Larkswood Legacy (Reader's Choice) [Paperback]

Cornick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2001 | Series: Reader's Choice

She couldn't give up Larkswood!

Widowed Mrs. Annabella St. Auby's situation was uncomfortable, but meeting Sir WIlliam Weston was wonderful! He made his interest very clear, and she was hugely drawn to him.

But when her father's tangled affairs were finally sorted out, she found that her sole inheritance, Larkswood, was of prime importance to Sir William. And Annabella began to wonder -- was Sir William pursuing her for herself or for her legacy?

Editorial Reviews

Review

A wonderful Regency Romance! -- All About Romance

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373511507
• ISBN-13: 978-0373511501
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #919,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I started writing when I was about fourteen. I had read all the romance books in my local library and the librarians were growing tired of me asking when the new books would be coming in so they suggested I should write one of my own. I think they were only trying to get rid of me but I took their advice seriously.

Sixteen years later, True Colours was published. It took me that long because it wasn't very good to start with! I rewrote it three times, went to college, got married, moved house and changed my job several times in between trying to write!

These days I am a full time writer and spend lots of time on the creative process, which involves drinking coffee with my writing friend Sarah Morgan and scandalising the staff in the caf' where we meet because they think we are talking about real life not fiction.

In my spare time I work as a guide at Ashdown House, a fabulous and romantic seventeenth century hunting lodge just down the road from here. It has a fascinating history and one day I will get around to writing about it.

My writing inspirations are my grandmother, with whom I used to watch all the BBC costume dramas on a Sunday night ' Robin of Sherwood, Poldark, Pride and Prejudice (the 1970s version); my English teacher Mr Conway (I'm still worrying about correct grammar and punctuation); my husband because he is decidedly a hero, Jane Austen, Alice Chetwynd Ley and many, many romance authors who have given me so many hours of reading pleasure. Thank you!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great traditional read, with two interesting sub-plots.., August 13, 2001

By 

bookjunkiereviews (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Larkswood Legacy (Reader's Choice) (Paperback)

If you like traditional Regencies (read = no pre-marital sex, no heavy bedroom scenes), you might like this latest book from Nicola Cornick. This is the first book of hers I have read, so I have nothing to compare it against. The story is that of a young widow, badly treated by her in-laws and their friends, who finds happiness through reconciliation with her older sister and by finding new friends and a husband. As I said, there are some interesting sub-plots. The main story is that of the young woman Annabella St Auby (that is her married name) and how she falls for Sir William Weston, a naval captain who has retired to take charge of the family estates. But the two most powerful subplots is the story of Annabella's past life including her troubled relationship with her sister Alicia, Lady Mullineux, her father the late Bertram Broseley, and her husband the late Francis St Auby. What is nice is that while Annabella is by no means a scheming vixen, she is not perfect. She marries her first husband for the wrong reasons, and realizes her mistake too late. She confronts her suitor with some unwelcome gossip and nearly alienates him for good.

The flashbacks are presented through Annabella's memories and through conversations with her sister's friend Lady Kilgaren.

Beside this story of a troubled family history, there is also an exciting story of naval intrigue and society pettiness, whereby William Weston is made the scapegoat for another man's crimes by a jealous society miss and her supporters. Some people might find this subplot excessive, others might find it not exciting enough - especially since the villains are clearly identifiable as such. However, I found this subplot perfectly in keeping with the rest of the story.

Why then did I award it only four stars, instead of five? For one, this book was compelling, but not enough to make me want to read it all in one sitting (my criteria for a five-star read). It was slow in intervals here and there. Sometimes I found Annabella and her exclamations a little too much.

I did like William Weston and his friends, and would love to read a book which narrates the stories of James and Alicia Mullineux, and Marcus and Caroline Kilgaren (she, a lady who is knowledgeable about medieval architecture and was taught by her historian father who actually recognized her great potential).

The book rates about a 4.4. I would have rated it higher except for the minor flaws, and the fact that I found both Alicia and Caroline more interesting than the heroine.

4.0 out of 5 stars Regency Romance: sequel to "True Colours", June 22, 2010

By 

Marshall Lord (Whitehaven, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Larkswood Legacy (Lords & Ladies Collection) (Hardcover)

This story is the sequel to "True Colours (Historical Romance), and the younger sister of the heroine of that book is the heroine of this one. Several of the key characters appear in both. The main plot of the story is a fairly typical regency romance: the sub-plot features a story of admiralty intrigue and double dealing which refers to the battle of Lake Champlain, one of the final turning points of the war of 1812.

The previous book, "True Colours" described how Annabelle Brosely's elder sister Alicia had been forced by their manipulative father Bertram to break her engagement to James Mullineaux and marry instead the wealthy Sir George Carberry. After Sir Geaorge's death, Bertram Brosely again tried to force Alicia into a marriage profitable for him and disastrous for her. Before he could start involving her in similar games, Annabelle set out to escape from the Brosely household through marriage to a man of her own choice who her father would not object to, and succeeded in winning the hand of Francis St Auby. However, the events of that book left a sad rift between the two sisters.

"The Larkswood Legacy" begins a few years later: Alicia is now happily married to James, Marquis of Mullineaux but Annabelle has been widowed and left dependent on her late husband's mother, the horrible Lady St Auby.

A chance series of events gives Annabelle an opportunity to make some new friends and, in the process, repair the rift with her sister. One of her new friends is Sir William Weston, a former navy captain now returned to Britain after serving in the American theatre during the war of 1812. Sir William pays court to Annabelle, who soon finds herself falling for him. But just as Annabelle begins to believe she may have a second chance for love, she learns Bertram Brosely has left her a legacy of great interest to Sir William. Is it Annabelle he wants - or the Larkswood legacy?

The sub-plot about the aftermath of the battle of Lake Champlain (also known as the Battle of Plattsburg) differs from the historical events of 11th September 1814 in a number of material respects, but I owe Nicola Cornick a vote of thanks for inspiring my curiousity and thus encouraging me to check the facts of the battle, in which process I was reminded of what an extraordinary story it actually was.

During the war of 1812, there were a number of famous engagements fought on the open seas between British and American warships, which featured some famous victories for each side, some of which are mentioned in this book. There were also a number of battles on the Great Lakes, fought between (mostly) smaller ships constructed specifically for those waters. "The Larkswood Legacy" describes the Battle of Lake Champlain as if it had been fought between ships of the line, when in fact neither side had anything larger than a frigate and most of the vessels on both sides were far smaller.

Accounts of the battle are easily available on the internet and there is a good description by the creator of Hornblower in his non-fiction book, The Age of Fighting Sail : the Story of the Naval War of 1812. Most of the men of both opposing forces fought with great bravery and a substantial proportion of the crews on each side, included the British commander, were killed. After most of the ships on both sides had fought to a standstill and the crews of the wrecked British vessels surrendered, the U.S. commander told their officers, "Gentlemen, return your swords to your scabbards, you are worthy of them". A court martial subsequently cleared all of the officers concerned.

However, both C.S. Forester (ibid) and Theodore Rosevelt ("The naval war of 1812; or, The history of the United States navy during the last war with Great Brit") record that a division of the British gunboats did not press the attack as strongly as the rest of the Royal Navy force, and the senior officer of that group of ships later deserted to avoid facing court martial.

So, without wishing to give away the plot of "The Larkswood Legacy", there is a little nugget of historical fact behind those parts of the book which describe a naval scandal.

Reasonably entertaining and well crafted regency romance: this one came out in 1999 and IMHO several of the books the author has written since then are significantly more entertaining, but this is more than OK for a little light amusement. And while nobody else writes like Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer, I'd much rather read a book like this in which the author writes in her own style than one of the all too common third rate attempts to copy Austen or Heyer.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Traditional Regency with some naval overtones, July 29, 2000

By 

John Whelan (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Larkswood Legacy (Hardcover)

Definitely a pragmatic interesting heroine, who was parted from her sister and now trying to pick up the pieces of her life after being widowed. Set mainly in the country with references to life in the navy.

From the back of the Mills& Boon hardback...

Meeting Sir William Weston was wonderful! He made his interest very clear, and widowed Mrs Annabella St Auby was hugely drawn to him. But she found her sole inheritance, Larkswood, was of prime importance to Sir William, for he said the purchase from his father had not been above board. Was Sir William's pursuit for herself.. .or her legacy?