Scandalous [Mass Market Paperback]

Candace Camp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1996

Wondering at the stranger who has appeared at her doorstop, lacking all memory of who he is and trying to outrun someone who is trying to kill him, a conservative woman risks scandal by protecting him and pursuing a relationship. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

There's nothing much to hold the reader's attention in Camp's (Suddenly) latest offering, a sluggish historical romance set in Victorian England and based, it seems, on the Kaspar Hauser story. The contrived and groaningly predictable tale opens when Priscilla Hamilton, a vapid heroine who harbors a "scandalous" secret (she writes adventure novels under a male pseudonym), finds an injured, naked man crumpled on her doorstep. After he gains consciousness, she learns he's been kidnapped and held prisoner by ruffians and is now suffering from amnesia. Priscilla gives him the name "John Wolfe" and passes him off as a distant cousin from America while she attempts to help him regain his memory. A short distance away from Ranleigh Court, the old Duke of Ranleigh has died. The rightful heir to the dukedom has been missing for 30 years, and the new duchess of Ranleigh (with devious plotting) intends to make sure he stays that way.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551661667
• ISBN-13: 978-1551661667
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,075,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Borrow this one from the library, September 21, 2010

By 

Melissa (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Scandalous (Hqn) (Mass Market Paperback)

Set in the Victorian era, heroine Priscilla is the epitome of prim and proper, actually she takes her properness to a degree which becomes a bit frustrating. She is not an easy heroine to like because she tries to manage everyone around her to include the hero, her father and even villains.

Priscilla is a dedicated spinster who lives in the country and she is quite happy taking care of her befuddled scientific father. She has no desire for children and even less for a husband; I guess the overseeing of her father's daily activities is very fulfilling. One night a naked man lands on her doorstep and after a long discussion with her absent minded father, Priscilla takes charge and brings the unconscious man into her home. When he awakens, he has no memory of his name or life so Pricilla calls him John and concocts a story about him being a distant American cousin.

John desires Priscilla but also wants to protect her. He remembers the ruffians who tied him up and left him in a shack and believes they are the key to his memory. He tries reasoning with Priscilla's father when she wants to lead an investigation of his abduction but her father is so wrapped up in himself he hardly listens. When he tries to reason with Priscilla she becomes snippy and finds ways to manage John, it's what she does best.

Together this couple follows leads to John's abductors but not to his past which remains cloaked in mystery. Pricilla desires John but masks her feelings with cool indifference and when she does not get her way she can become icy. This couple did not generate a lot of passion and the sexual tension is not there until very late into this novel. John's memory does return but that poses a new set of problems, mainly Pricilla is way too concerned about what people will think of her which came as a surprise as she never seemed to mind what others said about her being a confirmed spinster. Pricilla was just too prissy and she lacked a sense of humor, I don't think she laughed in the story and I pictured her wearing a frown in every scene.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Can't tell a book by its cover, September 11, 2010

By 

S. Carroll - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Scandalous (Hqn) (Mass Market Paperback)

I picked this up on the fly one day at the grocery. I recognized the name, but had never read anything by Ms. Camp. The cover was beautiful and the blirb had potential. Boy was I mistaken. Cardboard characters, predictable plot. I suppose I should be grateful for the gawfaws sparked by the ridiculous love scenes. In mortal danger, need to be really quiet? Let's pause and make out, 'cause that's what any intelligent person would do. Geesh. And by the way, that lovely pink dress had absolutely nothing to do with a single scene (good marketing, though!). So, I will leave Ms. Camp to her loyal fans, but I won't be one of them.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT "SO WILD A HEART" BUT. . ., February 22, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scandalous (Mass Market Paperback)

I read SO WILD A HEART (and another book whose name I can't remember) and fell in love with Candace Camp's style. Naturally I rushed to Amazon.com and ordered another book by Ms. Camp. That book was SCANDALOUS. The description was too much to resist but the actual story was a little bit of a let down. It is a somewhat light weight story compared to the other two books I've read by Ms. Camp. Not as much tension, sexual or mystery wise, the characters were too perfect (I like a little character flaw in my hero), and the story in general just didn't grab hold and make you want to stay up all night reading. Not a keeper but an okay read.