The Grand Hotel [Mass Market Paperback]

Elisabeth Fairchild (Author), Barbara Metzger (Author), Carla Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

London's luxurious Grand Hotel is the perfect setting for romantic rendezvous, glittering celebrations--and Cupid's good works. The impeccable staff and a host of most intriguing--and attractive--guests, will pamper, entertain, and romance readers in five heartwarming stories of love by five award-winning writers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elisabeth Fairchild is half English and considers the British Isles her second home. With a degree in advertising from North Texas State University, Fairchild worked for ten years in advertising before writing full-time. She lives just outside Dallas with her best friend and husband, George, and their two dogs.
Barbara Metzger is the author of more than two dozen Regency romances, and the proud recipient of a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Regencies. When not writing Regencies or reading them, she paints, gardens, volunteers at the local library, and goes beachcombing on the beautiful Long Island shore with her little dog, Hero. She loves to hear from her readers, care of Signet or through her Web site.

Carla Kelly is one of the most beloved Regency authors with more than a dozen novels. She lives in Valley City, North Dakota.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451200365
• ISBN-13: 978-0451200365
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,395,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting premise., July 1, 2000

By 

L. S. Tucker (Port St. Lucie, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Grand Hotel (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Background Man" by Carla Kelly. Charles Mortimer had a varied background, son of a vicar who went to India as a clerk, pressed into service as a temporary soldier during uprisings, and home to England as an assistant manager for a line of prestigious hotels. As acting manager for the opening of the Grand Hotel in London, Mortimer discovers love when vicar's daughter, Millicent Carrington, comes to stay while looking for employment. How wonderful to see a romance with working people in Regency London. My favorite in this collection.

"Love Will Find the Way" by Elisabeth Fairchild. Lt. James Forrester fell in love with Mrs. Annabelle Grant while reading her letters to her dying husband, Captain Archibald Grant. Now he was in London to deliver Archie's belongings to his widow. Forrester worries that Archie may always be between them. Heartrending tale of loss and new love.

"The Castaway" by Anne Barbour. Martha Finch had been found on the beach when she was six years old. Raised by a hardworking fishing family, Martha never knew who she really was. She worked at menial jobs, married a man 40 years her senior and, when he died, made her way to London. Having heard of a long-lost heiress still being sought by the child's grandfather, Martha is determined to become that person, craving security and a family. Then she meets her "grandfather" and his younger friend, Gabriel Storm, Earl of Branford. A good story, but no one blinks at Martha's lower class upbringing or how she worked for a living. Still a lovely read, if you can ignore the inconsistencies.

"The Management Requests" by Barbara Metzger. Wounded Captain Arthur Hunter, Viscount Huntingdon, had been given the hotel manager's office to avoid the stairs leading to his suite. When Hope Thurstfield sees Huntingdon going into the office, she mistakes him for the manager. Hope is in London to find her almost intended, but "Mr. Arthur" is all she can think about. Slight humor but little depth.

"Promises to Keep" by Allison Lane. A deathbed promise to her father has brought American Maggie Adams to London to repair an old family rift. She runs into Marcus Widmer at the Grand, discovering he is her second cousin and a man of many interests. Maggie's attempts to contact her father's family leads to danger. This interesting premise deserved a longer format. The plot was uncomfortably compressed in spots, giving the flow of the story a certain jerkiness.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Dedicated Regency Readers!, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grand Hotel (Mass Market Paperback)

I almost gave this 3 stars because it's one of the weaker Signet Regency anthologies I've read. But I'm a Regency addict and I enjoyed it but it's not a keeper. It's appropriate for light summertime reading. I liked the common plot lines that ran throughout each story, although characterization is still the most important thing in a romance. I enjoyed the first 4 stories but I could never really get into Allison Lane's story because the hero had no character development to speak of. I can recommend this book for the truly dedicated Regency reader!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only Kelly is Grand, July 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grand Hotel (Mass Market Paperback)

The only reason it rated as high as 3 stars is due to Carla Kelly's short story. It was fabulous. She has a gift for opening a window to the lives of ordinary people - proving that ordinary romance can be the most magical of all. However, the rest of the stories were sadly flat and shallow by comparison. Still it's worth buying just for the Kelly story.