MISS DRAYTON'S DOWNFALLRomantic Times Nominee: Best Regency Romance 1994
Romantic Times Nominee: Best Regency Rake 1994
Signet Regency
September 1994
ISBN 0-451-18019-4
German edition, Cora Verlag, Berlin, November 1995.
sensuous
Back in 1981 I discovered RWA, and in 1991 entered my first Regency, THE MAIDEN AUNT, in the Golden Heart Awards where it made the finals. Published in November 1992 by Berkley as THE SCANDALOUS WAGER, the novel also became a RITA finalist in the 1993 Best First Novel Category.
Since that momentous summer of 1991, when my first Regency metamorphosed from a plain old computer print-out, to a Golden Heart Finalist, then a full-fledged, honest to goodness published novel, and then to a RITA Finalist, and later to a Romantic Times Award winner for Best First Regency, I seem to have done little else-besides keeping up with a full-time university career-but write Regencies, and who could ask for anything more?
My Regencies are full of strong, stubborn heroines; dark, dangerous heroes, gardens and animals, particularly horses and cats, but also a parrot and a couple of bad-tempered pugs. In my next Regencies for Signet, I plan to create more of the same. Please let me hear from you if you find this combination romantic.
e-mail address: patricia@hiline.net
PATRICIA OLIVER received the following awards and recognitions:
¥1991 RWA Golden Heart Finalist: Best Regency for SCANDALOUS WAGER
¥1992 The Greater Dallas Writers' Award, 2nd Place Romance Novel, LADY SAMANTHA'S CHOICE.
¥1993 RWA Rita Finalist: Best First Regency for SCANDALOUS WAGER
¥1993 Romantic Times Award: Best First Regency Romance for SCANDALOUS WAGER
¥1993 June 14, Publishers Weekly Booksellers' Recommended Read. THE RELUCTANT DUCHESS.
¥1993 Aprl 5, B. Dalton Bestsellers List #9, LORD HARRY'S ANGEL.
¥1995 Romantic Times1995-96 Career Achievement Award,
¥1995 Romantic Times Award for 1995 Best Regency Novel for ROSES FOR HARRIET,
¥1998 National Readers' Choice Award for Best Regency for AN INCONVENIENT WIFE,
¥1999 National Readers' Choice Nominee for Best Regency for SCANDALOUS SECRETS.
¥2000 Holt Medallion Finalist for SCANDALOUS SECRETS.
Her novels have been translated into Italian, German, and Russian.
She also writes as Olivia Fontayne.
Watch for this latest Regency romance coming in the spring of 2002.
LADY DAPHNE'S DIARY
Signet Regency
Spring 2002
ISBN 0451-xxxxx-x
Mildly spicy
BROKEN PROMISES
Signet Regency
April 2001
ISBN 0451-20296-1
mildly sensuous
Convinced that her betrothed, Viscount Halifax, offered for her under duress, Miss Mathilda Heath falls in love with and elopes to India with the viscount's childhood friend, Sir James Parmenter. Ten years later she returns to England, a widow with two young sons, determined to make a life for them on her late husband's estate near Bath. She does not expect her ex-betrothed, now the Earl of Southmoor, to take note of her arrival, much less approach her. She is wrong. In trying to avoid him, Mathilda forms a close friendship with his friend, the Hon. Willoughby Hampton, who shows her special attention. Once home in Bath, Mathilda finds herself with several assiduous suitors, among them the man she had broken her promise to years before.
On his part, Miles Stephens, still resentful of being jilted at the altar, plans a terrible vindication for the woman who broke his heart. As the time grows nearer to put his plan in action, Miles begins to doubt the wisdom of his carefully orchestrated revenge on Mathilda. Is he losing his heart again to the same woman? Once put into motion, however, he cannot stop the rush towards a climax he no longer wants. Can Mathilda forgive him as he has long since forgiven her?
LADY JANE'S NEMESIS
Signet Regency
July 2000
ISBN 0451-20069-1
Mildly sensuous, ghosts.
Betrothed since birth to her neighbour, Roger Hastings, the heir to the Marquess of Trenton, Lady Jane Sinclair has little choice in the matter of marriage. She pours her energy into the writing and illustrating of her study of wild flowers in her native Devon while Roger sows his wild oats. Jane chooses to ignore the rumours linking Roger to the voluptuous Maud Horton, wife of Sir Giles Horton, many years her senior. When she comes upon them in a highly compromising rendezvous in the woods, however, she demands that her father release her from her betrothal. Counting on Jane's large dowry to pay off gambling debts, the marquess sends his son to set the date with his rebellious lady. Jane, who has loved Roger forever, relents and after he promises no more dalliance, the two are married in Trenton Abbey.
The happiness of her married life is shattered when rumours claim that Roger is the father of Lady Maud's unborn babe. When Maud falls ill and Sir Giles refuses to acknowledge his wife's child, Lady Jane steps in to nurse her rival on her deathbed and provide shelter for baby Agatha Rose. Jane's life becomes more complicated when Sir Giles acknowledges the child in his last will, leaving his son to untangle the matter with Roger. Lady Jane discovers an unexpected strength to love her rival's motherless daughter and forgive her own wayward husband, and Roger learns the meaning of love.
SCANDALOUS SECRETS
Signet Regency
1999 National Readers' Choice Award Finalist
Holt Medalion 2000 Finalist December 1999
ISBN 0-451-19886-7
sweet.
Banished from her home and divorced by the Duke of Cambourne, Lady Fanny St. Ives moves to India to live with her aunt and uncle, whose name she adopts. Over ten years Fanny develops into a strong-minded, independent female who takes over the Wentworth shipping company when her uncle dies. Her successes in Trade increase her fortune tenfold. On the way home to England, the Wentworth ladies meet Colonel Sir Derek Sheldon and his daughter Charlotte. In saving Charlotte from danger on the Calais wharves, Lady Fanny earns the colonel's grudging gratitude. He dislikes managing females, while Fanny cannot stand autocratic gentlemen, so the two clash at every turn, while Charlotte takes to Fanny instantly. Docking at Portsmouth, the families stay at the same inn, and the colonel is tempted to kiss Lady Fanny on the stairs. She finds his action inexplicable but pleasant, as does the colonel.
When they meet again, Fanny stands on the cliff where years ago her mother jumped to her death. Although chilled and feverish, she denies the colonel saved her life, and under protest spends several days at Sheldon Hall, nursed by Margaret Sheldon, the colonel's spinster sister. Her stay is interrupted by the arrival of Lord Penryn, Fanny's childhood idol, and her brother Freddy St. Ives. Lord Penryn offers Fanny marriage, which she refuses. When the pair threatens to reveal the scandalous secrets in Fanny's past, the colonel protects her with a make-believe betrothal. Intent on marrying Fanny for her fortune, Penryn abducts the two ladies, but the colonel and Margaret's betrothed come to the rescue. After revealing her secret scandals in a letter, Fanny believes she has lost him forever. The colonel finally convinces her that he loves her as she is.
THE LADY IN GRAY
Signet Regency
February 1999
ISBN 0-451-19500-0
sensuous/mystery
Lady Sylvia Sutherland fell into disgrace at eighteen when she eloped with Sir Matthew Farnaby, a handsome fortune hunter. Her father, the Earl of Wessex, caught up with the runaways in Dover and brought his daughter home, only to banish her to the wilds of Cornwall where her aunt, Lady Margaret, also in disgrace for a similar breach of conduct, lives happily with her Italian lover and dedicates her life to art. Lady Sylvia finds solace in painting and acquires a solid reputation as an artist. Living with her aunt at Whitecliffs, Sylvia hears various versions of the tragedy that occurred ten years ago when the Earl of Longueville's lovely French bride dies mysterious on the cliffs. Intrigued by the young countess's death, which some claim was suicide, others-including her husband-say was an accident, while the general belief in the village is that it was murder, Lady Sylvia paints a portrait of the stone hut where the tragedy occurred. The earl is the favourite suspect.
When Nicholas Morley, the Earl of Longueville, returns from a lengthy stay in India with his mother and aunt, Mrs. Lydia Hargate, Sylvia finds him taciturn, and still touchy over his wife's death. Nicholas sees Lady Sylvia as a welcome diversion in his loneliness, and plans to offer her a carte blanche. Amused when Sylvia refuses, he commissions a portrait of himself for the Long Gallery at the Grange. Sylvia prefers to paint the earl's handsome friend, Captain Jason Ransome, but eventually agrees to paint the earl's portrait. Nicholas finds himself thinking of the lovely but ineligible artist far more than is wise, and he puts off the task of finding a second wife. At the end of the summer, the dowager plans a grand house party with a select list of eligible young ladies to tempt her son into a second marriage. Notable absences are her youngest son Stephen, killed at Talavera, the late countess's brother, Jean-Claude DeJardin, an opportunist, and the earl's cousin, Mrs. Hargate's only son, who turns out to be Sir Matthew Farnaby, well known to Lady Sylvia. As Sylvia's inquiries slowly progress, she discovers that the dead countess was more than friendly to several of the gentlemen guests from years ago. When Sir Matthew, banished from The Grange by his cousin the earl, makes an appearance and stirs memories both Sylvia and Nicholas would like to forget, events take a sudden turn which puts Lady Sylvia in serious danger.
Read an excerpt from The Lady in Grey
AN INCONVENIENT WIFE
Winner:1998 National Readers' Choice Award
Nominee: Romantic Times 1998 Best Regency Romance
Signet Regency
May 1998
ISBN 0-451-191484-5
sensuous
The notorious Robert Stilton, Marquess of Monroyal, was a man who enjoyed women and wagers, but had sworn off innocence in all its forms. He watched his closest friends fall, one by one, into the lure of marriage, but he preferred to play the field. His astounding wager that he would never marry an innocent spurred his friends to prove him wrong. His pursuit of a young demi-mondaine led him into a rash rendezvous which landed him in the arms of the wrong woman. Lady Pamela Melrose, daughter of the marquess's mortal enemy, preferred music to gentlemen, but when faced with disgrace, chose to elope with a childhood friend rather than accept an arranged marriage with a notorious rake like Lord Monroyal. She is surprised when the stubborn lord chases her down and insists upon redeeming her honour. She is less pleased when he abandons her on one of his lesser estates, an unwanted, inconvenient wife. When an old scandal threatens, and a new one appears imminent, Lady Pamela's courage and fortitude convinces the marquess that perhaps he has found his match after all.
Read an excerpt from The Inconvenient Wife
DOUBLE DECEPTION
Signet Regency
August 1997
ISBN 0-451-19195-8
sensuous
Athena Standish was a beautiful young widow with a little girl to raise and a life on the edge of poverty to lead. Young Peregrine Steele might have been a trifle too impulsive for her, but he was handsome, too adoring, and too rich for her to refuse his marriage proposal. There was but one barrier between Athena and the safe haven of wedlock. Peregrine's father, the Earl of St. Aubyn, saw Athena as a wanton widow in search of wealth and set out to defeat her designs with every weapon at his command, from cold coins to warm kisses. This devastatingly attractive lord had not wanted a woman since his own wife died, but he knew all too well how to make a woman want him. Athena was torn between the man with a ring for her hand and the one with the key to her heart.
Read an excerpt from Double Deception
THE UNSUITABLE MATCH
Signet Regency
March 1997
ISBN 0-451-18800-4
sensuous
Serena Millbanks might be an innocent country miss with no particular beauty, but she was well aware that London was alive with libertines. Forewarned was forearmed, and she was quite sure that she would be more than a match for the amorous advances of these shameless seducers. Having no illusions about her looks, Serena was not prepared to become the focus of attention for the dark and dissolute Major Guy Hawkhurst, Duke of Wolverton.
Running from his own demons, Hawkhurst finds solace in Serena's calm presence. Their unlikely friendship blossoms, and when tragedy strikes Serena, she finds comfort in the major's arms. But Serena is also practical and knows that a match between them would be highly unsuitable. Steeling herself to the loss of the man she loves, she contemplates marriage to another. The duke's unexpected decision to follow his heart and not his mother's advice proves that the unsuitable is not necessarily the impossible.
THE COLONEL'S LADY
Signet Regency
May 1996
ISBN 0-451-18745-8
sensuous
Lady Regina Heathercott, beautiful, and wealthy, could have any man she wanted. And no man had ever made her want him like the superbly handsome Captain Charles Swinburn. His stolen kisses won her heart and left her aching to give him still more, when the upright figure of another man stepped between them. Colonel Sir Richard Swinburn, Charles' arrogant elder brother, was as insultingly indifferent to Regina's charms as he was infuriatingly suspicious about Charles' intentions towards her. This icy officer offered her propriety in place of passion, honor instead of love. And soon Regina found herself being quickstepped to the altar with the wrong man for the wrong reasons. Now she feared that unless marriage held unsuspected surprises, the one she adored would make her break her wedding vows almost as soon as she made them.
AN IMMODEST PROPOSAL
Signet Regency
October 1995
ISBN 0-451-18094-1
German edition, Cora Verlag, Berlin, October 1995
sensuous
Lady Cynthia Lonsdale was young, newly widowed, and wealthy, the ideal prey for every fortune hunter in the realm. Cynthia, however, refused to look in their direction, nor would she let her father wed her to yet another elderly lord. Instead she would take immodest advantage of being sinfully rich. She would choose a handsome young man and pay him to join her in a marriage that at least would be an honest bargain, not an odious deception. Captain Brian Sheffield, who was as honorable as he was in need of funds, fit her bill to perfection. But when this desperate gentleman agreed to be her husband for hire, Cynthia discovered to her dismay that there was a part of the bargain she had not bargained on: the clash of the Captain's icy pride and her own hot-blooded desires.
LORD GRESHAM'S LADY
Signet Regency
November 1994
ISBN 0-451-18092-5
Italian edition "La tana della tigre" November 1995 ISSN 1120-5199
sensuous
Lady Sarah Stanton had all too good reason to despair of her future, and to fear for her virtue. Prudence and propriety were forcing the beautiful but impoverished young widow into wedlock with the overbearing Sir Edward Grimes. But the alternative was even worse. The dazzlingly handsome, totally heartless Robert Heathercott, Lord Gresham offered everything except marriage if she would satisfy his hunger for her. This infinitely resourceful, supremely skilled rake stalked Sarah as a tiger its prey, luring her into the luxurious London mansion that was his lair, enticing her into his arms, devouring her will to resist with kisses as sweet as sin. She found herself fighting not only this man who would not take no for an answer, but her own lips that ached to say yes.
MISS DRAYTON'S DOWNFALL
Romantic Times Nominee: Best Regency Romance 1994
Romantic Times Nominee: Best Regency Rake 1994
Signet Regency
September 1994
ISBN 0-451-18019-4
German edition, Cora Verlag, Berlin, November 1995.
sensuous
Though Miss Cassandra Drayton was a sheltered vicar's daughter, she knew enough of the world to have no illusions about Phineas Ravenville, the Earl of Mansfield. Handsome he might be, but he was arrogant, cynical, cold-hearted, and licentious as well. Cassandra had even fewer illusions about his marriage proposal that she was in no position to refuse. He was simply settling a debt of honor even he could not ignore. Cassandra had one comfort only. Surely as unfashionable and inexperienced a young lady as she would not stir Mansfield's passions. Surely he would continue to take his pick of the most stunning sensual sirens of the ton. Surely he would respect his pledge to leave her untouched. But Cassandra had no notion of how strong the earl's passions were, and how weak were her defenses.
THE RUNAWAY DUCHESS
B. Dalton Bestseller List #14
Waldenbooks Romance Bestsellers List #15
Signet Regency
September 1993
ISBN 0-451-17730-4
sensuous
Beautiful Georgina Bennett was a widow and quite content to remain that way. Though still young in years, she had tasted all she wanted of marriage with the late Duke of Ware. But now her father was demanding she wed yet another elderly aristocrat, forcing Georgina to flee into the quiet Devon countryside, far away from the London marriage mart. Safety, though, was not what she found. What she discovered when she met Major Jack Hampton was the danger of her own desires. For this heartbreakingly handsome, infuriatingly arrogant gentleman made it shockingly clear that he was prepared to pursue her wherever she tried to hide.
LORD HARRY'S ANGEL
B. Dalton Bestsellers List #9
Signet Regency
April 1993
ISBN 0-451-17561-1
Italian edition, Grafiche Cino del Duca, June 1995
sensuous
When lovely young Angela Walter wed Major Harry Davenport, the sixth Earl of Castleton, both of them knew the marriage terms. Angela would get the title that her wealthy father wanted for her. Davenport would gain the money he desperately needed to restore his estate. As for love, the earl had lost his heart long ago to a beauty who had betrayed him by marrying his brother. Angela had lost hers to the handsome Earl of Medford, who had once scorned her but now found her irresistible as a married woman. Certainly the newly weds had the most sensible of understandings, if only Angela could remember to listen to reason and not to her foolish heart.
"Hyacinths for Victoria" in BLOSSOMS
Waldenbooks Romance Bestseller List #13, #14.
Signet Regency Anthology
April 1995
ISBN 0-451-18249-9
THE SCANDALOUS WAGER
1991 RWA Golden Heart Finalist: Best Regency
1993 RWA Rita Finalist: Best First Regency
1993 Romantic Times Award: Best First Regency Romance
Berkley Jove
November 1992
ISBN 0-515-10978-9
sweet-humorous
Gentlemen usually play cards to win, but Duvalier was playing to lose. In a twist on the tradition game, he and his cohorts agreed to unburden themselves of their unwanted possessions instead of gambling for gain. And Duvalier offered the most shocking wager of all, his maiden aunt. The wicked wager offended the Earl of Rotherham, but he played along, and soon Miss Diana Wetherby, and her pet parrot Bijou, arrived on his doorstep. But the hazel-eyed spinster was not at all what he expected. In fact, her elegance and wit made her a true delight. Now it was her heart he hoped to win.
THE ROGUE'S REVENGE
Romantic Times Nominee: Best Regency Romance 1994
Berkley Jove
August 1994
ISBN 0-515-11374-3
Italian edition, La maledizione degli Ashington, August 1995
mildly sensuous
After the tragic news of her brother's death, Lady Penelope Ashington awaits the arrival of the new head of the family. Once ensconced in Laughton Abbey, Nicholas Bellington, the new Earl of Laughton, proves the most insufferable rogue she has ever met. But Nicholas has a reason for his arrogance: it was, after all, the Ashington family who disgraced his dear grandmother, and this is his chance to exact revenge. His taunting of Penelope leads to a battle of wills, but when a spark of attraction ignites, true love may triumph.
THE RELUCTANT DUCHESS
Romantic Times Nominee: Best Regency Romance 1993
Romantic Times Nominee: Best Regency Rake 1993
Publishers Weekly Booksellers' Recommended Read June 14, 1993
Berkley Jove
June 1993
ISBN 0-515-11117-1
sensuous
Newly widowed and barely three months from her lying-in, Lady Alexandra Richardson is in desperate straits. The last thing she needs is to be caught up in a dispute over the estate with her late husband's cousin, Simon Weatherby. But the handsome Earl of Chesterton has laid his claim, and there seems to be no solution, until he finds himself drawn to the spirited widow and lays claim to her heart as well.
LADY SAMANTHA'S CHOICE
The Greater Dallas Writers' Award, 2nd Place Romance Novel
Berkley-Jove RWA Rita nominee: Best Regency Romance
Berkley Jove
April 1993
ISBN 0-515-11081-7
sweet
Under the conditions of her father's will, Lady Samantha Ashley has a harrowing choice, marry a perfect stranger, marry her awful cousin Gerald, or remain unwed and lose her fortune. Her head spinning, Samantha opts for the stranger, the handsome Marquess of Carrington. But her dilemmas are just beginning. Outraged at her choice, Gerald is determined to make matters difficult for the newlyweds, and Samantha, after hearing some scandalous rumours, fears that her decision was indeed fatally foolish. The most vexing problem, however, is her growing attraction to the mysterious marquess.
