Christmas Gambol [Mass Market Paperback]

Joan Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1996

THE GENTLEMAN WAS A DYED-IN-THE-WOOL-ROMANTIC.
BUT HE HAD MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT LOVE!
At first, aspiring writer Cicely Caldwell was insulted to be asked to pose as the anonymous lady author of the vastly popular Chaos Is Come Again, a horrid piece of gothic drivel. Then she realized such a pretense would gain her entrée into the literary circles that might forward her own writing career.
Handsome Lord Montaigne confessed the real anonymous lady was his aunt and that Cicely seemed the sort of discreet country lady who would do the part justice. However, Cicely, with a nose for a good story, soon suspected the startling truth of the anonymous lady's shocking identity.
As the holidays approached, Cicely was unaware that her search for a fictional hero was leading her straight to a man whose outward cynicism could not hide his true romantic nature . . . on the page or off!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When budding writer Cicely Caldwell agrees to pretend to be the author of a rather awful Gothic novel ostensibly written by "an anonymous lady," she does so in hopes of furthering her own career, never dreaming that she would end up in love with the novel's true writer, the cynical Lord Montaigne. Although the hero's literary motivations are less than credible and the premise a bit unrealistic, veteran Regency writer Smith (Tea and Scandal, Fawcett Crest, 1996) delivers a holiday Regency in her typically straightforward style that will please her many fans.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

THE GENTLEMAN WAS A DYED-IN-THE-WOOL-ROMANTIC.
BUT HE HAD MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT LOVE!
At first, aspiring writer Cicely Caldwell was insulted to be asked to pose as the anonymous lady author of the vastly popular Chaos Is Come Again, a horrid piece of gothic drivel. Then she realized such a pretense would gain her entrée into the literary circles that might forward her own writing career.
Handsome Lord Montaigne confessed the real anonymous lady was his aunt and that Cicely seemed the sort of discreet country lady who would do the part justice. However, Cicely, with a nose for a good story, soon suspected the startling truth of the anonymous lady's shocking identity.
As the holidays approached, Cicely was unaware that her search for a fictional hero was leading her straight to a man whose outward cynicism could not hide his true romantic nature . . . on the page or off!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ivy Books (September 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449224937
• ISBN-13: 978-0449224939
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,169,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy reading, July 3, 2011

By 

Loebner - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Christmas Gambol (Kindle Edition)

This is not grand literature, but it is a delightfully light tale of a country miss's month in London. The heroine demonstrates an abundance of common sense and a wickedly accurate eye for the pretensions of the ton.

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Regency romance, February 20, 2011

By 

M. Greenwood - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Christmas Gambol (Kindle Edition)

Cicely is a fun heroine--an outspoken country girl, who holds her own on a visit to town in a bid to get her novel published and doing research for future books. She's not an annoying, shy poor creature, but so vivacious and mischievous the other characters sit up and take notice, including lord Montaigne. Some of her conversations with him did make me laugh out loud. Christmas itself doesn't figure largely but so what? I've noticed titles are not necessarily Smith's strong suit, but the book was still a good read.

2.0 out of 5 stars Not so great, November 13, 2009

By 

Aunt Aggie (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christmas Gambol (Hardcover)

It is true this story has very little to do with Christmas other than that is when the story ends. It may be that this is the first story I have read by the author but, I thought the writing style was juvenile (especially the short, choppy sentences), the character development very shallow and the characters rather like stick figures moving about, drawing no emotion from the reader at all. It is a quick read but I did not think an enjoyable one.