Victorian Authors

As the fourth daughter of a baron, Miss Hannah Fairchild has no dreams of grandeur when it comes to marriage. Forget a duke or an earl. The shy, spinsterly wallflower would be happy with a doctor or (even better) the bookseller's son. Unfortunately, if she wants to save her family from financial ruin - and her father from debtor's prison - a duke is precisely what she needs.

While 1858 in London may have been noteworthy for its broiling summer months and the related stench of the sewage-filled Thames River, the year is otherwise little remembered. And yet, historian Rosemary Ashton reveals in this compelling microhistory, 1858 was marked by significant, if unrecognized, turning points. For ordinary people, and also for the rich, famous, and powerful, the months from May to August turned out to be a summer of consequence.

(Previously published as Invitation To Ruin - winner of the RomCom Readers Crown in 2012) One Good Lady Is About to Go Bad… The only thing Miss Melissa Goodly has ever wanted out of a marriage is love. But any hope of that dissolves one wild night, when she loses herself in the arms of the most irresistible–and unobtainable–man in all of England. For when they are discovered in a position as compromising as it is pleasurable, she has no choice but to accept his proposal. Avowed bachelor Antony Craven, Earl of Wickham, never meant to seduce an innocent like Melissa. Yet now that the ...

Elijah Seton steps into the world in pursuit of a ghost ship and those who murdered his father. He thought he knew his enemy, and he would do anything to see them fall. But he was wrong. Elijah's world is turned upside down when he finds a rare woman that his heart demands should fly free. Beatrice Hamilton lives with wealth and ease in her gilded cage. Until a new mill worker rattles her bars and gives her a glimpse of the freedom beyond. As the two work together, centuries of hate and anger are revealed that keep them apart.

Distrust is no match for desire as a proper young miss and a self-professed rogue hunt down a murderer in this thrilling Disgraced Lords novel from the USA Today bestselling author of A Kiss of Lies and A Taste of Seduction. Arend Aubury trusts no one besides his fellow Libertine Scholars. After his family escaped from France, penniless and persecuted, only the Scholars took him in. So when the stepdaughter of the villainess who has been plotting against them approaches Arend with allegations against their enemy, he suspects a double-cross. Yet Isobel is a tantalizing prize, with lips as ...

Destined to go blind, a rake sets his sights on the toast of society, lighting a fire of passion that scorches the night, in this captivating novel from USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans. Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clevedon, has one goal: to see every exquisite thing he can before he goes blind. His greatest joy, watching a woman shuddering in the throes of passion, will be gone. But before the darkness descends, he is determined to seduce a magnificent widow, Lady Penelope Fisherton. Unfortunately, his rakish reputation has preceded him; Lady Penelope spurns his advances. ...

(This book was previously published as Invitation To Scandal, an enemies to lovers romance which won the RomCon Readers Crown Best Historical in 2013.) Catch me if you can… Plagued by scandalous rumors, Rheda Kerrich will stop at nothing to restore her reputation and make an honest living for herself–and she’s determined to do it without a husband. But times are hard, and smuggling is a risky though profitable trade. So when a dashing agent for the English government catches her in the act, she desperately resists his charms and conceals her illicit profession. Until she realizes he ...

Tormented by their desires, two men find love in the wilds of Scotland. Lord Angus Ryder: I was born a gentleman, but architecture is my passion. When I was given an opportunity to restore a hunting lodge in Scotland, I jumped at the chance. Lately, my dormant passions for other men have been growing stronger and it is easier to hide away on a remote island than to face my demons. When a stranger—a very alluring stranger—washes up on the beach, injured, with no memory of his identity, I have no other option but to nurse him back to health. Mr. Clayton Lucas: I woke up on a beach with no...

Lady Amelia Brimley — I have always been in love with Oliver, Duke of Hayesford. My brother-in-law, Lord Noah Peterson, also holds a special place in my heart. After my sister’s tragic death, Noah and I became close. When Oliver proposes, I readily accept. On the eve of our wedding, I stumble upon Oliver and Noah in a compromising position. I should be appalled, and yet I am captivated by the sight.Lord Oliver, Duke of Hayesford — I asked for Amelia’s hand when I was six. Our parents took me seriously and were pressuring me to marry her. She is my oldest and dearest friend. While I ...

A lovestruck lady charms the duke of her dreams during an expedition on the high seas in this sexy, swashbuckling novel from USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans. Alexander Sylvester Bracken, Duke of Bedford, has a mission: sail to the Mediterranean and track down Lady Hestia Cary’s missing father. It is a straightforward task, but for two rather vexing complications. First, the sea holds painful memories; second, for her own safety, Hestia is to accompany him. As Alex battles the demons of his past, he must also resist Hestia’s surprisingly skillful attempts at seduction. After ...

With his laughing eyes and wild, rakish good looks, Lord Rannulf Bedwyn is a hard man to resist. To Judith Law, a woman in need of rescue when her stagecoach overturns, Rannulf is simply her savior, a heroic stranger she will reward with one night of reckless passion before she must become a companion to her wealthy aunt. Imagine Judith's shock when the same stranger turns out to be among England's most eligible bachelors, and when he arrives at Harewood Grange to woo her cousin.

All three live by the rules of society, but they love by the rules of their heart. Prince Alexander–The moment I met Mr. Eliot Burnside, I was enamored. The bashful solicitor rushed off before I could get his address. Before he disappeared, he left me with a vital clue to his direction, Madam Caroline Devine. Madam Caroline Devine- After years of running a brothel, I wanted out, but society wasn’t forgiving of a woman like me. When Prince Alexander appeared at my doorstep in search of Burnside, I didn’t know he'd help me realize my dream, but at a cost to my heart. Mr. Eliot Burnside-...

Young. Ravishing. Exquisitely marriageable. From the moment he spies Lady Morgan Bedwyn across the glittering ballroom, Gervase Ashford, Earl of Rosthorn, knows he has found the perfect instrument of his revenge. But wedlock is not on the mind of the continent's most notorious rake. Nor is it of interest to the fiercely independent Lady Morgan herself...until one night of shocking intimacy erupts in a scandal that could make Gervase's vengeance all the sweeter.

All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman did catch the duke's eye - and she was the only female in the room who wasn't even trying.

Lord Kendrick, Duke of Alton—I was born a duke but my passion lies in clay and marble. Straddling two worlds, I have put my heart and soul into my art. After my spinster neighbor catches me in a compromising position with a male lover, Sir Colt Lawrence recommends I do the obvious, marry her or risk scandal. Sir Colt Lawrence—I have been enamored of Lord Kendrick since the moment I set eyes on him. As his personal secretary, I must hide my secret passion for him. When he tells me of his dilemma with Lady Lillian, I boldly suggest he marry the lady to assure her silence. Lady Lillian ...

Growing up with four unruly brothers has made Freyja Bedwyn far bolder than most society ladies. From feisty manner to long, tumbling hair, Lady Freyja is pure fire - a woman who seeks both adventure and freedom. Adventure soon finds her on a visit to Bath, when a handsome stranger bursts into Freyja's room and entreats her to hide him. His name is Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, a man with a hell-raising reputation of his own who is quickly intrigued by the independent beauty.

A visitor to Baker Street comes amid the rains of March in 1889, speaking of the shadowy world of séances and mediumship, subjects about which the ever-rational Holmes has little patience, nor is he any more approving when an accusation is made concerning his role in a past case that saw a convicted murderer hanged, yet when events unfold to draw Holmes to a manor in Wiltshire where the British Séance Society makes its headquarters, he soon finds himself caught up in a case that appears to Watson to have the involvement of the paranormal as its most likely explanation. It’s all inside ...

Eminent Victorians, Lytton Strachey's wonderfully witty and Wildean quartet of biographies, stands out as one of the most radical and groundbreaking works of its genre. With relentless precision, Strachey explores the lives of four exemplars of the Victorian age: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold and General Gordon, irreverently bringing to light the flaws, strengths, ambitions and hypocrisies of these treasured legends.

Furious at being tricked into marrying a woman who keeps a hedgehog in her pocket, Derek couldn't get away from Eleanor fast enough after their vows were read. It's been a year since he's seen her, and he has no plans to change that anytime soon - until his scheming cousin shows up and declares the union a sham. Now Derek has exactly one month to woo a wife he never desired and consummate a marriage he never wanted.

Lady Theodosia Barrington is practically begging to be ruined. That’s the assumption of the Marquess of Haven after spying Theodosia at a house party given by the Duke of Granby. After his father left him little else but a title and a crumbling estate, Haven is in desperate need of an heiress.