Showing results by narrator "Lillian Rachel" in All Categories

Elizabeth Bennett never imagined her own parents would force her to marry a virtual stranger. But when Mrs. Bennett accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband's heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?

Felicity Carrol is interested in everything - except being a proper young matron of Victorian society. Brilliant and resourceful, Felicity took refuge in science and education after her mother died and her father abandoned her to servants. Now, all he wants is for her to marry into a family of status and money. Felicity has other ambitions - but her plans shudder to a halt when her mentor is murdered at the British Museum and his priceless manuscript of King Arthur lore is stolen.

‘Tis no secret that Lizzy Bennet has dreams. The uniquely talented daughter of a woman with a dubious reputation, Lizzy knows she must make her own way in a world that shuns her. Fitzwilliam Darcy carries the stains of his family’s dishonor upon his soul, and only by holding himself to the strictest standards has he reclaimed his place in society. If his 15-year-old sister cannot be found quickly, her scandal could destroy years of perfect behavior.

Much-Afraid had been in the service of the Chief Shepherd, whose great flocks were pastured down in the Valley of Humiliation. She lived with her friends and fellow workers Mercy and Peace in a tranquil little white cottage in the village of Much-Trembling. She loved her work and desired intensely to please the Chief Shepherd, but happy as she was in most ways, she was conscious of several things which hindered her in her work and caused her much secret distress and shame.

“Mr Darcy, I am eager to hear your explanation for the fact that quite a few people believe we are engaged.” It starts with a bit of well-meant advice. Colonel Fitzwilliam suggests to his cousin Darcy that, before he proposes to Elizabeth Bennet in Kent, perhaps he ought to discuss his plans with their families first. What neither man could have predicted however was that Lord Matlock would write the news to his sister, or that Viscount Saye would overhear and tell his friends, or that his friends might slip a little and let their friends know as well.

Necromancers infest the land of Alderyth, fueling a dark plague that always kills its victims. For Nell, it’s more than a story told by travelers. The deathmark claimed her family and fated her to a life of servitude. When a battered old hag collapses in her arms, suspicion swirls through her fearful town. Could Nell be a carrier of the plague? She flees rather than submit to prying authorities, but not without trouble.

Abandoned by her allies, the Republic of Venice holds out as the last beacon of resistance against the hobgoblin armies. Armed with new weapons the Southern Horde drives upon the floating city by land and sea. The Northern Horde drives deep into the heart of Europa and all fall before it. The Horde is vast beyond measure. Assassin daggers lurk in every shadow. Necrotic evil seeps and infects.

After Miss Catherine Tregowyn, poet, and Dr. Harry Bascombe, her bête noire, discover a body in the Somerville College chapel, they are declared suspects in a murder inquiry. How can they prove their innocence? The pair decide they must launch their own investigation into the strangling of Oxford don, Agatha Chenowith. But working as a team will not be easy. Their relations are anything but cordial.

Pauline Riddell has grand ambitions for her future at the armament factory. So, when her closest workmate reveals a salacious affair with a married man, Pauline refuses to risk her career by listening to the scandal. But, she’s shaken to her core when the police arrive with news of her best friend’s homicide. Desperate for justice, Pauline’s insistent poking into the investigation only makes her the prime suspect. And now, to clear her name, she must unravel a web of deadly clues entangling her in a sinister plot.

Miss Prudence has worked diligently to become the perfect wife for the lord she's meant to marry. There's only one flaw left—music. But when her aunt hires the handsome lord next door to help, Prudence's quest for perfection is ruined. How is the dutiful debutante expected to survive music lessons when her tutor is the boy who'd teased her mercilessly as a child? And now he's at it again. Poking fun and provoking her into rash actions.

Her reputation tarnished and her prospects all but gone, the School of Charm's headmistress has nothing left to lose. At least, that's what Miss Farthington believed. But now she's being pursued by a man as charming as he is clever, and she's realized that she was wrong. She still has something very dear left to lose...her heart.

Plagued by misfortune, Ingrid Norling treks into the woods to clear her head. She emerges a monster-slayer, the shaken executioner of a creature so ferocious that even the king's strongest warriors could not destroy it. In a land that reveres swords and worships strength, this accidental heroism earns Inge an audience at court and an ill-fated prize: King Halvard impulsively adopts her and names her as his heir.

Captain Dylan Blake has spent the last decade fighting for his country. Desperate for a little peace, he sells his commission and returns to England but soon finds himself angry and adrift in London Society. When an old nemesis challenges him to a wager - he must get Lady Natalia Sinclair to dance with him twice in one evening - he is willing to play along. As the lines between the wager and attraction blur, can Dylan and Natalia find the courage to take the biggest gamble of all - love?

Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's only novel, first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell. A work of considerable power and intensity set in the Yorkshire moors in the late 18th century - the bleak and wild moorland often reflected in the natures of the characters. Unsettling at times, the novel is a heady mix of gritty realism, romance, Gothic horror, and tragedy.

When it was first published in 1847, Wuthering Heights was considered highly controversial for its blunt portrayal of domestic abuse, alcoholism, and the dismissal of Christian values by some of its characters. Today, this gothic novel is considered one of the greatest in English literature.

Miss Charlotte despises the man she's supposed to marry. Of course, she hasn't actually met the Earl's son, but from the letters they've exchanged, he's exactly the sort of overbearing brute she can't stand. Not at all like that handsome, witty, romantic stranger she met at the bookshop. She agrees to meet this intriguing stranger in the garden at midnight, not realizing that the man she's agreed to meet...is the same man she's vowed to hate.

Delilah always knew she'd marry someone rich and powerful, but she never imagined she'd be engaged to the man her friends call 'Lord Evil.' She's certain they're exaggerating the danger she's in...until she slips away during her engagement party and finds herself held captive by a terrifying brute. Trembling in terror in his arms, she tells the stranger to take whatever he wants, just let her go. But the beast growls in her ear, "I'm not here for your jewels, princess. I'm here for you..."

North and South follows the young Margaret Hale as she is caught in the middle of the brutal world between employers and local workers following the Industrial Revolution. She finds herself at odds from the very start with John Thornton, a local factory owner and self-made man, as she believes him to be unfeeling and callous about the poverty and suffering of the workers while John sees Margaret as haughty and entitled. Further conflicts arise when the workers strike and Margaret feels compelled to intervene with no regard for her own safety.

Everyone knows the headmistress is destined to be a spinster. Well . . . everyone but the Marquess of Ainsley. The Marquess isn't certain why the elegant and resourceful Miss Grayson is so determined to remain unmarried. But he means to change her mind over the holidays. How will he coax the refined beauty out of her shell?

Surely Lord Paul is teasing Mary yet again when he suggests that they marry for convenience. The childhood enemies have never been able to be in the same room together without tempers flaring. How could they possibly be married? But when Lord Paul comes to her rescue and saves Mary from near scandal, she may have no choice but to accept his hand. Which is awful. Obviously.