The Rake's Rainbow [Paperback]

Allison Lane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1996

An accidental match between innocent Caroline Cummings and infamous rake Thomas Mannering places Caroline's happiness in the hands of a man who has been exiled from the realm and who is in love with another, married woman.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When a coach accident lands the vicar's daughter, Caroline Cummings, and disreputable rake Thomas Mannering in the same bed at a local inn, their only choice is marriage. Then Caroline realizes that the husband she loves is still besotted by a notorious beauty. In a story that strikingly delineates the roles of honor and social consequence in Regency society, an admirable, lively heroine and an honorable but inwardly tormented hero struggle with feelings and duty to discover what they really want. Other characters, such as a wickedly beautiful other woman and a fop, are excellent, as is the author's attention to the social conerns of the times. A high degree of sensuality keeps sparks flying in Lane's first Regency. Lane lives in San Jose, California.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (January 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451186664
• ISBN-13: 978-0451186669
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Portrait of a disfunctional marriage, December 19, 2001

By 

Susan Smith (A small rural village in the English Midlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rake's Rainbow (Paperback)

My first experience with Allison Lane (The Beleaguered Earl) was a disappointment for the book was so full of flaws that I was reluctant to try again. I am pleased to say that I was very much surprised with The Rake's Rainbow and recommend it highly.

The story of The Hon Thomas Mannering and Miss Caroline Cummings is not an easy read. If you like your regencies lite 'n' fluffy, then this book is not for you. It is dark, distressing and depressing but, ultimately, full of hope and triumph against what seem to be pretty overwhelming odds.

Thomas and Caroline marry in order to escape - for her poverty and governessing and for him in order to gain an inheritance. Thomas had become ensnared by Alicia - a heartless, fickle nymphomaniac who strings him along never intending to marry an earl's mere second son. He slips into a deep depression, drinking and gambling and nearly slipping over the edge into madness.

Caroline is the stronger of the two for, with astute insight into human nature, she is able to save him by letting matters run their course, never giving up hope that the man she sees beneath the hopeless despair is worth nurturing and loving. Some might say she is a bit of a sacrificial lamb but, within the social context of the times, she did what she had to in times when divorce was virtually impossible. The descriptions of her meeting Thomas's family for the first time and finding her way through the Season were excellent for she does it without the support of her husband who, by this time, is so depressed that he ignores her completely.

I liked the way the author developed Thomas's family; each member, particularly his father, the Earl of Marchgate and his foppish but sweet elder brother, had a significant role to play in the development of the story.

There is a great deal of pain, angst and high emotion in this story. Tempers flare, characters sometimes act against their own best intentions and the hero is flawed but honourable. The heroine is strong but tender and loving. Sometimes the reader will want to point a pistol at Thomas and at others will want to love him - for this story is a real emotional roller coaster.

I will read another of Allison Lane's books to see if my first experience was atypical. It's just too bad she did not meet in The Beleaguered Earl the exceptionally high standards that she set with The Rake's Rainbow. It was very well done; polished prose and obvious careful research gives it a very authentic air. Her depiction of the Season, the Ton and marriage and family life in the Regency era were very good and most realistic.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Heroine is too good for undeserving hero, July 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Rake's Rainbow (Paperback)

Mannering, the novel's supposed hero, is so unappealing and thickheaded that it defies even romance novel logic that are spunky heroine should fall in love with him. Mannering spends the entire novel in love with another woman and treats the loveable heroine, who is his wife, so badly that you actually hope the author kills him so our heroine could find a worthy mate. Not a noteworthy book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully written, even if the hero *is* maddening., February 2, 1999

By 

Susan Lee Sills ([e-mail]) (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rake's Rainbow (Paperback)

Another Allison Lane winner! The hero takes forever to realize the errors of his misplaced passion (all the way to the next-to-last chapter), but the rest of the story is well worth reading. Caroline's development is well-paced and rather enchanting, the lesser characters interesting, and the anti-heroine rather amazing to watch. Particularly enjoyable is Caroline's level-headedness; she understands that she must become 'her own woman' in many ways, and so comes off as a strong person. And Thomas's turnaround, when it finally comes, is very thorough but also believeable. You'll cheer too!