The Cornish Heiress [Paperback]

Roberta Gellis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1981

Megaera's father sold her in marriage at fifteen to Edward Devoran. Edward's extravagance mortgaged her estates and induced him to join a band of smugglers. Meg paid the interest by selling her jewels and when they were gone-Edward was gone too, murdered by his partner Black Bart. Meg became the smuggler Red Meg, took Edward's place and Edward's profits and kept paying her mortgages.Philip St. Eyre wanted to fight Napoleon. Raised as a Frenchman and able to pass as French, he was the perfect spy and had a way to reach France through his father's old friend, the smuggler Pierre. Thus Philip met Red Meg and fell in love.Meg thought Philip was Pierre's by-blow, Philip thought Meg was a common smuggler. To both gently born lovers the match was impossible. Until Black Bart tried to murder Meg, and Philip had to take her to France where her handiness with a pistol saved his life and his mission and exposed all their secrets.Publisher Note: The book was previously published elsewhere in 1981.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 499 pages
• Publisher: Dell Publishing (September 1981)
• ISBN-10: 0440115159
• ISBN-13: 978-0440115151
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,504,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really good, September 27, 2007

By 

Cherchezlafemme (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cornish Heiress (Paperback)

In a continuance of the Heiress/Napoleonic set series, the hero of this book is the son of the hero of The English Heiress (if you've read it, you may remember Phillip being a young boy in that book). Meg is a smuggler and he is sent to Cornwall to break up the smuggling ring. He somehow finds himself involved with the headstrong and capable widow, and falls for her. The smuggler clashing with excise men is a classic plot in Regency historicals and traditional Regencies, but Gellis kicks it up a few notches with the incredibly sense of being in the time. I felt the terror and tension of being a smuggler, the cruelty of excise men and smugglers alike, and so on--this isn't a cute little side-job in this book. The protagonists are well drawn, and the secondary characters and villans are well-written as well. All in all, a very good read.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cornish Heiress, January 27, 2011

By 

Fay E. Slater "Fay" (Sacramento CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Cornish Heiress (Mass Market Paperback)

Robedrta Gellis is the consummate teller of historical tales. Each book is well researched and educates as it entertains.

4 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Gellis is at her "explainatory" worst in this one, March 14, 2009

By 

Misfit (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Cornish Heiress (Paperback)

More on the above statement later. This book, the second in Gellis' English Heiress trilogy continues the story of the St. Eyre family begun in The English Heiress as Roger's son Phillip (who speaks French like a native) is sent by the English government to ascertain the size and condition of Napoleon's Navy. Phillip plans to sneak into France aboard the ship belonging to Roger's long time friend Pierre who is a smuggler by trade. Whilst waiting his boat in Cornwall, Phillip meets up with smuggler "Red Meg" who is in reality Meg Devoran - well born heiress forced into smuggling to pay her drunkard father's debts. One thing leads to another and love blooms amidst spies, danger and the constant misunderstandings between the two - neither of the two realize the other is "well born" and thus have no hopes of marrying each other. **yawn**

Frankly, I found this one to be a serious bore of a book and only finished it by skimming quite a bit. Phillip's trip into France as a spy was a serious sleep inducer, as were the constant misunderstandings between the two over each other's misperceived social standings - it became quite mind numbing after a while as Gellis explained it over and over and over again. What with that and the antics of some of the most inadequate bad guys I've come across in a long time, all I can say is that I am now most grateful this book is over and I can move on to something else. Recommended for die-hard Gellis fans only.