Orphan [Mass Market Paperback]

Stella Cameron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002

Join bestselling author Stella Cameron as she returns to 7 Mayfair Square, the elegant London town house where matchmaking and mayhem are always in the air.

Why would England's "Most Daring Lover" risk his reputation by falling madly in love with a nobody, a shabbily dressed milliner's assistant who lived in poverty -- and was clearly in trouble? Because Latimer More of 7A Mayfair Square saw something in Jenny McBride, an orphaned Scottish lass, that nobody had: unsinkable optimism, a brave spirit and a face that haunted his dreams.

Jenny was amazed by Latimer's advances. He fascinated her, but surely he couldn't really be interested in her? Besides, she had more pressing concerns. She was fighting off the attentions of a cruel man who wanted to claim her in exchange for canceling her debts.

Jenny would not involve Latimer in the dangerous game that threatened her. But Latimer would not abandon Jenny. The result? A madcap race against time and danger, upheaval at Number 7, and an unlikely match that could not be more perfect -- or challenging!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 1823, Cameron's newest historical romance (after 7B) revisits the clutch of characters who wrestle with both danger and true love in the London town house of 7 Mayfair Square. Crabby ghost Sir Spivey has schemed with mixed results to rid his home of paying boarders, and this time his victim is Latimer More, known as "the Most Daring Lover in England." Latimer has set his sights on Jenny McBride, a spirited millinery assistant who Latimer believes will happily become "his unquestioning supporter in every decision, every endeavor" when he marries her and rescues her from poverty. Irrationally, Jenny resists Latimer's overtures because she believes he will be repelled when he learns of her oily landlord's plot to sell her to a wealthy patron. Characters from the earlier Mayfair Square adventures put in their two cents and Jenny's landlord continues his stalking, but the focus remains on Latimer and Jenny's romantic fireworks, which culminate in a sensual grand finale that showcases Latimer's virility. By far one of the strongest entries in this disjointed series, Cameron's latest boasts tight plotting and consistent characterizations. Even a few loose ends such as Jenny's unhappiness that she must leave her millinery job upon her marriage do not tarnish the overall shine of this polished romance. (Mar.)Forecast: Cameron's brand-name recognition coupled with an aggressive print and radio advertising campaign will foster strong and steady sales, but this lusty historical is unlikely to match the best-selling heights of her contemporary romantic suspense novels due to the series' inconsistency and its inclusion of the paranormal.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Raised in an orphanage, Jenny McBride is a milliner's assistant living on her own in the slums of Whitechapel. Unfortunately, an act of kindness has made her fall behind on her rent. Her landlord has given her a few weeks to come up with the money, and if she doesn't, she belongs to him. Enter Latimore More. Although he's known throughout London for his talents in both boardroom and bedroom, he's inexplicably drawn to the infrequent visitor to his rooming house and begins to follow Jenny in order to know her better. Of course, there are obstacles to their union besides her landlord, not the least of which is a ghost. A Midsummer Night's Dream is mentioned quite often by said ghost and seems to be the armature of the story. Although it's definitely not Shakespeare, Cameron's romance is as populated as the play, which makes for some confusion, but fans of her Mayfair Square series will certainly enjoy this installment. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551668831
• ISBN-13: 978-1551668833
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,542,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stella Cameron is the New York Times best selling author of the acclaimed Court of Angels Series, the Bayou Books and many others. There are fourteen million copies of her books in circulation worldwide. She is the recipient of the Pacific Northwest Achievement Award for distinguished professional achievement and for enhancing the stature of the Northwest Literary community. She lives in Washington State.

Stella's current titles include OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF BODY and OUT OF MIND from her critically acclaimed Court of Angels series as well as her recent exclusive eBook releases BREATHLESS (contemporary romantic-suspense) and BARGAIN BRIDE: A NOVELLA (historical romance).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun regency romance, March 2, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Orphan (Mass Market Paperback)

In 1823 at 7 Mayfair Street in London, Latimer More knows he has found his love of a lifetime in Jenny McBride. However, the poverty stricken Scottish lass cannot believe he even remotely cares about her. Like his family and the other tenants, Jenny finds it impossible to believe that someone as successful in business and with women like Latimer could love a pathetic orphan like Jenny.

Jenny has other problems to deal with besides an alleged mooning suitor. She owes rent and her landlord wants her to barter sex as payment. She refuses his offers, but Mr. Bucket is not a man that easily accepts any denial of his pleasures. Can Jenny turn to Latimer or is he faking affection to get into her boudoir?

THE ORPHAN is a fun regency romance that follows the story of two middle class types. Latimer is a heroic individual, but THE ORPHAN belongs to the title character Jenny. Her struggles with Bucket while debating whether Latimer is her savior or a leap from the frying pan into the fire make the tale. The return of the Shakespearean-spouting ghost adds humor as Stella Cameron provides a fresh look at the era with an engaging yet simplistic tale.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Series starts to get back on track, March 9, 2011

By 

E. S. Charpentier (Brainerd, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orphan (Mass Market Paperback)

The fourth book in Cameron's Mayfair Square series picks up a bit, at least in terms of plot. Jenny McBride is the titular orphan, working as a milliner's assistant. She is introduced to Latimer More of Mayfair Square by her inclusion in a club Sybil Lloyd (nee' Smiles) had formed in order to inform themselves of the particulars involved in romantic interludes. Latimer has decided to woo and marry Jenny, and she pridefully resists. The intrigue comes at the hands of Morley Bucket, Jenny's former landlord who plans to sell her as a mistress/slave to a very rich Client. The ghost of Sir Spivey is still interfering and causing trouble, but is in the process of a reformation, and his machinations are less disruptive than they've been in past volumes.

I had a little trouble understanding why, exactly, Latimer had set his cap for Jenny, but she proves to be a worthy match. However, I hate, Hate HATE the device of phonetically spelling the words uttered by someone with a Scottish accent, and thus found myself skimming everything uttered by Jenny. "Och." "Dinna" "Ye." Blech.

As I said, though, the intrigue in this novel was much better plotted than the last two novels in the series, and the villain was actually a surprise to me.

Hopefully the next and final book will continue on this trend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, January 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Orphan (Mass Market Paperback)

i couldn't put this book down like her other books. can't wait for what about adam. i hopes it's like this one.