Love with the Proper Husband [Hardcover]

Victoria Alexander (Photographer)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• ISBN-10: 0739434144
• ISBN-13: 978-0739434147
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,124,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander was an award winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and is still shocked it worked out.

Since the publication of her first book in 1995, she has written twenty-four full length novels and six novellas. The Perfect Wife--originally published in 1996 and reissued in March 2008--hit #1 on the New York Times list. Sixteen of her books are bestsellers hitting the New York Times, USA Today and/or Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. With books translated into a dozen different languages she has readers around the world and has twice been nominated for Romance's Writers of America prestigious RITA award. In 2009 she was given a Career Achievement Award from RT Bookclub and was named Historical Storyteller of the year in 2003. In 2008 she was the keynote speaker for the Romance Writers of American annual conference in San Francisco. Victoria credits much of her writing success to her experiences as a reporter.

Her years as a broadcast journalist were spent in two radically different areas of the country: Nebraska and West Virginia. In West Virginia, she covered both natural and manmade disasters. She was on the scene when a power plant construction accident in a small town left 52 men dead. She once spent the night on a mountain waiting to learn of the fate of coal miners trapped in a mine collapse. Victoria was producing a newscast when her husband (who worked at the same television station) and several other journalists were held hostage by a disturbed Vietnam veteran. In Nebraska, she reported on the farm crisis and watched people lose land that had been in their families for generations. She covered the story that was the basis of the movie BOYS DON'T CRY and once acted as the link between police and a gunman who had barricaded himself in his home. Her investigative work exposed the trucking of New York City garbage to a small town dump in rural Nebraska.

During her journalism career, Victoria covered every president from Ford to Clinton. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be surrounded by rising floodwaters and inside a burning building. She's interviewed movie stars including Kevin Costner, ridden an elephant and flown in a governor's helicopter. She's covered a national political convention and Pope John Paul II's historic visit to Denver as well as small town festivals celebrating everything from walnuts to Glen Miller. Her work was honored by numerous organizations including the Associated Press who called a feature about a firefighter's school "story telling genius". It was the encouragement she needed to turn from news to fiction. She's never looked back.

Victoria is a former president of the Omaha Press Club and in 2009 was named an OPC Face on the Barroom Floor. A caricature portrait of her joined previous faces including presidents, sports figures and politicians in a tradition that began in 1971.

Victoria claims her love of romance and journalism is to due to the influence of her favorite comic book character: Lois Lane, a terrific reporter and a great heroine who pursued Superman with an unwavering determination. And why not? He was extremely well drawn.

Victoria grew up traveling the world as an Air Force brat. Today, she lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband, a son in college and a daughter working in film.

Victoria had two bearded collies, Sam and Louie (named from characters in one of her books). Sam, the best dog in the world for 13 ½ years, passed away in September 2010. Louie has now taken on the position of loyal companion and is doing a fine job even though he doesn't understand that kitchen counter surfing is not allowed!

They live in a house under constant renovation and the accompanying parade of men in tool belts. And never ending chaos. Victoria laughs a great deal--she has to.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm, witty and delightful, August 21, 2003

By 

Trisha A. Howell "Howell Canyon Press author" (Los Angeles, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love With the Proper Husband (Mass Market Paperback)

Love With the Proper Husband is warm, witty and delightful. It is fast-paced, unfailingly entertaining and full of thoroughly lovable characters.

Penniless Miss Gwendolyn Townsend is called back to England from the post she loathes as a governess in America. She is thrilled to find out that she has a small legacy and that she will have a fortune if she does just one thing. Unfortunately, the one thing turns out to be to marry Marcus Holcroft, Earl of Pennington, a man she considers insufferably arrogant. Besides, she has no desire to marry anyone now that she finally has the means to be independent.

Marcus is incredulous to find out soon before he turns thirty that his deceased father left a will saying that, failing to find a different bride earlier, Marcus must marry Gwen before he is thirty or lose his whole fortune. (Something else is afoot, of course, in this situation that the reader knows but the characters don't.) After repeatedly refusing Marcus, Gwen abruptly agrees to marry him-but only because she develops a secret life for which she must have money.

It is hilarious, romantic and just plain fun watching Marcus and Gwen's growing relationship. And it is beautiful how warm and caring their relationship eventually becomes. Marcus' knack for lightening any situation and his easy forgiveness of Gwen's faults is endearing. Their wedding night is a hoot-funny, unexpected yet utterly passionate and romantic.

The other characters are equally lovable and endearing-especially the three nieces and the two Madames are wonderful, as is Marcus' mother. She puts on quite a show for Marcus early in the novel-I wish we could have seen even more of her.

The only weakness I noticed was that the last plot twist concerning the nieces is not really believable. Despite this, Love With the Proper Husband is a genuinely fun and absorbing novel that should not be missed!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and Witty, April 7, 2003

By 

M. Rondeau (West Springfield, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love With the Proper Husband (Mass Market Paperback)

The very formidable matriarchs of the ton in 1820 regency England had formed a society to preserve the British nobility etc., which was in fact a group of concerned mama's who wanted their errant sons and heirs to get off their duff's, marry suitable girls and produce the next heirs. Through some very adept maneuvers, the very first casualty was to be Marcus Holcroft, the Earl of Pennington.

Miss Gwendolyn Townsend, having been born female, had, at the demise of her father, lost her home and all she held dear to a distant male cousin. Having been told this news by an overzealous young attorney she had departed immediately to make her way as a governess - a position she was not very good at. Once she had been tracked down and recalled to England by her fathers solicitors, she was apprised of several things, 1) she had been left a modest inheritance, 2) a small but lovely house, and 3) an arranged husband - should she so desire - the husband that is. Marcus had found out that same day that his father had arranged for him to marry his dear old friends daughter, Gwendolyn, and should he not be married by the time he reached the age of 30 - in less than 3 months - he would lose his entire fortune!

This was such an amusing story with some very funny dialog that I virtually flew through the book - it was that hard to put down! The by-play between the two central characters was delightful and the numerous secondary characters was brilliantly done as I especially loved Marcus' friend Reggie and his very droll sense of humor at Marcus' expense. The three orphaned nieces of Gwendolyn were priceless as `out of the mouths of babes' comments went right to the heart of the matter in so many instances. This was a lovely, and very enjoyable book that I can and do heartily recommend.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, Sensual & Delightful!, April 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Love With the Proper Husband (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book. It was pure fun to read.

I've read hundreds of romances and this book was so nice. It was a real "feel good" story. I hope Victoria Alexander writes many more. It made me happy instead of aggravated like some authors do, yet it was suspenseful and hard to put down. If you like Julia Quinn, you will like this one.