Publication Date: November 16, 1979 | Series: Roselynde chronicles / Roberta Gellis
Caught in a political feud between rival barons, Gilliane is forced to marry a man she abhors, but, after being taken prisoner by Adam, her husband's sworn enemy, she finds herself both captive and captivated. Reprint.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Roberta Gellis has a varied educational background--a master's degree in biochemistry and another in medieval literature--and working history--10 years as a research chemist, many years as a free-lance editor of scientific manuscripts, and more than 40 years as a writer. She is married--to the same man for over 60 years (no mean feat in these days) and lives in Lafayette, Indiana, with her husband Charles and a lively Scottish terrier called Zoe. She has one child, Mark, who teaches Rhetoric (a fancy name for expository writing) at Kettering University in Michigan. Mark is married to Sandra and they have a lovely daughter, Elizabeth.
Gellis has been a successful writer of historical fiction, publishing over 25 meticulously researched historical novels since 1964. The best known of these are The Roselynde Chronicles (ROSELYNDE, ALINOR, JOANNA, GILLIANE, RHIANNON, and SYBELLE). The series has been reprinted many times since its first appearance in 1979, most recently in 2006. Gellis has also been the recipient of many awards, including the Silver and Gold Medal Porgy for historical novels from West Coast Review of Books, the Golden Certificate and Golden Pen from Affaire de Coeur, The Romantic Times Award for Best Novel in the Medieval Period (more than once) and Lifetime Achievement Award for Historical Fantasy, as well as Romance Writers of America's Lifetime Acheivement Award.
More recently Gellis has ventured into other genres, starting with mythological fantasy (DAZZLING BRIGHTNESS, SHIMMERING SPLENDOR, ENCHANTED FIRE, BULL GOD, and THRICE BOUND). Most recently she has written historical fantasy, with a series of book coauthored by Mercedes Lackey set in Elizabethan times (THIS SCEPTER'D ISLE, ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT, BY SLANDEROUS TONGUES, and AND LESS THAN KIND). Before that she was writing historical mysteries, a four-book series set in London and Oxford in 1139 (A MORTAL BANE, A PERSONAL DEVIL, BONE OF CONTENTION and CHAINS OF FOLLY) and one set in the Italian Renaissance in Ferrara (LUCREZIA BORGIA and the MOTHER OF POISONS).
Since Gellis is one of the early addicts to electronic readers---she purchased a RocketeBook way back in 1999---it is no surprise that she was eager to get her own out of print historical romances into electronic format. Cerridwen Press (http://www.cerridwenpress.com) has published the Heiress Series (THE ENGLISH HEIRESS, THE CORNISH HEIRESS, THE KENT HEIRESS, FORTUNE'S BRIDE, and A WOMAN'S ESTATE) as well as the Royal Dynasty Series (don't ask me about that, there isn't a royal or a dynasty in any of the four books---it was a notion of a long-ago agent) SIREN SONG, WINTER SONG, FIRE SONG, and A SILVER MIRROR. Cerridwen offers a variety of formats, one of which can be read by the Kindle and for those too firmly addicted to paper, the books are also available in a very nice Trade edition (but those are rather expensive).
I'm sorry I don't have any amusing anecdotes to relate, as recommended by the Profile, but a writer's life is really very quiet. Sometimes my neighbors ask my husband what has happened to me because they haven't seen me in such a long time. Depending on his humor of the moment, sometimes Charles tells them that I can't come outside because he keeps me chained to my computer---but that isn't true. He lets me get up once in a while.
In this fourth book of the Roselynde Chronicles series, we follow the path of Adam, son of Alinor's first husband, Simon. We meet again our favorites, Alinor and Ian, Joanna and Geoffrey, and meet young Simon. The tale is riveting - a rousing history lesson/review of the turmoil in England at the time of King John's death - while allowing us to glimpse what most noble born women were forced to put up with, while giving us a dashing hero, Adam, and a wonderful heroine, Gilliane, who learns how women should be treated when she meets and marries into this fascinating family. There is intrigue, history, excitment, and diverse characters to please the most exacting palate. A great way to spend an evening or two.
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From all of the books in The Roselynde Chronicles this is my favorite. Actually I read this book first, after that I went out and got the whole series. Adam comes from a loving, strong family, and is just what Gilliane needs in her life. This book is full of history, detail, and descriptions can not be surpassed. It is a book you just can't put down, I am sure that you will love it as much as I did.
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I have two Robert Gellis' novels, Gilliane is the best, it evokes emotion. I had originally lent a copy of this novel to a friend, who then lost it, I thought it was such a good book, I had to track down another copy to put back on my shelves. A fabulous read.
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