Flower Historical Fiction

Independent, impulsive Lady Philippa Darlington guarantees her freedom by playing the role of wallflower for two miserable seasons in the ton. With the guidance of the most feared feminist enterprise in London—the Duchess Society—Pippa vows never to marry. But a madcap misadventure throws her plan off course and puts her face-to-face with the only man she's ever wanted. A man who doesn't want her.

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.

In society circles she's known as the Watching Wallflower - shy, quiet, and certainly never scandalous. Yet beneath Lady Sarah Frampton's demure facade hides the mind of The Lady of Dubious Quality, author of the most titillating erotic fiction the ton has ever seen. Sarah knows discovery would lead to her ruin, but marriage - to a vicar, no less - could help protect her from slander. An especially tempting option when the clergyman in question is the handsome, intriguing Jeremy Cleland.

Miss Prudence Merryweather Payton has a secret. Everyone knows that she's the only graduate from her finishing school to remain unwed on her fourth season - but no one knows why. With her romantic illusions shattered after being compromised against her will, Prudence accepts a proposal even though her betrothed is not exactly a knight in shining armor. When he cowardly pushes her out of their stagecoach to divert a highwayman, she vows never to trust another man again.

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.

In 1920s Glasgow, Beattie Blaxland falls pregnant to her married lover Henry just before her nineteenth birthday. Abandoned by her family, Beattie and Henry set sail for a new life in Australia. In 2009, London, prima ballerina Lydia Blaxland-Hunter is also discovering that life can also have its ups and downs. Unable to dance again after a fall, Lydia returns home to Australia to recuperate.

Gertrude, the eldest Killoran sister, has spent a lifetime being underestimated - especially by her own family. She may seem as vulnerable as a kitten, but given the chance, she can be as fierce as a tiger. Her adopted brother, Stephen, has just been snatched back by his true father, and she’ll be damned if she relinquishes the boy to the man reviled throughout London as the Mad Marquess.

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.

En el arrabal zaragozano donde vivía, pocos pensaban que Flor, aquella niña nacida en uno de sus hogares más humildes, estaba destinada a convertirse en una de las grandes figuras de los escenarios, primero en España y luego en toda Europa. Un camino difícil, sembrado de duras pruebas, que la lleva primero a Madrid y, más tarde, a Barcelona, París, Berlín y la lejana Cuba. A lo largo de esa carrera en pos del éxito, Flor va descubriendo el amor, el desengaño, la amistad, el temor y la obsesión.

Willa Noble knew it was bad luck when it was pouring rain on the day of her ever-important job interview at the Dickinson home in Amherst, Massachusetts. When she arrived late, disheveled with her skirts sodden and filthy, she'd lost all hope of being hired for the position. As the housekeeper politely told her they'd be in touch, Willa started toward the door of the stately home only to be called back by the soft but strong voice of Emily Dickinson. What begins as tenuous employment turns to friendship as the reclusive poet takes Willa under her wing.

Leaving behind her life as a courtesan and madam, Clara Winters is moving far from the sinful life to which she was accustomed in the gaming hell the Devil’s Den. Her more reputable and fulfilling endeavor is a music hall for the masses. One night, when she sees a man injured on the streets of East London, she rushes to his aid and brings him home. It’s then that she discovers he’s Henry March, Earl of Waterson, and a member of Parliament. No good can come from playing nursemaid to a nobleman.

Lady Emma Avery has accidentally announced her engagement - to the most eligible man in England. As soon as it's discovered that Emma has never actually met the infamously attractive Duke of Ashbrooke, she'll no longer be a wallflower; she'll be a laughingstock. And then Ashbrooke does something Emma never expected. He plays along with her charade. A temporary betrothal to the irreproachable Lady Avery could be just the thing to repair Ashbrooke's tattered reputation.

December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright's flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she's frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing . . .

This collection includes The Blushing Harlot, The Cheeky Minx, and The Clever Strumpet.

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.

Lady Seraphina Bell has been in love with one man for what has seemed like her entire life. Unfortunately for her, that man also appears determined to be the bane of her existence. Their acerbic sparring matches are notorious, and inescapable. If only he would set aside what he believes her to be, and really see her—then they might have something she only has in her dreams—a perfect love.

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.

Captain Worthington is injured in the battle of Trafalgar. Blinded by shrapnel, his life goes from being at the forefront of society to being almost cast off. He finds himself sitting with the wallflowers at a ball - something he doesn't take too kindly to. Miss Amelia Basingstoke has no dowry and enough dreadful relations to ensure that even on her third season, she is unmarried and a confirmed wallflower. Her only friend is a large boisterous dog of dubious character.

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.