Listed below are wonderful historical romances set in the Regency Period. These books were consistently found on lists of the best loved romance novels of all time.
Last Updated: 10/10/2005
Victoria Alexander
THE MARRIAGE LESSON 5/2001 ISBN:0380818205 Lesson #1: Never Tempt a Lady to Become a bride? Never! Lady Marianne Shelton has come to London to experience life, and marriage is not part of her plan. To finance her independent future, the pretty country miss pens a series of anonymous stories. Soon they are the talk of the ton-and only she knows that her wicked hero is based on none other than bold, brash Thomas Effington, the future Duke of Roxborough. Lesson #2: Never Deny a Marquess, Thomas has been thrust into the role of Marianne's protector. When she threatens to experience life with the first willing rogue to come along, he decides the best recourse is to tutor her himself. And when he accidentally compromises her honor, he's willing to accept their only recourse: a wedding. Marianne claims she wants no part of marriage, but her intoxicating allure and disarming willingness make her irresistible. And now Thomas is determined to teach her a lesson: that true love will last forever.
Adele Ashworth
MY DARLING CAROLINE 10/1998 ISBN: 0515123692. Lady Caroline Grayson had always wanted to study botany - and had already bred a rare lavender rose - but as a woman in nineteenth century England, her intelligence and talents were ignored. Caroline was determined to see her dream become a reality - even if it meant masquerading as a man to be accepted at a university. But when her father arranged for her to marry, she agreed - knowing she could not become a conventional wife. Yet marriage wasn't what she thought it would be. Her attractive new husband gave her the freedom she never expected - and the respect she had always deserved. AT first she tried to resist his admiration, his love..and especially his touch. But soon she was surprised and overcome by her husband's - and her own - passion. Now Caroline might have to make the most difficult choice of all - between her lifelong dream and the depth of her love for an extraordinary man..
Jane Austen
PERSUASION 1818 Takes place in a similar setting to Northanger Abbey., Seven years before, Anne Elliot refused a proposal by Captain Wentworth, a man she loved, because a trusted friend convinced her he was too far below her social station to be a suitable match. Now, her beau re-enters her life.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE 1813 An epic filled with humor, romance, and irony,
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY 1811 Two sisters, Elimore and Marianne, after the death of their
father, are left without fortune and to pursue their lives in their own different ways.
Mary Balogh
LORD CAREW'S BRIDE 6/1995. ISBN: 0451185528. Love has not been kind to Samantha Newman, but friendship has. When her emotions are rubbed raw by the reappearance in her life of a villain who had broken her heart some years before, she turns with gratitude to the kindly Hartley Wade, with whom she had developed a warm friendship when she mistook him for a gardener during a visit to the country. She accepts his proposal, expecting a quiet, safe, undemanding marriage. She does not know that Hartley is the Marquess of Carew and that he loves her passionately--and believes she returns his feelings.
ONE NIGHT FOR LOVE 7/1999. ISBN: 0440226007. Neville Wyatt, Earl of Kilbourne, awaited his bride at the alter - when a ragged beggar woman raced down the aisle instead. The cream of the ton saw him stare, shocked, then declare that this was his wife! One night of passion was all he remembered as he beheld Lily, the woman he'd wed, loved, and lost on the battlefield in Portugal. Now he said he'd honor his commitment to her - regardless of the gulf that lay between them. She said she wanted only to start a new life - wanted only a husband who truly loved her. She had to leave him to learn how to meet his world on her terms. So Lily agreed to earn her keep as his aunt's companion and study the genteel arts. Soon she was the toast of the ton, every inch a countess fit for the earl, who vowed to prove to his remarkable wife that what he felt for her was far more than desire, that what he wanted for her was much more than One Night for Love.
THE SECRET PEARL 10/1991. ISBN 0451169913. The first encounter between Fleur Hamilton and the Duke of Ridgeway outside the Drury Lane Theater one night is ugly and sordid. She is a prostitute, he her customer. When they meet again, she is in his own home as governess to his daughter. His wife, the duchess, lives there too. That love should grow between Fleur and the duke seems improbable. That their love can have a future seems quite impossible.
Jill Barnett
BEWITCHING 10/1993 ISBN:0671778633. A bewitching truth about Joy Fiona MacQuarrie's past threatens her relationship with the very proper and the very noble Alec, Duke of Belmore.
DREAMING 6/1994. ISBN: 0671778684. Most English girls meet their heart's desire across a crowded ballroom or in a genteel parlor. Letitia Olive Hornsby finds hers when she knocks him into a river. A curly-haired, blue-eyed hellion of only eleven, she decides even then that Richard, the dashing, handsome, and totally disreputable son of the Earl of Downe, is the white knight of her dreams. Now fully grown and unexpectedly beautiful, Letty is spinning a plan to save Richard from himself..by marrying him, of course. And he soon has the bruises to prove it. The insufferable, albeit unforgettable, chit has come back into Richard's life with a crash - literally falling into his arms. He is struck by her softness, her dizzying scent, and her impossible meddling in his ruinous drinking, gambling, and amorous liaisons. But when fate makes them prisoners of a ring of dangerous smugglers, Richard discovers in his mischievous cellmate a pure, romantic, questing spirit that sparks a flame in his own shadowed heart. If only they can escape, a wondrous passion can blaze free..and they can find a lifetime's adventures in each other's arms.
Jo Beverley
DEIRDRE AND DON JUAN 12/1993. ISBN: 0380772817. Mark Juan Carlos Renfrew, Earl of Everdon was deserted by his beautiful wife ten years ago. Now, the news of her death takes away his freedom and compels him to marry. He chooses, however, the plainest, quietest young lady he knows. When he discovers that Deirdre plans to marry a selfish wretch, he feels compelled to save her, and discovers that she is not quiet, and that plain is in the eye of the beholder.
EMILY AND THE DARK ANGEL 5/1991 ISBN: 0380715554. Miss Emily Grantwich is surrounded by misfortune. Her brother is missing in the war, her father is paralyzed, and she must manage the family's estates and business. Now, as neighbor, she has a notorious rake generally known as the Dark Angel. She knows that everyone is right and she should avoid him, but somehow it doesn't work out that way. And all in all, she's not sure if she wants it to.
Rita Boucher
THE DEVIL'S DUE 4/1996 ISBN: 0451187512 Lady Katherine Steele, disguised as the widow of Scottish laird Duncan MacLean, gets surprised when he appears.
Elizabeth Boyle
Connie Brockway
Stella Cameron
FASCINATION 11/1993. ISBN: 0380770741. Pretty, penniless Grace Wren consents to wed Lord Arran Rossmara, the ancient and ailing Marquess of Stonehaven, sight unseen, unaware that her husband-to-be is younger and healthier than she has been led to believe.
BOUND BY THE HEART 10/1984 ISBN: 0380887320. Rescued from the stormy waters of the Caribbean, Summer Cambridge, daughter of the British governor of Barbados, faced a new threat aboard the American ship Chimera, Captain Morgan Wade, the notorious buccaneer, brazenly ordered the young beauty to his cabin to be held for his own pleasure! Summer fought him with the ferocity of a wildcat, but held by his insistent passion, she was swept by waves of desire she had never known, and was powerless to resist him. Even as she returned to Barbados and the marriage that had been arranged for her, she still trembled with memories of those days and nights of forbidden passions, and of the man whose love would forever hold her heart captive.
SWEPT AWAY 12/1999. ISBN: 0440235219. "They have to know the truth. Before it is too late." Those were the half-naked stranger's only words as he opened his eyes, looked into her soul, then lost consciousness in the shallow tidal pool. Annaleah Fairchilde, heiress and noblewoman, soon learned the identity of the man she saved: Emory Althorpe, adventurer, accused traitor, and Napoleon's spy. Even as she bound the dangerous scoundrel's wounds, she fell deeper under the spell of a man handsome as the devil, sent to her by fate. He remembered nothing. Only the need to escape Emory Althorpe was wanted for treason, yet his only hope was a shadowy memory hovering just beyond his grasp, and beautiful Anna, who aroused unexpected passions. He had no choice but to abduct her, needing her to gain access to London's ballrooms, where he could prove his innocence. Together they raced into the face of danger, determined to find the key to his past and live - or die- together, as destiny decreed..
Liz Carlyle
Loretta Chase
THE ENGLISH WITCH 8/1989 ISBN: 0802710271. Pity Alexandra Ashmore! Though bewitching to behold, she has been forced into an engagement with a man she does not love. Alexandra's stodgy fiancé is blind not only to her considerable charms, but also to her dazzling effect on other men. Even worse, the green-eyed beauty is kidnapped by one such swain, a hot-blooded Albanian hopelessly smitten with her. But Alexandra's true troubles begin with the arrival of her dashing rescuer, Basil Trevelyan. From Albania to England, the notorious cad pursues her, determined to make her his own, and setting Alexandra's world scandalously atilt in ways she never dreamed....
THE LION'S DAUGHTER 10/1992 ISBN: 0380766477. She is Esme Brentmor, a fearless rebel with a tender heart but a temper that runs hotter than her flaming red hair. Secretly determined to avenge her father's death, she is forced to travel with a handsome English wastrel through a harsh and treacherous land. Varian St. George, an arrogant aristocrat, has gambled away his family fortune and lives on his considerable charm and good looks. Despite Esme's contempt for his selfish, pleasure-seeking ways, Varian's blatant sensuality irresistibly awakens in her a passion that flares hot and sweet. And as their perilous journey draws them closer together, Esme discovers beneath Varian's polished facade a man of honor and courage, struggling to be worthy of her, eager to claim her, and destined to be hers forever.
VISCOUNT VAGABOND 1/1989. ISBN: 0802710468. Catherine Pellison simply would not abide by her father's wishes and marry the slovenly Lord Browdie. But her escape through the streets of London only seemed to lead her from bad to worse. First, she was robbed. And then, her supposed "rescue" by a kindly old woman stranded Catherine in a bordello - where the handsome Viscount Rand was intent on sampling her wares! A dire predicament indeed - especially when the dashing aristocrat decided to assume full responsibility for the ravishing runaway by taking her, quite against her will, into his home. But little did Catherine know that her struggle to preserve her virtue had inflamed the debauched gadabout's heart....and might well net her a husband worth desiring!
Catherine Coulter
THE NIGHTINGALE LEGACY 12/1994. ISBN 0515116246. Caroline Derwent-Jones is at the eve of her nineteenth birthday. She's chomping at the bit to get out from under the control of her smarmy guardian, the frighteningly obsessive Roland Ffalkes. But Ffalkes has other plans for Caroline. She manages to escape him only to find herself in the fascinating company of Frederick North Nightingale, Lord Chilton. As tragedy and mystery thicken the air, Caroline finds herself more and more drawn to Lord Chilton, a man who claims he's a lonely beggar, his soul suited for solitude and for walking his hounds on the moors. Mysteries old and mysteries new abound, Misogyny is rampant in Lord Chilton's house, Mount Hawke, filled only with men. But to his surprised, Lord Chilton finds he wants nothing more than to have Caroline Derwent-Jones in his life.
THE SHERBROOKE BRIDE 4/1992 ISBN: 0515107662 Douglas Sherbrooke, Earl of Northcliffe, is a man besieged. He must have an heir. Thus he must first provide himself with the requisite bride. Alexandra Chambers, youngest daughter of the Duke of Beresford, has loved Douglas Sherbrooke since she was fifteen. Unfortunately, it is her sister, the incomparable Melissande, he wishes to wed. But life never ladles out what one expects, and Douglas finds himself wed to the wrong sister. If having an unwanted wife isn't enough, he is also plagued by The Virgin Bride, a ghost that is reputedly seen in the countess's bedchamber. Does the willowy phantom really appear to Douglas? Does she speak to him?
THE VALENTINE LEGACY 10/1995. ISBN: 0515118362. In the early 1820s, horse racing was a down and dirty sport. James Wyndham, who owns racing stables in both England and America, finds his racing nemesis in red-haired Jessie Warfield, renowned hoyden and champion jockey, who knows as many dirty racing tricks as James does. When either wins a race, the other's nose gets rubbed in the dirt. Jessie has known James for six years, since she was fourteen years old. She often wants to kick him for the way he treats her, but more importantly, she adores him. She just doesn't know how to show it. When chance throws Jessie out of a tree, landing her on top of James, she is pronounce Ruined. When she decides to run, she really goes for it, all the way to England, to James's cousins, Marcus and Duchess Wyndham. James arrives, laden with guilt, to find a Jessie who sounds like the old Jessie but isn't. Jessie has undergone a transformation worthy of Pygmalion. Will James do the Right Thing and undo Jessie's Ruin? What about Jessie's nightmares that seem to call up something terrible from her childhood?
THE WYNDHAM LEGACY 2/1994. ISBN: 0515114499. Marcus Wyndham never asked to become the Earl of Chase. The Duchess never asked to be illegitimate. And neither of these two asked that their fates become so entwined. Marcus is passionate, quick to rage, just as quick to laughter. He's tough, opinionated, domineering, known as the devil's own son. The Duchess is serene and aloof-she has silence down to a fine art. She is always in control, her smiles as rare as bawdy jests in the pulpit. She is self-reliant once she realizes that a very special talent can make her so, a talent no one suspects. Surrounding this unlikely pair are three servants cast in Shakespearean mold: Spears, Badger, and Maggie - all cocky, smart, good plotters and better friends, who don't know the meaning of subservient.
Jacquie D'Alessandro
RED ROSES MEAN LOVE 9/1999 ISBN: 0440235537. She dreamed of roses Orphaned and abandoned by her fiancé, Hayley Albright is determined to care for her younger siblings even if it means having to give up her own dreams. She doesn't expect to ever find love or get married...until one moonlit night when she saves the life of a mysterious stranger. ....And he wants only to make her dreams come true Lord Stephen Barrett woke up gazing at the face of an angel. He was alive. And safe, for now, from the killer stalking his every move. Allowing Hayley to believe he is just a tutor of modest means, Stephen stays on for reasons of his own, never anticipating the passions Hayley would stir in his cold, wary heart. Her innocence is pure seduction. Her touch is sweet temptation. And suddenly the man who has everything is willing to risk it all--for a woman who has nothing to give...but all her heart....
WHIRLWIND WEDDING 10/2000 ISBN: 0440235510. Austin Randolph Jamison, Ninth duke of Bradford, met the uncanny beauty at the ball at Bradford Hall. And from that first moment, he was stunned. How could this unsophisticated female, who climbed a tree in a ball gown to rescue a kitten, know secrets that could ruin his family, and speak of danger that threatened them all? Who was she, this American bluestocking who knew too much, whose innocence shone in her eyes even as her full lips tempted sin? Suddenly the duke knew he could not afford to let her go.... Some called it a gift. To Elizabeth Matthews, however, her visions were a responsibility that bound her to protect others from danger, no matter that the gossipmongers whispered she was chasing the duke to the alter. She vowed to use her powers to protect Austin at any cost, reckless of the passions that drove her into his arms...the need that made her his bride, never expecting marriage to turn into a love match that would become the ton's most delicious scandal....
Christina Dodd
THAT SCANDALOUS EVENING 9/1998. ISBN: 0380790912. A simple statue began the scandal. An innocent English miss conceived of it, her hands gliding across the clay, delineating each smoothly defined muscle and sinew, creating a sculpture of the man she worshipped. When the likeness was exposed, along with Miss Jane Higgenbothem's secret tendre for Lord Blackburn, the ton's gleeful contempt sent the lady back to the country in disgrace. Now, a decade later, she's back in London as a chaperone to her beautiful niece. But to Blackburn, Jane's unwitting model, the cool, reticent spinster is still a challenge. She once made the arrogant rake a laughingstock; so why is he tempted to revive an affair that almost began so long ago, on one scandalous evening.
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