The Mistress [Mass Market Paperback]

Susan Wiggs (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mira | Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Most days Kathleen O'Leary is a penniless maid. But tonight she takes a risk and masquerades as a glamorous heiress, thanks to a borrowed gown and her friends' sense of adventure. To her surprise, the ruse succeeds--even Dylan Kennedy, Chicago's most eligible bachelor, seems enraptured.But like Kathleen, Dylan isn't who he says he is. And before their true identities can be revealed to one another, fire erupts, sending rich and poor alike running for their lives. Now, though virtually strangers, Kathleen and Dylan must rely on each other for survival. And when the embers cool, they'll find that the greatest risk has been to their hearts....

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Setting: Chicago, 1871

Sensuality: 7

Beautiful Kathleen O'Leary works as a maid at an exclusive girls school where she has been befriended by three rich students. One evening, the high-spirited girls convince Kathleen to dress in borrowed diamonds and silk and accompany them to a masquerade at the Hotel Royale in Chicago. Here, Kathleen catches the eye of the city's most eligible bachelor, Dylan Francis Kennedy, and the two are instantly attracted to each other. Fate intervenes when the two are caught in the midst of the great Chicago Fire of 1871 and, convinced they're about to die, they impulsively marry. Amazingly they survive, and Kathleen is faced with the difficult task of confessing her real identity to her new husband. To her shock, she learns that Dylan is also a fraud. Far from being a rich gentleman, he's a con artist, intent on marrying an heiress and taking her money.

How will the Irish maid and the gambler deal with being tied together in a marriage that began with deception? They've escaped death in the Great Chicago Fire, but can they survive the bonds of matrimony and the very real threat to their hearts? Especially when Kathleen is determined to reform him and Dylan is just as determined to separate marks from their money in this tale of dangerous games and wild adventure.

In this second installment of the trilogy that began with The Hostage, Susan Wiggs creates a classic love story of a flawed hero who learns the meaning of love through trial, travail, and the passionate heart of a good woman. The story expertly meshes the high drama of a city ablaze and the lively action of a great con game, adds an equal slice of 1870's historical ambiance, and tops it all with expertly drawn characters. Wiggs just keeps getting better and better. --Lois Faye Dyer

Review

"Susan Wiggs delves deeply into her characters' hearts and motivations to touch our own." -- Romantic Times --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Mira (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551666103
• ISBN-13: 978-1551667577
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,388,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan Wiggs's life is all about family, friends...and fiction. She lives at the water's edge on an island in Puget Sound, and she commutes to her writers' group in a 17-foot motorboat. She's been featured in the national media, including NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and is a popular speaker locally and nationally.

When her recent novel, FIRESIDE, hit #1 on the New York Times, the author reportedly reacted to the news by "putting on my lipstick and sweeping the patio." Why? Because she knew that within a matter of minutes, her girlfriends would show up to pop the bubbly and help her celebrate. [Update: FIRESIDE has been chosen of one of Amazon.com's Top Ten Romances of 2009.]

According to Publishers Weekly, Wiggs writes with "refreshingly honest emotion," and the Salem Statesman Journal adds that she is "one of our best observers of stories of the heart [who] knows how to capture emotion on virtually every page of every book." Booklist characterizes her books as "real and true and unforgettable." She is the recipient of three RITA (sm) awards and four starred reviews from Publishers Weekly for her books. Her books make frequent appearances on Amazon's "best of" lists. Several of her novels have been listed as Indie Next picks and optioned as feature films. Her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages and have made national bestseller lists, including the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times lists.

The author is a former teacher, a Harvard graduate, an avid hiker, an amateur photographer, a good skier and terrible golfer, yet her favorite form of exercise is curling up with a good book.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars History made real..., April 3, 2005

By 

Donna K. "bookcrosser" (Long Island, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mistress (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow- this book read like an eyewitness account of the Great Fire of Chicago in 1871 and the rebuilding that followed for months afterwards. Seeing the events through the eyes of Kathleen, Dylan, Bull and other characters in this story gave it life, and made it real and tangible to the reader! The fire blazed off the pages and I could feel its heat.

The romance was almost secondary. I loved the character of Kathleen. Part-Cinderella and part-My Fair Lady, she was a maid who attended a society event and passed herself off as a Lady. She was feisty, brave and proud. Someone to admire for more than her outward beauty. Dylan was a bit harder to like - too rough around the edges and too set on an unscrupulous lifestyle, determined not to change. But in his heroism, he showed caring and a softer-side. Lots of sexy scenes. Maybe too many. Unfortunately, the story seemed to drag a bit during these scenes, and they could have been condensed to make the it flow better through the more important historical events.

The lesson Katie taught Dylan, that the riches of love and family is worth more than money, is something those of us who are products of a material society need to reflect more upon.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wiggs is wonderful, September 28, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mistress (Mass Market Paperback)

In Chicago, impoverish Kathleen O'Leary works as a maid at an exclusive school for young ladies. However, tonight, October 8, 1871 Kathleen pretends to be a wealthy debutante wearing a borrowed gown to attend a high society ball. Also at the gala event is the city's wealthiest bachelor Dylan Kennedy, just back from Europe. When they meet, Dylan sees a beautiful woman perfect for him to seduce. He wants funds from her because he is a con artist. She sees her soulmate.

On the other side of town, an inferno has erupted starting at the barn of Kathleen's parents. As the fire spreads and threatens everyone in the city, Kathleen and Dylan hastily marry. Somehow they survive and quickly fall in love, but both, not expecting to live, entered the marriage with deception and duplicity. He trusts no one and needs instant cash that she cannot provide while she continues to shower him with love.

THE MISTRESS is an enjoyable Americana romance that centers on the aftermath of the Chicago fire. The story line uses real events and people to propel the entertaining romance to its climax. The lead couple will receive reader empathy as they learn the importance of being truthful as well as earnest in a relationship. However, what makes Susan Wiggs' tale a cut above the norm is the intricate look at survivors whose prize for minor success is clinging to life one day at a time.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And now for something completely different....., September 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mistress (Mass Market Paperback)

Well, I loved this author's last book, THE HOSTAGE, and I wanted to love this one, too. It's totally different, but it left me with the same warm-inside feeling as the first one. It's a story about figuring out who you are and what's most important in life. This book surprised me in several places. Truly satisfying, I would reccommend it to anyone!