Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand [Paperback]

Carla Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1994

Finding herself vulnerable to unscrupulous men when her financial status is reduced to ruin, young widow Roxanna Drew resists the advances of dashing Lord Fletcher Winn, an estate owner with his own wariness of the opposite sex.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Seeking both safety from her lecherous brother-in-law and the solitude to work through her grief and put her family's world back together, the vicar's widow, Roxanna Drew, takes her two young daughters and moves into the dilapidated dowerhouse of a nearby estate, determined to make it livable before winter. However, the winter winds bring more than snow to her door: Fletcher Rand, Marquess of Winn, the estate's absentee owner, appears in search of shelter. She welcomes him into her home-and into her life as well. Emotionally involving, well written, and filled with real characters, this story infuses a traditional Regency situation with compassion, warmth, and a high level of sexual tension, producing a book that won't soon be forgotten. The grief/healing process is particularly well depicted. Kelly is a popular writer of out-of-the-ordinary Regencies (Mrs. Whittier Makes a List, Signet, 1994). (Kelly lives in Monroe, Louisiana.)
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451181816
• ISBN-13: 978-0451181817
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #256,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable, tear-jerking and heartwrenchingly beautiful, April 26, 2000

By 

Dr W. Richards "wmr-uk" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand (Paperback)

I was simply stunned by this book; it haunted me for days after finishing it. Carla Kelly is an incredible writing talent!

Roxanna Drew is a relatively recent widow left in straitened circumstances, but who would rather be homeless with her two daughters than dependent on her brother-in-law's not entirely selfless charity. So she manages to rent a run-down cottage on Lord Winn's estate. Then Lord Winn himself gets caught in the snow and begs for shelter....

The growing friendship between Roxanna and Winn is alternately hilarious, touching and heartwrenching. Both have sorrows in their past - his more public than hers - and both need each other's friendship; her daughters also begin to rely on him as a father-figure, making things even more poignant. There is a beautiful scene not too far in the book where Winn is about to leave for his sister's home, but he simply turns around and comes back, unable to leave Roxanna and the children.

From there on... suffice to say that I doubt anyone could read the rest of the book without crying at least twice. The threat to Roxanna's daughters, the horseback ride to Scotland and back when Winn gets frostbite, and what happens from then on is so well written I couldn't put the book down.

This is genuinely a love story for adults. And by that I don't mean that it's X-rated; simply that Kelly treats her readers *as* adults and gives us a story full of the whole range of human emotions. Her characters are real and down to earth, and concern themselves with the mundane and essential things of life, rather than superficial things like balls and dresses (if you want blushing debutantes and visits to Almacks, don't buy this book).

I could only wish that this, and Lord Ragsdale's Reform - another excellent Kelly novel - were twice the length they are. If I can't have that, I'll still say that this book is absolutely perfect. No matter what you have to pay for it, BUY IT!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, April 10, 2003

By 

Maggie "maggie79" (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand (Paperback)

I never really thought of myself as a romance novel reader, but then, somehow, I got sucked into the sub-sub-genre of the regency romance. Ah, the hours spent trolling my local library in search of books entitled "The Rake and the Reformer!" Ah, the mocking I endured from my friends! And the truth is most regencies are pretty bad, completely innacurate, and more than likely to present a dangerously dated scenario--impoverished, weak woman saved by a dominant, rich man, while sexual attraction substitutes for genuine feeling. I don't know what need this sexist formula fulfilled in me, but I read a lot them. And then I happened onto a book called Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand.

In Carla Kelly's works the men and women treat each other with respect. Admiration comes first, love follows. And the protagonists actually like each other before they consumate their relationship. Imagine that! In her books there is none of that "I hate him and yet I'm kissing him! Darn his maddening attraction!" There is only the believable progression from liking and admiration to love.

Roxanna Drew is an impoverished widow who loved her first husband (also something that virtually only Kelly would attempt) and has two adorable daughters. When we first meet her she is trying to avoid the ugly advances of her brother-in-law. Lord Winn is a military hero who doesn't fit in society anymore because of a disgraceful divorce. He becomes her landlord and falls in love with her and her family. As her situation becomes more desperate he offers to help. There are lots of very kind, believable moments as he gets to know Roxie and her daughters. Instead of the usual conflict consisting of contrived misunderstandings and forced bickering which hides "attraction," what threatens Roxie and Winn is her recent bereavement and reluctance to love again. As usual, it's the kind of actual human problem that only Carla Kelly would attempt in this genre. After I read Mrs. Drew I read all her other regencies and now she has effectively ruined me for every other romance writer. Darn her terrific writing ability!

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Have, July 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand (Paperback)

After taking this book out of my local library for the 4th time in 2 months, I realized I needed my own copy! The heroine is admirably self-reliant without being obnoxiously independent, and the hero is generous without being condescending. Both are portrayed in a completely believable manner, with an endearing awareness of their own flaws. The supporting characters are portrayed so humanly that I cannot even hate the villian! While it remains entirely true and in character for its Regency setting, this is a story about grief, loss, love, and the every-day courage that life requires.