Book picks similar to
In My Wildest Dreams by Ellen Tanner Marsh


historical-romance
historical-fiction
19th-century
abrupt-ending

Mr. Darcy's Diary


Amanda Grange - 2005
    I had forgotten what good company he is; always ready to be pleased and always cheerful. After my difficult summer, it is good to be with him again. ...""The only place Darcy could share his innermost feelings was in the private pages of his diary...Torn between his sense of duty to his family name and his growing passion for Elizabeth Bennet, all he can do is struggle not to fall in love.Mr. Darcy's Diary presents the story of the unlikely courtship of Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Darcy's point of view. This graceful imagining and sequel to Pride and Prejudice explains Darcy's moodiness and the difficulties of his reluctant relationship as he struggles to avoid falling in love with Miss Bennet. Though seemingly stiff and stubborn at times, Darcy's words prove him also to be quite devoted and endearing - qualities that eventually win over Miss Bennet's heart. This continuation of a classic romantic novel is charming and elegant, much like Darcy himself.Pride and Prejudice has inspired a large number of modern day sequels, the most successful of which focus on the rich, proud Mr. Darcy.

The Inconvenient Duchess


Christine Merrill - 2006
    And I'm more tired and hungry than I have ever been in my life. Please let me come home.Compromised and wedded on the same day, Lady Miranda was fast finding married life not to her taste. A decaying manor and a secretive husband were hardly the stuff of girlish dreams. Yet every time she looked at dark, brooding Marcus Radwell, Duke of Haughleigh, she felt inexplicably compelled—and determined—to make their marriage real!

The Spymaster's Lady


Joanna Bourne - 2008
    But Annique Villiers, elusive spy Fox Cub, is thrown in prison with British spymaster Robert Grey, ordered to enter France and bring her back. Their uneasy alliance holds, but passion builds as they flee.

Now Is The Hour


Hilary Green - 2006
    Four firm friends are forced to part. Rose, the beautiful dancer, must return to her family in London and the blitz, leaving singer Richard to enlist in the army with their relationship still unresolved. Gay, asthmatic Merry, the musical director, is destined for the army too, while the object of his unrequited love, charismatic magician, Felix, chooses the RAF.Before long, Rose joins a group entertaining the troops in France. The Nazi war machine however is fast and merciless on the land and in the air and soon all of them find themselves in terrible danger. And as they are struck by the brutality of war they realise exactly who is most important to them and despite the odds, and in terrible circumstances, they determine to find each other again.With the threat of capture, injury and death ever present, the four of them will have to find reserves of courage, love and endurance that they did not know they possessed.

The Two Farms


Mary E. Pearce - 1986
    Set in mid-nineteenth century Gloucestershire, a saga focusing on two farms and families who own them.

The Nipper


Catherine Cookson - 1970
    15-year-old Sandy loses his job and his home when the small farm he lives on is sold, and then is horrified when "The Nipper" is sold as a pit-pony.

Sea Scoundrel


Annette Blair - 1999
    Penniless and stranded, she found only one way to get home: charge four hapless American Colonials to find them titled husbands in London. At the ship, she realized their mothers expected each to wed the Marquess of Andover, but how hard could it be to seek an introduction? Meanwhile, Captain Grant St. Benedict was anything but friendly. Why? Because her girls set fire to the rigging? Grant had never met a woman more irritating, or more desirable, than the Lady Patience Kendall. But however dangerous his interest, he couldn't resist teaching the delicious distraction that independence was nothing to passion.

A Rose at Midnight


Anne Stuart - 1993
    Now that the rogue has reentered her life, she seizes the opportunity to enact a poisonous revenge—but is abducted by the dashing villain before the deed can be done.Held prisoner in a secluded hunting lodge, she steels herself to resist the sensuous punishment her captor has promised—only to be betrayed by a heart that aches with desire for the handsome, tormented blackguard. For only in her enemy's arms will Gilly know the exquisite passion that can heal all wounds...and the rapture of a love powerful enough to restore a fallen woman's honor and a scoundrel's nobility.

Courting Mr. Lincoln


Louis Bayard - 2019
    Timothy and The Pale Blue Eye comes Courting Mr. Lincoln, the page-turning and surprising story of a young Abraham Lincoln and the two people who loved him best: a sparky, marriageable Mary Todd and Lincoln’s best friend, Joshua Speed.When Mary Todd meets Abraham Lincoln in Springfield in the winter of 1840, he is on no one's shortlist to be president. Rough and reticent, he’s a country lawyer lacking money and manners, living above a dry goods shop, but with a gift for oratory. Mary, a quick, self-possessed debutante with a tireless interest in debates and elections, at first finds him an enigma. “I can only hope,” she tells his roommate, the handsome, charming Joshua Speed, “that his waters being so very still, they also run deep.”It's not long, though, before she sees the Lincoln that Speed knows: a man who, despite his awkwardness, is amiable and profound, with a gentle wit to match his genius and a respect for her keen political mind. But as her relationship with Lincoln deepens, she must confront his inseparable friendship with Speed, who has taught his roommate how to dance, dress, and navigate the polite society of Springfield.Told in the alternating voices of Mary Todd and Joshua Speed, and rich with historical detail, Courting Mr. Lincoln creates a sympathetic and complex portrait of Mary unlike any that has come before; a moving portrayal of the deep and very real connection between the two men; and most of all, an evocation of the unformed man who would grow into one of the nation’s most beloved presidents.

The School for Heiresses


Sabrina Jeffries - 2006
    . . .At the School for Heiresses, the lessons go far beyond etiquette and needlepoint. In addition to teaching her students how to avoid fortune hunters, headmistress and founder Charlotte Harris proposes the radical notion that women of means need not shackle themselves to men at all -- unless they find a suitable, desirable mate. So lessons in the fine art of acquiring a loving and passionate husband are part of the curriculum at this highly unusual school. And as the holidays approach, Mrs. Harris sends her young ladies home with personally tailored lessons to work on. Will they return any closer to finding the perfect husband?This collection includes:Ten Reasons to Stay by Sabrina JeffriesAfter Midnight by Liz CarlyleThe Merchant's Gift by Julia London andMischief's Holiday by Renee Bernard.

Tansy


Gretchen Craig - 2015
    For Tansy, however, the choice was never hers. On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Tansy is caught in a sizzling kiss with Christophe Desmarais. The next night, Tansy’s mother introduces her to the life she has been raised for: as a beautiful quadroon in Old New Orleans, Tansy is meant to be a rich white man’s mistress. She is as she should be, biddable, loyal and submissive. But is this all there is? As Tansy matures, she wearies of telling herself that her narrow life is enough, yet she is terrified to leave behind security and plenty to become a self-reliant, independent woman.Christophe Desmarais was, like Tansy, born to a mixed-race mother and a rich white father, but as a shrewd card-player, a talented violinist, and a respected teacher, he creates his own life. The attraction between him and Tansy has never abated, only been pushed down and unacknowledged. When he sees Tansy discovering there is more to her than being pretty and pleasing, he allows himself to hope that she will become her own woman. Maybe then the two of them will have a chance at a life together.Multiple award-winning author Gretchen Craig returns with an unconventional novel about loyalty, independence, and love.

The Other Alcott


Elise Hooper - 2017
    But while everyone cheers on Jo March, based on Louisa herself, Amy March is often the least favorite sister. Now, it’s time to learn the truth about the real “Amy”, Louisa’s sister, May.Stylish, outgoing, creative, May Alcott grows up longing to experience the wide world beyond Concord, Massachusetts. While her sister Louisa crafts stories, May herself is a talented and dedicated artist, taking lessons in Boston, turning down a marriage proposal from a well-off suitor, and facing scorn for entering what is very much a man’s profession.Life for the Alcott family has never been easy, so when Louisa’s Little Women is published, its success eases the financial burdens they’d faced for so many years. Everyone agrees the novel is charming, but May is struck to the core by the portrayal of selfish, spoiled “Amy March.” Is this what her beloved sister really thinks of her?So May embarks on a quest to discover her own true identity, as an artist and a woman. From Boston to Rome, London, and Paris, this brave, talented, and determined woman forges an amazing life of her own, making her so much more than merely The Other Alcott.

Wait For Me


Barb A. Hart - 2016
    She prefers breeches to dresses, and spends her time riding horses, fishing, and climbing trees. When Emily is fourteen, she meets Cameron, the Duke of Templeton’s grandson. Their friendship deepens over the years, until Cameron is called to fight against Napoleon. They express their devotion to each other and make love for the first time before Cameron heads off to war. When Emily’s father discovers she’s pregnant, he’s livid. He had no idea his tomboy daughter has fallen in love, and her predicament threatens to destroy their family’s honor. He sends Emily to live with Cameron's eccentric great aunt, and, to avoid shame, insists that she claims she is married. Upon return from the battlefield, Cameron hears that Emily has wed and was pregnant. She writes him to explain the situation, but the letters never arrive, and the misunderstanding sends Cameron into a spiral of rage and despair. Their paths will cross again, but will their love be enough to overcome the fates at work to keep them apart?

The Duke's Heart


Kelly Anne Bruce - 2016
    She lives on a manor in the countryside and the distance from the city suits her well. She loves her charges and her employer is understanding and kind. What more could a poor vicar's daughter ever dream of? The Duke of Rossdale is lonely. He's not really aware of that. At least not yet. When he is dragged to a house party at a manor in the country side, he has no idea he will come face to face with his loneliness. He is happiest at his spread of land in the Scottish Highlands, but he needs an heir. For that, he needs a wife. When the duke and Dorothea first meet, there are sparks that neither can acknowledge. Eventually, they must. He has to tell her how he feels. Will she find the bravery to let him overlook her humble family heritage?

Song of Alaska Pack


Tracie Peterson - 2010
    A collection of three dramatic stories of love and difficult choices set in the Alaskan frontier from bestselling author Tracie Peterson.