Greetings! I'm Jo Beverley, and I'm wondering if you look forward to the Downton Abbey Christmas special for the grand rooms lit by roaring fires, the holly and the ivy, and a berry-loaded mistletoe bough. Perhaps you'd like to read some romances set at Christmas in stately homes during the Regency, with love and a happy ending to add to the spice.
Not all these books are easily available in print in the UK, but they are all available as e-books. I've given Amazon links, but of course they are available elsewhere.
Perhaps you can recommend other romances set at Christmas in a stately home. Please do. :)
I'll start with one of my own.
Genova Smith is traveling to celebrate
Christmas at Rothgar Abbey, as companion to two of the Marquess of Rothgar's
elderly great-aunts. However, another of the ladies' nephews appoints himself
their escort -- the Marquess of Ashart, life-long enemy of Rothgar and his family, hell-bent on trouble. Christmas is celebrated with grandeur at the
Abbey, but can even the joy of the special season bring and end to the
feud? And will Genova's heart be broken along the way?
Alexander Edgware,
Lord Xavier, is as notorious at the gaming tables as he is in the ton’s gossip rags.
But this might be one wager he cannot win: he must persuade proper Louisa
Oliver, a shy bluestocking, to attend his raucous Christmas house party at
Clifton Hall in Surrey . Intrigued by his invitation, Louisa looks
upon the house party as a chance to have a few adventures—and browse through
Clifton Hall’s grand library, too. Fascinated by her host’s hidden depths, she
soon persuades him into the library, where they discover an unexpected passion.
When long-hidden secrets are uncovered, will Louisa and Xavier’s new found bond
prove strong enough to save them both, or will they begin the new year with
ruin?
The Blanchard Secret by Nicola Cornick
Falling
in love at first sight—with another man’s wife—was hell for Phillip Houghton.
Never mind that he knew Julianna’s husband to be scoundrel, the ring on her
finger meant she was off limits. Three years later, he has a second chance with
an invitation to spend Christmas at Brookside . Julianna is content with her life as a widow with two small
children. The scars of her husband’s abuse feed her general distrust of men.
Yet, Phillip makes her painfully aware of how lonely her life truly is. As
Phillip wins over her parents and children, she finds herself drawn to him.
Dare she trust her mind—and her heart?
Young widow Lady Lenora Fitzallan
receives an unexpected invitation that might change her life but will
ultimately mean a choice between two men. Accompanied by her elderly godmother,
Lady Pettigrew, Lenora sets out to face the man she never thought to see again.
At Marlings, his Scottish country house and estate, Laird Edward Montgomery
awaits the arrival of the woman he should have married seventeen years before,
but has he left it too late once more? Meanwhile his young niece and ward,
Annabelle, begins to fall in love in between getting into scrapes. But is it
with the right man? As they all prepare for the Masquerade Ball on the Winter
Solstice in the lead up to Christmas, new arrivals cause uncertainty and reveal
past secrets. But who will win Lenora’s love in the end?
When Major Lucas
Stanton inherited his earldom, he never dreamed his property would include the previous
earl's granddaughter—Miss Phoebe Linville, a Quaker from America
Plain, bookish Elinor
Bancroft is traveling with her aunt and young cousins to spend the holidays
with her father, when a carriage mishap leaves the party stranded at the remote
manor of Lord Martin Thorne. Also known as “the Black Baron,” he has no
patience for invalids or spoiled heiresses, and children are usually terrified
of him. But he gives them refuge during the snowstorm, and to keep the children
out of his way Elinor helps them turn the sparse manor into a warm holiday
haven for Christmas.
Without dowries and the opportunity to meet eligible gentlemen,
the five Barlow sisters stand little chance of making advantageous marriages. But when the eldest
attracts the attention of a wealthy viscount, suddenly it seems as though Fate is smiling upon them. The man of Lucy Barlow’s dreams, however, has always been Andrew Livingston, her best friend's brother, but he's always treated her like a child.
Perhaps the time has come to put away childhood dreams and accept reality…and the eligible viscount. Andrew has returned from the Peninsula with emotional and
physical scars. Surprisingly, it's his sister's friend “Little Lucy” who shows him the way out of his
melancholy. As the two families work together to decorate Livingston Hall for Christmas, he can't help
noticing that Lucy's grown up into a lovely young woman. With an eligible viscount courting her,
however, he'll need a little Christmas magic to win her for himself.
David
Worthington, Duke of Penrose dislikes Miss Meredith Chambers, the American
governess who accompanied his new wards to his Devonshire
Christmas Angel by Patricia Rice
Living in the squire’s
house next to abandoned Sedgwick Hall, Marian Chadwick has no intention of
deserting the village as the earl had done. Taking care of family and helping a
once prosperous town survive is all she has in mind after the tragic death of her
fiance. Then a stranger from America
I hope you enjoy this selection of stories. Don't forget, you can always read a free sample at Amazon or other e-book retailers before you buy. And please do share some other titles.
Happy December!
Jo
6 comments:
Thanks for including my book, Jo - I'm in great company and enjoying all the blurbs featured here!
Your covers are all so beautiful it makes me wish I wrote historicals too!
Thank you so much for including my story, Jo! I really appreciate it!
I love Christmas (and other holiday stories), and the only ones here I've read are Jo's and Patricia's. I guess I have some book shopping to do this weekend.
What a lovely crop of seasonal books! Thanks, Jo! :)
I used to read historicals by the bucket. Looks as though I have some good stuff in store when I pick up that habit again.
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