Flower Historical Fiction

What do you call a woman with a penchant for scandalous novels, a complete lack of small talk skills, and a quirky sense of humor? In Juliette Aston’s case: a wallflower. Juliette would like nothing better than to find a husband and start a family (especially when the alternative is serving as her father’s housekeeper for the rest of her life). As the best friend of society’s reigning debutante, however, Juliette is invisible to the men of London. Compounding her problem is the fact that the only man she wants is courting her best friend! Jacob Wilding considers himself a good son; at...

Regina (Reggie) Spark has loved Broderick Killoran, the resourceful and protective proprietor of the Devil’s Den, ever since he saved her from the streets and made her his right hand at the notorious gaming hell. For just as long, Reggie has never admitted her true feelings for him. Nor has she revealed her spirited ambitions - to buck convention and expectations and open a music hall. While Broderick built his gaming empire with ruthless cunning, his loyalty to his employees is boundless.

There's no love lost between this shy wallflower and society's most formidable duke. The Duke of Mandrick has made it clear he's only aiding Felicity's successful entrance into society because he's taken pity on his friend's poor country relation. Luckily for Felicity, her chaperone Lady Greta has agreed to tutor her in the art of flirtation. And since the coldhearted duke is the last man to fall for her charms, he's the perfect man to practice on.

Set in 1940s Appalachia, The Secret Sense of Wildflower tells the story of Louisa May "Wildflower" McAllister whose life has been shaped around the recent death of her beloved father in a sawmill accident. While her mother hardens in her grief, Wildflower and her three sisters must cope with their loss themselves, as well as with the demands of daily survival. Despite these hardships, Wildflower has a resilience that is forged with humor, a love of the land, and an endless supply of questions to God.

Eventually, all wallflowers will have their chance at love...this is where it begins. Lottie Hughes likes people, as long as they aren't too close. Does it bother her that no one asks her to dance? Yes, but she's not sure how to drum up dance partners when she has almost no dowry and no title, and freezes up when anyone tries to talk to her. Ellen might be beautiful and considered a diamond of the first water by Society, but she is so very tired of the pressure to marry a titled gentleman. Charlotte Winters is destined to spinsterhood until she turns down an unwanted proposal.

It is 1948. William Thomas Cochrane, an American intelligence agent, is in England with his wife, Laura, visiting friends and family. But when summer arrives, so does the first major international crisis of the postwar years. Cochrane’s country is calling him back to active duty for a special assignment in the newly divided Germany, one which will take him behind newly drawn enemy lines and into a perilous netherworld of ruthless black marketeers, petty criminals, prostitutes, ex-Nazis, and Soviet spies.

Maude Sutherland grew up racing the boys, but when adolescence arrived, she became the ugly duckling of her clan. Sent to the Scottish royal court of King Robert the Bruce, forced to navigate the social machinations of courtiers, Maude is certain no man will choose her over the more elegant ladies-in-waiting. When a Highland laird arrives and sweeps her off her feet, Maude finds hope that she might grow into a swan. Can he convince her to trust his intentions are true?

This collection includes The Accidental Mistress, The Incorrigible Courtesan, and The Delectable Tart.

A dedicated painter, Miss Sophia Hastings is far more concerned with finding the right slant of light than in finding Mr. Right. But when an overheard conversation hints at danger for another local artist, Sophia is determined to get involved, even if it means accepting help from an impossibly good-looking vicar who insists on joining her investigation and threatens to capture her heart.

Amherst, 1857. The Dickinson family braves one of the worst winters in New England’s history. Trains are snowbound and boats are frozen in the harbor. Emily Dickinson and her maid, Willa Noble, have never witnessed anything like it. As Amherst families attempt to keep their homes warm, fears of fire abound. These worries prove not to be unfounded as a blaze breaks out just down the street from the Dickinson in Kelley Square, the Irish community in Amherst, and a young couple is killed, leaving behind their young child.

It’s Christmastide 1817, and Miss Christiana Smythe, daughter of a squire, is not looking forward to the social obligations of the season. Wanting nothing more than to care for the area’s sick and ailing animal population, doing the rounds in glittering ballrooms festooned with holiday finery makes her lightheaded. Yet, it’s a necessity to realizing the dream of love.

Sterling Nottingham, Duke of Hanover, didn't plan on kissing Rosemary Stanhope. It was a complete accident, spurred on by too much gin and a temporary loss of sanity. Unfortunately, now that he knows what she tastes like, kissing her again—this time on purpose—is all he can think about. Rosemary was as surprised as the Duke of Hanover when he kissed her. The sinfully handsome rakehell isn't exactly known for paying much attention to wallflowers. Yet for some reason, their paths keep crossing . . . and before long she finds herself falling for the one man who loves her for who she is.

Pretty and popular, Miss Clare Westmore knows exactly what (or rather, who) she wants: the next Duke of Harrington. But when she twists her ankle on the eve of the Season's most touted event, Clare is left standing in the wallflower line watching her best friend dance away with her duke.

August 1856. The Dickinson family is comfortably settled in their homestead on Main Street. Emily’s brother, Austin Dickinson, and his new wife are delighted when famous thinker and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to Amherst to speak at a local literary society and decides he and his young secretary, Luther Howard, will stay with the newlyweds. Emily has been a longtime admirer of Emerson’s writing and is thrilled at the chance to meet her idol. She is determined to impress him with her quick wit, and if she can gather the courage, a poem.

At 26, Bushrod Carter is already an old soldier, a veteran of all his regiment's campaigns since Shiloh. Now, on an Indian summer afternoon in 1864, Bushrod finds himself in the line of battle once again, on a plain below the obscure village of Franklin, Tennessee. The dark flower of his destiny is opening in the twilight, just as it has on other fields, and Bushrod must pass once again under its shadow if he is to see tomorrow.

Not much happens in Theodosia Stapleton's tiny Northumberland village. Certainly not to her. She has resigned herself to spinsterhood, caring for her ailing mother in the home of her grandfather, known to the locals as "General Contrary." When her dear friend dies and leaves behind a daughter, it's simple enough to take the child into her own quiet world. That is, until her ward's famous uncle unexpectedly arrives and throws Theo's tidy orbit completely off-kilter.

China, 1957: Chairman Mao has declared a new openness in society. “Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend.” Many intellectuals fear it is only a trick, and Kai Ying’s husband, Sheng, a teacher, has promised not to jeopardize their safety or that of their young son, Tao. But one July morning, just before his sixth birthday, Tao watches helplessly as Sheng is dragged away for writing a letter criticizing the Communist Party and sent to a labor camp for “reeducation”. Once again, Tsukiyama brings us a powerfully moving story of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances with grace and courage.

In this second installment of Carola Dunn's cozy mystery series set in 1923 England, plucky Daisy Dalrymple embarks on another assignment for Town and Country magazine and discovers that daffodil bulbs aren't all that's buried in a country estate's flower bed.

Set apart by her ethereal beauty and fearless demeanor, Ophelia Killoran has always been a mystery to those around her - and a woman they underestimated. No one would guess that she spends her nights protecting the street urchins of St. Giles. Ophelia knows what horrors these children face. As a young girl, she faced those horrors herself, and she would have died…if not for the orphan boy who saved her life.

Finn Ransome is an expert on Lady Luck, which is why he refuses to take a chance on love. Experience has taught him that he’s happier at a gaming table than around people he will, inevitably, disappoint. However, the clock is ticking on his father’s matrimonial demands. But the only woman to catch his eye is a bluestocking who would never consider a rogue like him. After a disastrous first Season, Tabitha Seaton decided to focus on books instead of ballrooms.