Book picks similar to
The Black Widow by Charlotte Louise Dolan


regency
historical-romance
regency-romance
romance

Of Paupers and Peers


Sheri Cobb South - 2006
    On the way to claim his inheritance, James is set upon by muggers whose handiwork deprives him of his memory.

Miss Prim


Jane Myers Perrine - 2005
    Because of her age, refined nature, and strict moral code she is considered to be "Miss Prim."Louisa's guarded existence is disrupted when she accepts an invitation from her sister. She believes that she is simply helping her sister and brother-in-law by watching the children during their travels. However, upon her arrival she meets William, Viscount Woodstone, and an adventure beyond her wildest imagination begins. Starting with the questionable heritage of a baby in her care, she decides to join Woodstone's secret quest to outwit French spies and thwart their evil plan.Despite all Louisa's beliefs, this refined gentlewoman careens around the back roads of England in an ancient cart, poses as a countrywoman, and even saves Woodstone's life.Once the adventure ends, Louisa is concerned that her "Miss Prim" image is shattered, and hopes that Woodstone feels the same emotions for her that she has developed for him.

Miss Quinn's Quandary


Shirley Marks - 2007
    After the day-long journey, the only place for the weary travelers to sleep is the barn of an over-booked inn with only a single vacancy. Larissa, who has no intention of sleeping on a pile of straw, steps forward, claiming to be newly wed to Sir Randall Trent, baronet and unwitting accomplice in Larissa's scheme for adventure, in order to claim the last empty room. Convinced they will never see one another again and that no one will be the wiser about their little white lie, Larissa and Sir Randall part ways, though not before Sir Randall can bestow upon Larissa a passionate kiss that sends her reeling. Both are surprised to be thrown together again so soon in London for the Season. When their secret is discovered, Larissa and Sir Randall are forced to band together in the face of a crime spree in which Sir Randall is implicated. Life is about to offer Larissa an adventure unlike any she had ever imagined.

The Unexpected Wife


Emily Hendrickson - 1998
    So she ran away - to a charming home on the country estate of Alexander Barr, Viscount Hawkswood, the most notorious rake in London. Juliet would simply pretend to be his wife while he was away.

A Chance Encounter


Gayle Buck - 1991
    But Lord Humphrey makes Joan a proposal that is unthinkable to accept and impossible to refuse--to become a pawn in a marriage game that promises Joan anything except true love. Original Regency Romance.

The Beau and the Bluestocking


Alice Chetwynd Ley - 1977
     Never judge a book by its cover… 1782, London Alethea Newnham is a young woman with decided literary tastes, to the extent that she is called a Bluestocking by the gossips of Town. Educated in the country by her scholarly father and raised as an equal with her brothers, Alethea finds it difficult to play romantic games when she is invited to her aunt's house in London. In particular, she despises the dashing and notorious Sir James ‘Beau’ Devenish – a young man overly concerned with the latest fashions, and toying with female affections. With her aunt determined to see her wed, Alethea finds herself forced into company. Is Beau determined to make her his next conquest? Can she rebuff his supposedly irresistible charms? Will this Bluestocking be ruled by her head … or her heart? THE BEAU AND THE BLUESTOCKING is a classic historical novel by Alice Chetwynd Ley: a traditional British, pre Regency romance novel set in Georgian England. ‘one of my favourite traditional Regencies’ - The Word Wenches ‘Alice Chetwynd Ley's books were my favourite regency romances. I still have every one of her books on my keeper shelf with The Beau and the Bluestocking and The Jewelled Snuffbox in pride of place’ – Historical and Regency Romance UK ‘These vintage Regency romances hover somewhere between Jane Austen and the genre as we know it today. I really enjoy them.’ - Sonya’s Stuff

A Proper Companion


Candice Hern - 1995
    Why, just about anyone would make a more suitable match...even her own paid companion, Emily Townsend! But if her dear, practical-minded Robert were to back out of the betrothal, the tongues of the ton would never stop wagging...At the very least, the dowager decides, she will extract a promise from her grandson to find Emily a husband. But when the handsome, rakish earl comes to know the charms of Emily Townsend, he suddenly regrets his hasty engagement-and is sorely tempted to win her hand for himself.

This Wicked Man


Kate Harper - 2012
    A failed governess, she knows nothing about children and even less about those that are grieving. Thrust into the wilds of Surrey - and the dubious charms of a rundown cottage - she predicts that life will be singularly dull. But that is before she meets her neighbor, a sinfully wicked viscount whose reputation for seduction is legendary. Her well meaning neighbors warn her to stay away and even the man himself seems inclined to think she is a fool to dally with him, but she is convinced that she and Chetwyn have more than just sexual tension in common. What is it about this wicked man that urges her to break the rules? And how can she convince someone who believes himself to be beyond redemption that the heart is always capable of resurrection?

The Arrangement


Joan Wolf - 1997
    Raoul Melville bears a frightening message about her son Nicky, which threatens to uncover her past.

The Mysterious Heir


Edith Layton - 1984
    No one could guess she had been forced to take a position in trade—or that she had come to the Earl of Auden’s estate to entice him into naming her dismayingly disagreeable cousin Anthony heir to a fortune that she then could share.But Elizabeth had stiff competition for the Earl’s imperious favor…from the schemingly seductive Lady Isabel Courtney and her odious little boy, Owen…from the implacably upright Richard Courtney and his unfortunate honesty…and from the memory of the Earl’s first wife, who had made him despise women who deceived.Elizabeth knew she could never reveal the truth to the Earl—even when she forgot about gaining his fortune and began losing her heart….

The Reluctant Widow


Georgette Heyer - 1946
    Stepping into the wrong carriage at a Sussex village, Elinor Rochdale is swept up in a thrilling and dangerous adventure. Elinor is rather surprised that her prospective employer is quite rich, and more so at tile decayed grandeur of the house to which she is transported. Elinor thought she was entering Highnoons as a governess, but Edward Carlyon, the handsomely fashionable gentleman who carefully interviewed her obviously needed no governess. Carlyon was seeking a wife-not for himself, but for his young cousin, Eustace Cheviot, the dissipated and profligate owner of the ruined estate, who now lay on his deathbed. Surprised and repulsed as she was by this strange proposal, Elinor was nevertheless unable to resist Carlyon and his mystifying plans. Ned persuades Elinor to marry his cousin as a simple business arrangement.A momentous decision... And so in the short span of a few hours would-be governess became a bride - and a widow almost as soon as the ring is on her finger. Even as she assumed the duties of mistress of Highnoons, even as she tried to solve the puzzle that placed her in this unusual situation, Elinor found herself inextricably- drawn to Ned Carlyon, the aloof, caustic man who treated her with nothing more than cousinly respect - the last thing that spirited Elinor wanted.... As partner in a secret conspiracy to save a family's name she finds herself embroiled with uninvited guests, housebreakers, missing government papers, a Napoleonic spy ring, and a shocking murder. And mysterious conspirator Lord Carlyon won't let her leave....

The Five-Minute Marriage


Joan Aiken - 1977
    It was just a make-believe ceremony, and, in exchange, Delphie's ailing mother would receive an annuity for life. Delphie was in no position to refuse. She was already losing the struggle to support herself and her mother. But Delphie soon discovered that she was bound by law to the marriage and bound by love to more lies...

The Marriage List


Dorothy McFalls - 2005
    Humble tenant May Sheffers meets none of these, so why does his heart beat madly at the sight of her?

Cressida


Clare Darcy - 1977
    But though in her late twenties she was still unmarried. Jilted by Captain Deverell she had never since been able to face the prospect of giving her hand to another. And now she had the reputation of a heartless, scheming flirt.The return of Captain Deverell into her life and the further heartbreaks that bar the road to happiness are the theme of Clare Darcy's latest Regency romance, the tenth in the sequence that has won her world-wide acclain as the true successor to Georgette Heyer.

The Prodigal Daughter


Allison Lane - 1996
    She is forced to live in seclusion and avoid the haughty Duke of Norwood when he comes to court her half-sister. No great problem, since she dislikes the man, except that the more she gets to know him, the harder it is to ignore her desires. Regency Romance by Allison Lane; originally published by Signet and the winner of the Holt Medallion for Best Regency Romance of 1996.