Mad Jack (Bride Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Catherine Coulter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999 | Series: Bride Series

Meet Winifrede Levering Bascombe...

...better known as Mad Jack, disguised as a male valet to Grayson St. Cyre's aunts. And when St. Cyre uncovers Jack's deception, he also uncovers feelings he never imagined he possessed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The household of Lord Cliffe, Grayson St. Cyres, is turned topsy-turvy in this historical romance when his two eccentric great aunts descend on him with their valet, Mad Jack. As it turns out, Jack is in fact Winifrede Levering Bascombe, a young runaway in disguise, hiding from her abusive stepfather. When Jack steals one of St. Cyres's horses, the chase is on; and when St. Cyres apprehends the scamp, he discovers the masquerade and the inevitable love affair develops. The less-than-ingenious plot appears to be going nowhere until Coulter throws in a special twist that saves the day. Despite this, the story is well-worn and cutesy, and the males are reduced to inept creatures dominated by the strong-willed women in their lives. Although entertaining (due mostly to the eccentric, hysterical aunts), Coulter's newest doesn't hold up to her bestselling The Wild Baron.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Coulter is excellent at portraying romantic tension between her heroes and heroines." -MILWAUKEE JOURNAL

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Jove (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515124206
• ISBN-13: 978-0515124200
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( C ) > Coulter, Catherine R.

More About the Author

Catherine Coulter is the author of the New York Times-bestselling FBI thrillers The Cove, The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh House, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take and TailSpin. She lives in northern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Read!, December 1, 2005

By 

Glenda A Bixler "Glenda" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Mad Jack (Bride Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

Mad Jack by Catherine Coulter got placed back on my bookshelf with her other works!. This was a fun read because it was so different than anything else I had read by Coulter. It's set in 1811 London and Mad Jack turns out to be a young woman who has run away from her stepfather who plans to have her marry a sinister old man. She is aided by becoming the "male" valet to two lovely aunts of, of course, an attractive single Lord of the manor. Now, you may think, oh,this is just another love story...Not true! For instance, Lord Durban meets Mad Jack after "he" has stolen Durban's horse and when he catches "him," he attacks "him" as the horse thief Mad Jack is...well, you get the picture...soon he finds out that he has been beating up on a young lady--quite a pretty young lady indeed. Only to have her kidnapped... Ah, quite a romp around merry ole England...what?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Rip-off Rip-off Rip-off, February 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mad Jack (Bride Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

I paid the outlandish price for this book, assuming that Coulter would be up to her usual high standards. Such was not the case. The dialogue was almost bizarrely stilted ("I'm a man. I'm handsome and charming..... You will admire me. You will be pleased that I'm your husband. You will obey me, but I will never trust you".) Does/did anybody ever talk that way? Coulter also brought in characters from previous books, such as Sinjun and Colin, Ryder, and Douglas, which, I admit, influenced my decision to buy the book. Like the dialogue, though, their presence seems awkward and contrived, leading me to suspect they were reintroduced to lend some credibility to a vague plot (the heroine, Mad Jack, is trying to avoid being married off by her wick stepfather, hence the quickly failed masquerade as a male). Do yourself a favor and wait until your local library has this book. It's not worth buying...........

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Mad Jack? Bad Book !, January 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mad Jack (Bride Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

After having revised all of her early regencies and revisited them on the world, Catherine Coulter has now resorted to recycling her efforts. This is a badly disguised reprise of her Phillip Mericault book with plot twists that are more like limp threads that go nowhere and leave one dangling. For example, "Jack" is a female named Winifrede (why not call her Fred? At least one could keep the names straight) who takes refuge--no reason given--at the hero's great aunts' home. The three promptly move to hero's home--no reason given. Almost immediately heroine runs away and is caught in rainstorm and develops runaway fever which can only be reduced by sponging her breasts, etc. Naturally hero has to marry her (sound familiar)? Throw in a missing magic lamp (which nobody searches for)... Sherbrooke couples who serve no purpose other than to stage all their sexual arguments in the hero's home...a potential racing cat who may or maynot be pregnant...and what do you have? A mish-mosh enlived by typical Coulter blither (that's blather delivered in a falsetto). Only redeeming feature: the two great aunts.