Fairest of Them All [Mass Market Paperback]

Teresa Medeiros (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1995

She was rumored to be the fairest woman in all of England. But Holly de Chastel considered her beauty a curse. She had turned away scores of suitors with various ruses, both fair and foul. Now she was to be the prize in a tournament of eager knights. Holly had no intention of wedding any of them and concocted a plan to disguise her beauty. Yet she didn't reckon on Sir Austyn of Gavenmore. The darkly handsome Welshman was looking for a plain bride and Holly seemed to fit the bill. When he learned that he'd been tricked, it was too late. Sir Austyn was already in love—and under the dark curse of Gavenmore...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Medeiros (A Whisper of Roses) pens the ultimate romantic fantasy: a beautiful woman falls in love with a handsome man and they live happily ever after. The challenge is to give the old theme a new twist, and that Medeiros does with a bang. Holly de Chastel, the fairest woman in England, considers her beauty a curse. So far, Holly's trickery and deceit have scared off her suitors, but her father has come up with a foolproof plan to get her wed: a tournament in which the best man wins Holly. Medeiros's already humorous tone turns hilarious when Holly shows herself to the retinue of brave knights?but in disguise as an ugly hag. Only two accept the challenge, and her hand is won by Sir Austyn of Gavenmore, who needs Holly's dowry to restore his home and his honor. He learns to love Holly for her inner beauty, but love is forgotten when Holly's secret is revealed. "Let beauty be your doom" was the curse the faerie queen put upon one of Sir Austyn's ancestors, and every Gavenmore man since has been doomed by beauty. This "happily ever after" is a hard-won battle, but one romantics will relish.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Spoiled, headstrong Holly de Chastel views her legendary beauty as a curse. Her father has brought scores of suitors before her, and Holly has chased off every one. Finally, the Duke feels pushed to the edge. In a fit of exasperation, he decides to hold a jousting tournament, with Holly's hand in marriage as the prize. The news travels quickly, and as befitting such a famous beauty, the castle is soon packed to the rafters with knights seeking to win the fair maiden. Only most of them scuttle out of the courtyard at their first sight of Holly. The rumors of her beauty have been some kind of cruel joke. The woman who appears before the assemblage is ugly, horribly ugly. With the assistance of her maid, Holly has hacked off her hair, stained her teeth a filthy brown, and padded her clothing to create a body that's lumpy in all the wrong places. Ugly suits Sir Austyn of Gavenmore, and the towering Welshman joins the tournament in earnest. He's not interested in winning a beauty, indeed he plans to stay as far away from beautiful women as he can. He knows he's doomed by The Gavenmore Curse. All of the men in his family have married beautiful women, and all have mistreated and murdered their wives in fits of jealous rage. Austyn has no intention of fulfilling his birthright. What he does need is money to refurbish his crumbling castle, and the fair Holly has a substantial dowry. Of course once he lays eyes on her, Austyn understands the necessity of such a large purse. A fearsome warrior, Austyn wins the tournament and starts off for Wales with his new bride. As they travel across England, Holly and Austyn come to care for each other. Holly itches to reveal her true self to her new husband, but she soon learns of the curse, and Austyn's determination to stay far away from beautiful women. Somehow, someday Holly knows he will have to learn the truth. She only hopes he can learn to love her anyway.Clever and well told. Ms. Medeiros creates real, three dimensional characters. Fast-paced and sensual. An intriguing story wrapped in rich historical detail.Annette Carney -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved -- From Literary Times

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Fanfare (May 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553563335
• ISBN-13: 978-0553563337
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #182,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Teresa Medeiros wrote her first novel at the age of twenty-one, introducing readers to one of the most beloved and versatile voices in romance fiction. All of her books have been national bestsellers, appearing on the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. She currently has over 10 million books in print and is published in over 17 languages. She was chosen one of the "Top Ten Favorite Romance Authors" by Affaire de Coeur magazine and won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for 'Best Historical Love and Laughter'. She is a seven-time RITA finalist, two-time PRISM winner, and two-time recipient of the Waldenbook Award for bestselling fiction. Teresa lives in Kentucky with her husband and two lovably neurotic cats. Her latest Scottish historical THE DEVIL WEARS PLAID was released in 2010 and her first contemporary women's fiction novel GOODNIGHT TWEETHEART was released in January 2011. You can join her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/teresamedeirosfanpage or follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/teresamedeiros . You can visit her website at http://www.teresamedeiros.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My first T. Medeiros, not my last, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Fairest of Them All (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this book immensely. Holly a beauty refuses marriage proposals from countless suitors. Her father decides to host a tournament where the bravest and strongest will have her for his bride. Holly, together with her nurse, concocts a scheme to make her completely undesirable. After her father introduces her to the crowd, many would be fighters leave and only two are willing to fight for her. Austyn of Gavenmore and Euguene 'something' (This guy's a jerk. Therefore, I didn't bother to remember his name) Austyn feels beautiful women are a curse to Gavenmore men so he doesn't care that she is ugly. He is interested in the large dowry that comes with her to restore his castle and pay back debt created by his ancestors. I'm not giving anything away here when I say he wins, that is obvious. She decides to continue hiding her beauty hoping he will leave her alone as she has heard terrible things about the consummation of the marriage. A woman with outer beauty (albeit hidden) attempts to win her man's love via inner beauty, her heart. It is a wonderful story. The ending is much better than I had hoped for.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book!, November 3, 1999

By 

mariam (Wheaton, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fairest of Them All (Mass Market Paperback)

I fell in love with both of the main characters of this book and the time in which they lived. It was like a Disney movie setting with a few twists and a hero and heroine who did exactly what I wanted them to do. The hero was very different from the run of the mill rn hero because he was attracted to the heroine when he thought that she was totally ugly. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a wonderful read!

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sure I believe in recycling, but this is ridiculous!, July 30, 2004

By 

M. A. Bechaz "bookaholic" (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fairest of Them All (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought two Teresa Medeiros books-- this one and 'The Bride and the Beast'. I read 'Bride' first, then this one, and was left with the conclusion that I may as well have just saved my money and read 'Bride' twice, since the plotlines of both were so similar! How many times can Ms Medeiros use these same twists in her stories-- the mad father, the woman locked in the tower, the man being a beast, etc.-- before she grows weary of recycling the same tired old plots? Don't get me wrong, Ms Medeiros is not a bad author. Sometimes her writing really grabs me, and several times I've caught myself laughing out loud at her witty japes. But there's not enough of this sparkling gold to outshine the dross and repitition, and I was left with that same feeling I experienced upon watching the first series of '24' on tv-- you know the one, when you wonder just how many times per episode the wife and daughter can get kidnapped! If Ms Medeiros can come up with some original plotlines (and stop using the word 'twas so often, which really got on my nerves by the thousandth repitition)and use a little more realism (you have to suspend logic rather too often whilst reading her books)then I think she'll be a really good writer. Until then, though, I wouldn't recommend her work very highly, unless you're really bored, or you fear change and enjoy the claustrophobic comfort of things always staying the same! More specifically, though, I wouldn't recommend her books if you have a problem with Stockholm Syndrome being used as a plot point, because it seems that the more the gals in Ms Medeiros's books get locked up and treated horribly, the more they fall in love with their men. This author seems very fond of the 'treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen' theory. If you find battered wives romantic, then this is for you!

However, if you want a gripping romance with decent plotlines about an intriguing hidden beauty, I would recommend Shana Abe's 'The Secret Swan' instead of this.

I initially gravitated towards this book because I'm a fan of fairytales written for adults. However, this oft-times disturbing tome is no fairytale! (Or not one of the happier ones, anyway.) Don't let the pleasant, benign, even witty beginning of the book convince you otherwise--it gets worse, fast. And don't think that it's full of fairytale magic and wonder, either, even though some reviews of the book give that impression. Other than the fairly ludicrous subplot about one of the 'hero' Austyn's forebears having had a failed romance with a fairy woman, who then cursed him and his male descendants throughout successive generations to hurt the women they loved, this is not a magical story set in any enchanted fairytale world. (Actually, to me the fairy's curse seemed like a weird, illogical thing--as an aggrieved woman herself, surely she would not want other women to suffer as she did, but rather would seek to hurt only the menfolk involved! To that end, cursing the men with something else, like ugliness, exceptionally bad body odour or heriditary gout, would have made far more sense than enacting a curse that doomed WOMEN!)

Another fault with this book is that it doesn't seem very historically accurate--in spite of the fact that it is supposed to be set in England in 1325, it really could have occurred in any other time or place. This author seems very lazy with her research and narrative: there is no real evidence in the book that the characters lived in 'ye olde England'--not in their speech, their manner or their lifestyles. Even worse, though, is the fact that the author tries to convince us that Austyn is Welsh. Shyeah, right, he's Welsh--about as Welsh as Coca Cola or koalas. If he's Welsh then I'm a Martian!

I'm usually quite a forgiving critic if I can see that the author at least had good intentions and gave it a damned good try. I'll even suspend logic on occasion, so long as I'm intrigued or well entertained by the storyline. But there's no forgiving this! It's lazily written, unrealistic, duplicitious of the author's other books, and expects us to believe that a woman will fall in love with a man who not only torments and humiliates her repeatedly, but then also imprisons and practically rapes her too. (Most of the sex scenes take part when the heroine is taken prisoner against her will by the hero!) If this were the subject of a text book about psychology then it might make compelling reading, lending us an insightful, heart-wrenching glimpse into why women stay with abusive partners. But this is supposed to be a light-hearted romance. A ROMANCE, goddammit! Forgive me if I didn't really find this book romantic. I'm just not that dumb.