author in general to those who enjoy the older, more leisurely and textured style of romance storytelling’ - Regency Retro Reads ‘These vintage Regency romances hover somewhere between Jane Austen and the genre as we know it today. I really enjoy them.’ - Sonya’s Stuff

The Country Gentleman


Fiona Hill - 1987
    Anne pines for the social and political life she has left behind, especially when confronted with the society of her nearest neighbor, country bumpkin Henry Highet. Yet all is not what it seems, as Anne soon discovers in this pleasant Regency tale.

Bath Scandal (A Regency Romance)


Joan Smith - 1991
    But it was Southam’s straight-laced fiancée who actually inspired the move, and Lord Southam only came when rumors had Gillie involved with a disreputable fellow. Unfortunately, his lordship mistook Bea for a merry widow… Regency Romance by Joan Smith; originally published by Fawcett Crest

A Regency Match


Elizabeth Mansfield - 1980
    Ruefully, she admitted to herself that she shouldn't have thrown her arms around him, a total stranger. But it had been an honest mistake, and the stuffy young Earl of Wynwood had given her the cut direct!She didn't care if he was the handsomest man in London! He deserved a lesson, and she, Sophia Edgerton, was just the teacher to do it...

Poetic Justice


Alicia Rasley - 1994
    She must wed, with her pompous uncle's approval, before her next birthday or lose her legacy--the most valuable book collection in all England! Worse, she will forfeit the secret contents of the trunk locked in the family vault. So Jessica concocts an audacious plan. It may be scandalous. It may be ruinous. Or it might work.There isn't a more eligible suitor in all the land than John Dryden. Passing himself off as an importer of rare books, the ex-privateer and dashing rogue is all too happy to accept Jessica's unconventional proposal. It's a plot worthy of Will Shakespeare himself.. and just as likely to go awry. For Dryden hasn't been called a bastard simply because of his birth. The wickedly seductive Jessica has something he wants, and it isn't merely a dusty old chest. It's the key to her heart!

A Prudent Match


Laura Matthews - 2000
    The wealth she inherited in the wake of her fiance's death is enough to mend his financial affairs. But even if he didn't need the money, he finds himself entranced by her innocent beauty...Prudence remains brokenhearted over the death of her fiance, but knows the time has come to marry rather than die a spinster. Although she is aware that Ledbetter has wed her only for her money, his forward advances frighten her pure sensibilities. And it will take all of her courage to trust this man whose passion knows no bounds--and find a love that is the greatest fortune of all...

The Gamble


Joan Wolf - 1998
    The only way she can now survive, and save her sister, is to gamble herself on the risky prospect of marriage. Using her father's blackmail files she compels Lord Winterdale to present her during the courting season in London. But unknown to her, the old Lord is dead -- and the Winterdale Lordship has now passed to his young, attractive nephew, the roguish Philip. For his own reasons, he agrees to Georgiana's plan...but both will end up with much more than they gambled on.

Lady of Quality


Georgette Heyer - 1972
    When she becomes embroiled in the affairs of the runaway heiress Lucilla, Annis's life becomes more complicated, as she soon encounters her fugitive's uncivil and high-handed guardian, Mr. Oliver Carleton. Befriending the wayward girl brings excitement and unexpected consequences, among them greater interaction with Lucilla's guardian, who is quite the rudest man Annis has ever met..

A Sensible Lady: A Traditional Regency Romance


Judith Lown - 2012
    So she leases the Dower House from a kindly baron on a neighboring estate, believing that she has successfully met the greatest challenge of her life.How wrong she is! The kindly baron dies. An orphan arrives, whom Katherine accepts as her nephew. She is determined to provide for him, which means she must forget about love and marry a gentleman with money.There are three possibilities.Her cousin, Sir Clive Brampton, is eager to let bygones be bygones and marry Katherine. She would be able to return to her family home and live a life of financial ease. Her nephew would be provided for and launched into a career deemed suitable by Sir Clive. Can Katherine just accept Sir Clive’s generous offer?The Reverend Mr. Augustus Wharton, the newly arrived vicar, listens attentively to Katherine’s anguished musings over the loss of her brother on a distant battlefield in Spain. There are rumors that Mr. Wharton’s present vocation is a stunning contrast to his past as a hard drinking, gambling rake. Katherine dismisses the rumors and wonders if she could live happily with a man for whom she feels only sisterly affection.Finally, there is the new baron, Lord Henry Dracott. Lord Harry, as he is called, is clearly attracted to Katherine. But in spite of their best efforts to be civil to each other, their disagreements end up in arguments. Although there is mutual attraction, Katherine knows that Lord Harry’s heart is buried with his dead wife.Katherine tries to be a sensible lady and accept a practical marriage. But will her heart let her?

The Bargain


Jane Ashford - 1997
    When the prince regent asks him to debunk the “ghost” of a dead actress haunting Carlton House, he cannot refuse, and is forced back to the Society he deplores. But upon meeting the daughter of the alleged ghost, his calm, logical investigation is disrupted.Ariel Harding doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she’s determined to investigate this haunting. Her mother recently committed suicide, and Ariel is desperate to find the reason. She’ll work with Alan because he has access to Prinny’s resources, but she never dreamed she’d make a perilous bargain with a man who’s as maddeningly arrogant as he is confoundedly attractive.“A scintillating Regency adventure filled with...dark and dangerous action.” —Affaire de Coeur“Charmingly written, by a deft hand.” —RT Book Reviews

Sweet Bargain


Kate Moore - 1993
    Her carefree days of family fun and fishing must come to an end. It is her duty to assure the future prosperity of her large and close-knit family by making a good marriage. To add to her gloom, she is chased from her favorite spot on the river by the handsome and high-handed Nicholas Seymour, who apparently thinks he can buy the beautiful Bel Shaw as well as property. The outrageous bargain he proposes is a dozen kisses for the fish the Shaws have "stolen" from his land.But claiming the first kiss has staggering consequences--for Nick, who cannot resist another--and for Bel, whose passionate response will lead to discovery, scandal, ruin ... and the sweetest bargain of all.