Known as the Queen of Romance, this British author was one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century. Her extensive body of work is characterized by timeless romantic tales that captivated millions of readers worldwide. Beyond romantic novels, she also penned autobiographies, biographies, and plays, becoming renowned for her distinctive style and passion for the theme of love. Her legacy endures not only in her books but also in her lifelong advocacy and public engagement.
An astonishing tale of grand passion, intrigue and espionage in the heart of turn-of-20thcentury China - a simmering cauldron of hatred and resentment of foreigners that rises to the boil as the notorious Boxer rebels burn Christians and their Churches. Intrepid adventurer and acknowledged expert in Far Eastern affairs Major Stanton Ware puts his life on the line in a perilous undercover mission for his Prime Minister. But it is not fear that takes his breath away and steals his heart, it is his very first glimpse of Zivana, the young part-English, part-Russian, part-Manchu stunning beauty who is to be his mission partner!
The thunderclouds of World War Two are gathering, sweeping away old notions of class. But still in 1938 there are almost insurmountable barriers to love - and not just those of Social rank. In the Highlands, the lovely Skye is determined to marry her penniless childhood sweetheart, Hector, but her hidebound grandfather forbids it. Meanwhile in London's Theatreland, Paris and Cannes, Skye's stepfather Norman worships the voluptuous and volatile actress Carlotta, who is blinded to her own feelings by an infatuation with money, fame and Hector too! Will Skye, Hector, Carlotta and Norman ever grasp happiness? It seems only a fatal accident has the power to seal the lovers' Fate.
After their family mansion burns to the ground, the lovely Erlina Sherwood and her little brother, the sixth Baronet of Sherwood, go to the neighbouring estate to ask if they can stay at Meldon Hall as they now have nowhere to else go. It is just about the only habitable residence in the village left after the Marquis of Meldon on inheriting the family seat disavowed his house and estate and everyone in or near it.Because of his neglect, Meldon Hall has fallen into disrepair and since local workers and even the Vicar have not been paid most of the local houses in the village are falling down and most of the villagers have left the area in despair.Expecting only to find The Hall's caretaker in residence, Erlina is taken aback to find a strange man sitting alone in the darkness of the shuttered drawing room and after her initial shock she realises that it is the Marquis himself and he has been blinded in a racing accident. Soon she is discover the secret reason why the embittered and blind 'Wicked Marquis' has so cruelly neglected his people and property. Meeting his greedy unscrupulous cousin and his beautiful lover, she also realises that there are people in the world who are far more wicked than the Marquis and she suddenly finds that she is falling in love with him.
The beautiful Lencia is the image of her dear departed Mama and so is still the apple of the eye of her widowed father, the Earl of Armeron. Knowing how deeply Lencia and her younger sister, Alice, are missing their mother, their father promises to take them to see the fabulous historic Châteaux of the Loire Valley in France of which the most exciting and impressive of all is Château Chaumont. But to their chagrin, their hopes are totally dashed when the Earl returns from a trip to the South of France with a new wife on his arm, a stepmother who sees Lencia's beauty as distinct competition for her husband's attention and so she becomes increasingly hostile to the two sisters.Nevertheless the sisters have their hearts set on their French adventure and set off in secret, Lencia disguised in her late mother's clothes and her make-up to look like an older Society lady who is chaperoning the young Alice.By sheer chance they happen to meet on their journey the dashingly handsome Duc de Montrichard, the Guardian of Château Chaumont, who on an impulse invites them to stay with him in his own sublime Château! And soon, while Alice's heart is fit to burst with excitement as they start to explore his Fairytale world, Lencia's is becoming filled with love for the dashing Duc.But, tragically, it seems that her love is doomed since it is based on deceit!
Pretty young Kelda Lawrence arrived at Mrs. Gladwin's Seminary for Young Ladies when she was fifteen, coming from the orphanage where she was sent for three years after her father and mother were tragically killed in an earthquake travelling in Turkey. At the Seminary she makes a firm friend in the beautiful Yvette de Villon who, although also an orphan, is from a wealthy French extended family.One day Yvette comes to Kelda feeling tearful and distraught because she has been summoned to go and live with her English uncle. This, Kelda thinks, does not sound so bad until Yvette explains that her uncle is 'horrible' and worse still lives in Dakar in the French West African Colony of Senegal as a recluse in a huge mansion..When none of the school's Mistresses agree to accompany Yvette, to Kelda's amazement the Headmistress instructs her to go with her to Senegal and look after her until she can be handed over safely to her uncle in Dakar. And so begins Kelda's great adventure - and, when Yvette falls head over heels in love to a good-looking young man on the voyage, she and her new beau enlist Kelda in their plan to gain the acceptance of Yvette's uncle to their marriage.There are severe problems when they arrive in Dakar as Yvette's uncle has already promised Yvette's hand in marriage to the Governor-General. Little do any of them know that Kelda too is soon to lose her heart!
