The Earl and Countess of Stapleton host a party to mark the Twelfth Night of Christmas. Between people on holiday in the country from London, those returned from war or from warmer climes, and those who never expected to wed or are just about to start looking for a partner, the company is merry. Merrily scandalous, in fact, ONCE UPON A TWELFTH NIGHT.
This is 1817 and a gentleman who declares himself an engineer is a gentleman no longer, though perhaps better fitted to oversee his estates than his forebears. Similarly, a barrister is just separated from those who grubbily earn a living, by the polite fiction that the client pays a solicitor, not the barrister, who then charges the solicitor a professional fee. So did the upper class hang on to the shreds of the past, as we see in the current company.
The ladies vary from a bluestocking who finds books extremely pleasant, and far more interesting than dinner table conversation, to a widow with step-children to rear. Two stories in this anthology involve a masked ball, but that’s just the start of the fun because the party, and scavenger hunts, ice-skating and other entertainments, keep everyone on the move. Sometimes a story begins at the Twelfth Night Ball but continues afterwards, with the scandalous occurrences a continuous talking point. I had a great deal of fun and the seven stories kept me reading for several days.
Authors contributing are Christina Alexandra, Clair Brett, Sofie Darling, Carrie Lomax, Erica Taylor, Tanya Wilde, A. S. Fenichel. I find it difficult to pick a favourite and I’d actually recommend not reading them all one after another, as I did, because the tales tend to run into the next tales, and characters could get confused when I picked up the book again. Be assured that while mature romance scenes occur, they are definitely in the context of love and not merely thrown in to heat up the episode. At this point in history the tide was turning and the social scene changing, as we are shown; teaching village children to read is just one example of modern thinking not countenanced by all. Why not, then, forgo the arranged suitable match for one based on love and mutual esteem? Not to mention, being unable to wait months to get the other person into bed.
ONCE UPON A TWELFTH NIGHT will richly reward those who want to dive into historical romance and not come out until Spring.
The honor of your presence is requested by The Earl and Countess of Stapleton at their house party to celebrate TWELFTH NIGHT. Festivities include: a titillating masked ball, ice skating, a romp in the local village, a naughty treasure hunt, midnight kisses in the garden and the Twelfth Night Ball where holiday magic brings about seven perfect matches.
A Twelfth Night Wager by Christina Alexandra… After spending half her life in service, lady’s companion Adelaide Shipley longs for a modest life of her own making. But a midnight wager with Win Maddox has her dreaming of more. Losing to the silver-tongued barrister would cost her everything, but winning could lead to her dreams coming true forever.
Ruination of a Rogue by Clair Brett… Will Lord Zander Milford find rumination an acceptable outcome if only at the hands of Miss Maria Lightowler?
It Was Only a Kiss by Sofie Darling… Snow falling, the Twelfth Night Ball, a stolen kiss—but no one would’ve expected bespectacled spinster Violet Hotchkiss to be the one stealing a kiss from Bumpstead Hollow's most eligible bachelor, Will Sinclair. And now that she’s had a taste of passion, she refuses to settle for a life without romance, adventure…or Will.
Christmas Chase by A.S. Fenichel… Sarah Sommers has a plan—find the father who abandoned her and live happily ever after as his beloved daughter. Not even the handsome Lord Monty Witmore with his determination to deliver her to yet another guardian will stop her. Her heart, however, has other ideas about where the chase will end…
Twelve Nights of Ruin by Carrie Lomax… Holly Mayweather was the delight of London society--until her reputation was tarnished by a shocking scandal. Can the spirited beauty find happiness with William Sharp, a stoic former soldier? Or will their wedding vows end with “I don’t”?
What If I Still Love You by Erica Taylor… After a failed elopement ten years earlier, Henry, Earl of Eddington, and Anna, the widowed Viscountess Newcroft, are reunited at his aunt’s Twelfth Night party. As they search the castle for a box of letters left to Henry by his late father, can this star-crossed pair find their way back to each other? Or will fate intervene, again, and separate them for good?
Three Kisses Before Christmas by Tanya Wilde… Wolfstan Robert Ward, the Earl of Wicke and Selborne, lost his head for his best friend’s sister the day he saved her from a frightful bully in their youth. There is just one problem. Rebecca is in love with another man—his cousin. Winning her would take every trick in the book, but what is Christmas if not a time for miracles?
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy