The Makeshift Marriage (A Signet Regency Romance) [Paperback]

Sandra Heath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 1983

Miss Laura Milbanke agreed to marry Sir Nicholas Grenville because he had fought a deadly duel for her hand. But when they return to his estate, she finds a ravishingly beautiful rival who was Nicholas's true love. Now Laura wonders if she should try to fight this challenger. . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 249 pages
• Publisher: Signet; 1ST edition (May 3, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451122682
• ISBN-13: 978-0451122681
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,772,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Have you ever read a book and wished you could write one too? Have you ever followed someone else's characters and thought you would have them behave differently? Well, that's how I was. I read and read and read, especially historical fiction, but I secretly yearned to write a title of my own. Strangely, it took my three-year-old daughter's urgent admission to hospital with meningitis to finally get me going. She was so ill and I was so distracted, that after a while my father gave me a little portable typewriter 'to help take my mind off things'. By the time my daughter Sarah came out of hospital, well on the road to recovery, my first book was also well on the road.

I wrote and wrote and wrote, standing in the kitchen on one leg like a stork, with the typewriter on a work surface while my daughter played around my feet. My first ten books were medieval historicals set in England, and since then I have mostly written in the English Regency period - for which living in Britain is a definite advantage! I love romantic stories, and if I can weave history, traditions, myths, legends and sometimes Gothic elements into them, I'm happiest of all. These were the sorts of story I couldn't get enough of before I became a writer, and I'm glad to say my readers like them too.

Sandra Heath isn't my only pen name, for you'll also find me as Sandra Wilson, Jeannie Machin and Sarah Stanley. Some of these titles you'll recognize from before, but some you won't. Most of my medievals were written as Sandra Wilson, and as Sarah Stanley I've produced two new sensuous Regencies, STAR-CROSSED SUMMER and MIDWINTER MARRIAGE, which follow the same characters and should be read in the order of the titles. I hope to follow them with two more in the same series, but at the moment I have so much else to write that it may be a little while.

Sooo, over sixty-five books after my first ever title, I'm still wearing out keyboards, and loving every minute of it.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars be careful what you wish for . . ., January 15, 2001

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Makeshift Marriage (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

A very popular plot-line in romance novels, especially Regency novels, is the marriage of convenience. Forced to adjust and make a life with each other, the characters frequently end up learning as much about themselves as they do about their new partner.

The way in which such a marriage is brought into being varies widely, but the nobility of the English male--not just his rank--is usually at the forefront. He offers his name and protection to a young woman who is sorely in need of such a bulwark.

Miss Laura Milbanke splurges her entire small inheritance for a dream trip to Venice; she's seen a picture of the famous Hotel Contarini, and has dreamt of little else since then. Knowing she faces a lifetime of boring service, the expense is, to her, well-justified. Her first night there, she makes the reluctant acquaintance of Sir Nicholas Grenville, who clearly would rather she didn't exist at all, whether in Venice or in England.

But then, they spend a delightful day together, enjoying the scenery and differentness of Venice, and enraging the Austrian Baron Frederick von Marienfeld. The Baron promptly issues a challenge to Nicholas, one he cannot refuse, with the predictable result. Nicholas is brought back to the hotel, nearing death.

Surprising everyone, Nicholas survives--barely, and in order to protect Laura, convinces her to marry him. Because of their one wonderful day, she grudgingly agrees to marry this man she's come to love, even though he is certain to die.

Her persistence as a nurse returns him to a feeble degree of health, and eventually the pair return to England and his estate, King's Cliff. Nicholas had traveled to Venice to consider his position and that of the estate, impoverished by generations of unfeeling, uncaring heirs. In spite of local opposition, Laura implements the changes Nicholas had discussed with her, endangering herself as well as her husband, still not entirely well, in spite of the care of his old friend and local physician, Daniel Tregarron. Nicholas is discovered to be ill with malaria, but his former fianceé, Augustine Townsend, has no patience with illness; she alternates between Nicholas and his heir, who is also his cousin, James, the earl of Landford.

One could say, 'just another routine romance novel', except that when the author is Sandra Heath, NOTHING is routine. There are twists and turns aplenty before the final, extremely satisfying conclusion.

3.0 out of 5 stars exciting, December 1, 2005

By 

saffronrice - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Makeshift Marriage (A Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

This was a really exciting story - intrigue, mystery, suspense. My only complaints have to do with not seeing the hero enough - he's out of the picture for most of the book - and I also felt frustrated with the heroine for being so obtuse and unaware of what was going on around her. Otherwise, a story that's different from the usual Regency fare, and a fun read.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The quality of the writing is OK, but..., April 26, 2004

By 

SusieQ (New York) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Makeshift Marriage (Signet Regency Romance) (Paperback)

This book was written in 1983. Its plot & pace are pure straight-arrow Regency. There is NO tension between the hero & heroine. Their one day together in Venice COULD have been "magical", but I had to infer that...I didn't believe it when the hero later says he fell in love with the heroine that day, although he SAID he did.

I also thought the author made a major mistake by keeping the hero, Nicholas, off the scene too long, making him dangerously wounded and ill, thereby allowing the character of Daniel Tregarron to become more center-stage, doing everything the hero should have been doing. Over time, the attraction between Daniel & Laura became irritating instead of intriguing, because I felt that the author was going to do a back-track & reconcile Nicholas and Laura. And I was right. And yet, I hadn't been able to get to know Nicholas, so why should I care about him and Laura finding their happiness? It felt very phony to put them together at the end.

Then, there is the extremely sudden & abrupt ending where Nicholas finally gets a clue, confesses his love to Laura and -- THAT's IT. Just like an old Barbara Carland -- one kiss at THE END, and no follow through, no epilogue of a happy marriage, no - nothing!

The quality of the writing is 'good' (particularly in the first chapters which take place in Venice) before the gothic-flavored melodrama kicks in. Those first few chapters could rate 3 stars from me. But the old-fashioned, hands-off element between the main characters; the absence of the hero for 1/3 of the plot, and the corny & abruptly resolved happy ending, irretrievably damage this story.