Customer Reviews

Lady of Fortune

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I looked for so long for this book. The back cover says "A bright new talent has broken fresh ground in the Regency genre" This was from Romantic Times, in 1988, and they were so right. Christa is a strong young woman and a survivor at all costs, yet never bitter at what life has brought her, sweet, kind and compassionate. Everything Mary Jo Putney writes is fabulous. Her story lines are different from the ususal. I have now read almost all of them, although I am still waiting for "China Bride" to come out in paperback. Found her "Diabolical Baron" at an online auction and I wouldn't part with either books, they are keepers. Hope you can find them, they are worth the effort.

This book was written 20 years ago, and I believe it was one of Mary Jo's first. What a wonderful plot and delightful characters this book has! I am so glad I made the effort to purchase it through Amazon.
The heroine, feisty and beautiful French aristocrat, Christa, escapes from France during 'The Revolutionary Terror' and falls on hard times when she tries to make an honest living in London. She secures a position as a lady's maid to a ghastly woman and after being prositioned by her mistress' TWO lovers AND her husband, Christa decides that she has had enough. She is thrown out onto the street, literally into the arms of the gorgeous Naval Officer hero, Captain Lord Alexander Kingsley, who rescues her and gives her employment as lady's maid to his shy young debutante sister, Annabelle. Christa and Alex fall in love, but do not reveal this to each other. She is unwilling to reveal to him that she is actually an aristocrat and a countess in her own right and Alex is unable to offer her marriage because she is a servant in his household. He does, however, offer her 'carte blanche', which she reluctantly refuses, for she is afraid that he may not love her deeply enough and that when he eventually has to make a suitable marriage, she will be heartbroken. How the two lovers do get together makes a terrific story with adventure, tears, humour and a lovely sub-plot which I won't reveal here! This is as good as The Rake and another of my personal favorites, Shattered Rainbows. It is a romantic treasure and should be re-printed!