A Rose in Winter (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Erienne Fleming drew back from the hearth and slammed the poker into the stand, venting a growing vexation with the still young day..." (more)
Key Phrases: leather visage, leather helm, tower entry, Lord Saxton, Lord Talbot, Christopher Seton (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Debt-ridden Avery Fleming is determined to find a wealthy husband for his beautiful daughter, Erienne, so he can pay off his mountain of debts. Erienne, however, has refused every one of the old men her father has picked for her consideration. When she meets dashing American merchant Christopher Seton, she cannot deny her attraction to him, despite the fact that he wounded her brother, Farrell, in a duel, crippling him for life. However, when Seton asks for Erienne's hand in marriage, both she and her father refuse him. Instead, Erienne's father auctions her off to the highest bidder--the mysterious Lord Saxton, a man whose horrifying scars are hidden by a mask and cloak. Erienne comes to know her husband as a kind and gentle man, but when Christopher Seton returns to town, she cannot fight her attraction to him. She finds herself torn between her duty to the man she has wed and the call of her heart. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

The fairest flower in Mawbry is Erienne Fleming, the enchanting, raven-haired daughter of the village mayor. Charming, spirited and exquisitely lovely, she is beset on all sides by suitors, any one of whom would pay a king's fortune for a place in her heart. But Erienne has eyes for only one: the dashing and witty young Yankee, Christopher Seton.

But marriage for love is not to be, for her irresponsible and unscrupulous father, crippled by gambling debts, is intent on auctioning off his beautiful daughter to the highest bidder. And in the end, Erienne is devastated to find it is the strange and secretive Lord Saxton who has purchased her--a mysterious, tragic figure who wears a mask and a cloak at all times to hide disfiguring scars gained in a terrible fire some years back.

But in the passing days, Saxton's true nature is revealed to her. A gentle and adoring soul, he treats his new bride with warmth and abiding tenderness, yet appears to her only by daylight. She, in turn, vows to be a good and loyal wife to him. And then Christopher Seton reenters Erienne's world

Conflicted by emotions she cannot suppress, Erienne valiantly attempts to remain honorable to her elusive, enigmatic husband but feels herself irresistibly drawn to Seton's passion, his fire, and his secrets. Entangled in intrigues she doesn't yet understand, Erienne Fleming will soon have to make a devastating choice: between love and honor...between her duty and her heart. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm); 1983 edition (October 1, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380816792
• ISBN-13: 978-0380816798
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (123 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,437,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Beauty and the Beast type story, April 1, 2005

By	E. Lynch "romance book fanatic" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Rose in Winter (Mass Market Paperback)

I cut my teeth on romance with Kathleen E. Woodiwiss novels but gave them up in the early 80's because her style seemed so demeaning to women. "A Rose in Winter" was recommended in another reader's listmania listing and I was pleasantly surprised when I decided to give it a try! This novel is full of romance and intrigue and I was drawn in from the very beginning.

Poor Erienne is just a pawn to the men in her life. First she is little more than a servant to her nasty father and brother, pawed over by potential suitors and then finally sold as a wife to the highest bidder. She is "bought" by the reclusive and masked Lord Saxton and cannot bring herself to endure the touch of this scarred and crippled man. He woos her gently, dispersing her fear with his constant familiarity. During his gentle courtship, Erienne's heart begins to beat for another man, a bold Yankee, Christopher Seaton. Christopher and Erienne have a rather love/hate relationship, but his pursuit of her is relentless. Will she give in to Christopher and forsake her vows to the strange but strong Lord Saxton? Who is trying to destroy the Saxton's and what of the vengeful night rider who roams the country at night frightening some wicked men? There is redemption for some characters in this novel and retribution for others. You will cheer for the loyal tenants of Lord Saxton and the triumph over evil in the end.

Erienne, though weak at times became a proud and strong woman by the end of the novel and I was satisfied that she did the best she could for the times she lived in. An engrossing read, dark at times but kept my attention to the end. I can highly recommend this.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great escapism, Beauty and the Beast/The Phantom of the Opera-like romance..., August 26, 2005

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

This review is from: A Rose in Winter (Mass Market Paperback)

Someone recommended this book and I admit that I was reluctant to read it. After all, I am not a big follower of bodice rippers and I've read many mixed reviews of Kathleen E. Woodiwiss's work. However, I decided to give A Rose in Winter a whirl because I figured the book would supply good escapism during my train rides to work. Despite some loose ends and numerous bodice ripper cliches, A Rose in Winter was not only an entertaining train read, but also quite a touching and palpable love story. The year is 1792 in Northern England. Erienne Fleming is a raven-haired, blue-violet-eyed beauty facing a conundrum: her father wants to find her a wealthy husband who'd pay for his gambling debts. Each and every one of her suitors is hideous and ill-intentioned, wanting to get her into bed the moment they see her, all except the dashing Yankee Christopher Seton. Well, he does want to get into her panties, but he is by no means unattractive. Unfortunately, he is also her father's biggest creditor and the reason why she is forced to wed someone to begin with. He is also the reason why her brother lost feeling in one arm after challenging Christopher to a duel. And that is the reason why Erienne "hates" him. Avery, Erienne's father, bans Christopher from taking part of the auction block where Erienne is sold off to the highest bidder, an enigmatic and grossly disfigured man by the name of Lord Saxton becomes her husband. But while the masked monster lavishes and woos Erienne with expensive gifts and incredible kindness, it is the handsome, sardonic and roguish Christopher that steals her heart, and soon she will have to choose between the two rather mysterious men.

I like the whole fairy tale feel of this novel. Beauty and the Beast (the original version, not the Disney one) and The Phantom of the Opera are two of my all-time favorite stories and I like that this book follows a somewhat similar theme. Christopher Seton is my idea of the perfect man and I admire his bold, yet misguided determination to win Erienne over. I enjoyed his sardonic ways and the fact that he seemed amused with Erienne's constant rejections. Christopher and the beauty and beast storyline were the attractive parts of this novel. However, there are many things I wasn't happy about. Erienne is a very one-dimensional heroine. She is shallow to the max and I couldn't believe that she was still wary of Lord Saxton after spending so much time with him and witnessing his kindness and love for her. She turned down most of her suitors on looks alone. Also, I found it unbelievable that every man wanted to cop a feel or rape her the moment they saw her. Woodiwiss made the heroine sound luminous and based on the descriptions I imagined a young Elizabeth Taylor, but the men reacted as though they had never seen a beautiful woman before in their lives and those scenes were too exaggerated and unrealistic. And the damsel in distress stuff was overdone here as well. The woman had to constantly be rescued by either Saxton, Christopher or any other man that was conveniently there to help her. Most of her distress centered on men harassing her. The whole damsel in distress thing is so outdated to me. In fact, the whole language of the novel was extremely outdated, but that was kind of expected since the novel was first published during the 1980s. The novel in general was too long, too descriptive (with too much purple prose) and too predictable. I knew what would happen the second Erienne was bought off at the auction. But that part of the story is quite compelling. All in all, the novel served its purpose by providing an entertaining, romantic, albeit cheesy love story with a very appealing hero. I look forward to reading a Kathleen E. Woodiwiss novel whenever I'm in the mood for some brain candy escapism.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't as a rule read bodice rippers, but....., March 27, 2005

By	Morpheus's Dream (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Rose in Winter (Mass Market Paperback)

I am an avid reader and therefore must always have a book in hand. "A Rose in Winter" was the only one available at the time and though it is not of my preferred genre I was desperate. I LOVED THIS BOOK. Yes it was steamy but it was also believable for the time period and carried a high quality romance that was built between the damsel and her husband that was not based on looks since she never sees him without his mask. Yes, there is another man that pulls at her desire, but for all its worth her decision is to be with her husband which as it turns out is the best decision for everyone. Even if you are not a romance novel enthusiast I highly recomend this book! It is a much better version of "Phantom and the Opera." I only wish it were longer.