Showing results by narrator "Anthony Wren" in All Categories

Lady Dorianna Dale is packing her trousseau for her illustrious Society wedding to the rich Lord Buxton. She does not love him, she cannot bear him to touch her and she hates the sound of his loud foolish voice - but unless the wedding goes ahead, she and her Mama will lose everything and will have to sell their beautiful home, Ashburton Hall. Dorianna briefly meets the handsome and enigmatic Earl of Claremont at a London soirée and she longs to see him again. But how can this ever happen once she is married to Lord Buxton? She must take her destiny into her own hands.

There is nothing for it - we will have to marry for money! The Strathcarrons have lived in splendour in Lednock Castle in Scotland for many generations, but the family fall on hard times when their fortunes become depleted. An American guest, Larry Harwood, comes to stay and persuades the Earl of Strathcarron to travel to New York with him to make his fortune, leaving his wife, his son, Ewen and daughter, Moira, to the mercies of fate. Six months later the Earl returns a broken man, having lost the entire estate to the American's creditors.

Sir John Gilmour has received a letter from his old friend Gavron Murillo, who lives in Paris to say that he only has a very short time to live and wants to see him urgently before he dies. Gavron, who was of Oriental appearance and a very rich man, had helped Sir John and his father with their finances when they had been almost on the point of bankruptcy and he had made them very wealthy. When Sir John arrives at Gavron’s bedside, the old man tells him that his dying wish is that he should marry his daughter, the beautiful Melita.

"Get away from me. As far as I am concerned, David, you are dead to me and this entire family!" The handsome Viscount Kennington has never enjoyed a good relationship with his father, the Earl, but he loves his grandparents and they love him. But when a family scandal is aired after the sudden death of the Viscount's grandfather, the Marquis, the family feud grows worse. The Viscount retreats to the huge mysterious house in Devon left to him by his grandfather.

Rupert Fitzalan has succeeded his grandfather, Lord Fitzalan. Leaving behind his life in America, Rupert goes to claim his inheritance in the Scottish Highlands. This includes Castle Fitzalan, which he last saw at the age of eight. A series of revelations awaits him. First, the Castle is a wreck. Then there is the Fitzalan feud with the MacLeans, who are demanding the return of an heirloom they claim has been stolen from them. They are desperate to obtain it and attack and kidnap Rupert. Finally he meets the beautiful Celina Stirling who is engaged to her cousin, Hamish MacLean.

Lady Galina More and her brother, Georgie, the Earl of Ranmore, are in despair because they own two large historic houses which are entailed. Georgie decides he will have to marry an American heiress, so he opens his house in London, but has no idea how he can staff it or afford to entertain. He meets Mr. Craig Farlow, one of the richest oil millionaires in America who has brought his daughter, Ellie-May, to London as he wants her to marry a title and he becomes a tenant at Georgie's house in Park Lane.

The Earl of Rockhaven calls on his friend the Vicar, the Reverend Simon Wolverham, to ask if his beautiful daughter, Lucinda, will pretend to be his own daughter, Muriel, who is away in Scotland staying with her aunt. Fortunately the girls have similar looks and Lucinda could easily be taken for Muriel. The Earl explains to the Vicar that a certain Baron Schlesinger and his son, Kurt, from Germany have invited themselves to luncheon at his nearby ancestral home and are insistent that his daughter is present for the occasion.

Davina is the younger daughter of Lord Shelford and she has fallen for an actor who did not meet her father's approval. He has banished her from London to his newly acquired country seat, Priory Park, where Davina felt lonely, but not for long. She soon meets the Delverton brothers who live nearby, and also their mysterious companion, Jed Barker. There are dark secrets surrounding Priory Park and the Delverton family, but Davina cannot help becoming attracted to the handsome Lord Delverton despite his indifference to her.

Heir to the throne of Valdina, beautiful Attila vows two things - to do everything in her power to return her beloved sick father, King Sigismund, to health and to find true love. But it seems that her stepmother, the scheming and selfish Queen Margit has other ideas for her future. Desperate to marry her as quickly as possible to Prince Otto, a young man with a shadowy past, Queen Margit's eyes are set firmly on the throne for herself. And it seems she will stop at nothing to get her own way and rule Valdina alone.

The beautiful Alvita who had lost both her parents, was living quietly in her family home in Southern Russia. Her father had been Russian and her mother had been English. Alvita was pleased to receive a visit from her brother, Ivor, but shocked when he told her that they must leave Russia immediately, as a Revolution was inevitable and would start very soon. He had brought with him his friend, Nicholas, who said that he would help them pack up as many of their treasures as they could and make their way to England. Alvita felt a little unsure of Nicholas, but thought that perhaps she might be mistaken.

Prince Serge of Tamrush, who himself had been sent a bride by Queen Victoria to save his Principality from invasion by the Russians, was now being asked by Prince Igor of Dubrik for the hand of his beautiful daughter Lavinia for the same reason. He decided not to tell Lavinia of Prince Igor’s request until after her birthday party. It was on that occasion she would meet Prince Igor for the first time and her father hoped that they would be attracted to each other.

The Duke of Laverdale is ambitious to be appointed Master of the Horse and the new Queen Adelaide is determined that behaviour at Court should be moral after the licentiousness of King George IV. The Duke therefore ends his affaire de coeur with the enchanting Lady Sybil Mersham and drops his ballet dancer mistress as well. Up to now he has been determined not to be married, but he now decides to become respectable and find a suitable bride as befits his standing.

The beautiful Ilena Foringham not only helped her father, who was a senior Member of Parliament, with his speeches but she also assisted Lord Witherington with his. She had always found him a tremendous bore, but when he eventually proposed marriage to her she knew that this was something that she could not bear and that she could never be happy with him. As Ilena realised that her parents also wanted her to marry Lord Witherington, she knew that she had no option but to run away.

Beautiful Lady Lucilla Welton is all alone in the world, having lost both her parents in a tragic accident. She has nowhere to go and so she stays with her cruel and distant Aunt Maud, who wants to marry her off as soon as possible. An ardent suitor is at hand – the rich Texan, Harkness Jackson – but his proposal is not one Lucilla could ever contemplate. She has already met the only man who will ever find the key to her heart – but the handsome Marquis of Castlebury is enthralled by another and for him, Lucilla seems to be no more than a casual friend.

The beautiful redheaded Tiana Weston sets out to visit her inheritance in Dorset with high hopes. It had been her parents’ dream to restore Castle Rose to its former glory as it is now a dilapidated ruin and only a small part is fit to live in. But Tiana soon discovers that enthusiasm and determination alone do not pay the workmen or keep property developers at bay and soon she is faced with a dreadful dilemma. Her handsome and aristocratic next door neighbour Richard, the Earl of Austindale, also faces considerable problems.

The beautiful Lola Fenton lives happily in a small cottage in the depths of Worcestershire, but she is suddenly orphaned when her father and mother are killed in a railway crash. Her uncle, the Earl of Kencombe, comes to the funeral and then tells her that, as she has no money, she will have to come and live with him. He obviously has no wish for her to do so, but feels that it is his duty as her legal Guardian.

When the Duke of Barningforde was told by his second son, Alastair, that he had married an actress in Paris without his approval, he exiled Alastair from England with only a very small allowance. His wife, Grace, actually came from a good Scottish family and was not an actress, but had a very fine soprano voice and sang with a famous French orchestra. But the Duke would not listen and Alastair and Grace never again set foot in their homeland.

Major Michael Moore has been playing a very dangerous part in the Great Game in India where he foils a plot to kill the Viceroy who tells Michael he is now a marked man and that he must return to England immediately. To his astonishment on his way home he reads in a newspaper that following the death of his grandfather he has become the Duke of Grangemoore.

The beautiful Ariana Dancer is orphaned and has led a cheerless life in London with her disagreeable Guardian, Uncle Konstantin Bardici. He has shown little interest in his niece and she has been left very much to her own devices. One day Uncle Konstantin suggests that Ariana marry an Albanian Prince - one who is seeking an English wife and who claims to have fallen in love with her portrait - and it does not take much to persuade her to agree.

The Marquis of Darincourt who is the greatest matrimonial catch in the Beau Monde decides at last that he will get married and has chosen Lady Charlotte Warde to be his wife. He has been pursued for years by every debutante and ambitious mother, but he has, however, preferred the sophisticated married women who amuse him with their provocative wit and attractions. He is a hero from the war with Napoleon and the Duke Wellington had twice awarded him the Gold Medal for Bravery.