Some time ago on Twitter, Australian romance author Bronwyn Parry sparked a little trip down the memory lane by mentioning Anne Mather. It brought back memories of other popular romance authors:
- Lucy Walker
- Sara Craven
- Charlotte Lamb (a.k.a. Sheila Coates, Laura Hardy, Sheila Holland, Sheila Lancaster, Victoria Woolf)
- Essie Summers
- Carole Mortimer
- Penny Jordan
- Elsie Lee
- Jean Stubbs
- Sara Wood
- Margaret Summerville
- Margaret Way
- Anne Herries
- Betty Neels
- Emma Darcy
- Helen Bianchin
Their books can be found in almost every public library in the country, second-hand bookshops, charity shops and hospital libraries.
A few years ago I was hospitalised to have my suicidal appendix removed. While recovering in a NHS ward, I spotted a volunteer strolling in with a trolley crammed with M&B romances. Residents in the ward oohed and aahed at the sight of those books. One called out, “Do you have a Sheila Walsh?” It was 2003 and these 1950s/1960s romance novels were still popular? I couldn’t help but giggle.
It might be odd, but I never read Barbara Cartland‘s books. (I was given a copy and after reading four or five pages, I never bothered with it again. I was fourteen.) Catherine Cookson’s it’s-all-grim-up-north romantic novels were extremely popular.
As part of the six-month library training during the 1990s, I worked at various Essex County libraries including Chelmsford (Central), Witham, Basildon, Braintree, Maldon, Billericay, and Great Baddow. At all these libraries, there hadn’t been a day when a Catherine Cookson book wasn’t checked out. She was that popular. Maeve Binchy was another popular author. If it wasn’t them, then it would mystery authors like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers (whose name was all over the Witham Library). If not them, then Sidney Sheldon, Jackie Collins and that sort.
I really did my homework reading those M&B romances because library patrons had a habit of asking us finding M&Bs they wanted to read again. They rarely remembered authors’ names, but could remember some plot details. or some details of book covers, which drove me batty.
My favourite how-vague-can-you-be? question: “Black sunglasses. Open necked shirt. Black hair. Her hair was ginger. A helicopter in the sun.” Believe it or not, I managed to find the book. I can’t remember the title now, but it was a Margaret Way book. Of course, it was a rare success.
And no, I didn’t complete my library training. I was too busy flipping through books during shelving duty and chatting with patrons. Jo, a senior librarian at Chelmsford Central Library, sat me down and had a proper talk with me about my future. “Do you really think you could be a librarian?” Erm, yeah.
She smiled gently with a hint of impatience and repeated the question as if I didn’t hear it the first time. Erm, I suppose not. She nodded in agreement and said, “We would still love to have you on as a Saturday assistant. Perhaps in Children’s section?” I moved back to London a tad swiftly after that. It was fun while it lasted, though.
Quite a lot of them are still writing (Penny Jordan, Helen Bianchin, Anne Herries, Margaret Way, Carole Mortimer, Sara Craven, half of “Emma Darcy”) but Essie Summers isn’t, and some of hers are going for exorbitant prices on eBay. I wish I could pick up more of them at charity shops!
This is a definite trip down memory lane! Mills & Boon romance novels were my introduction to the genre. I particularly liked some of the Australian authors for some reason. Miranda Lee had a six-part series called Heart of Fire and I remember loving those. I wonder if I still have them somewhere? I’m sure there’s a treasure trove of trash at my mother’s house.
I also considered becoming a librarian. I even got accepted to do a Master’s in Library Science, but opted to do a post grad degree in History instead.
They are still popular today, half of my business has always been the older M&B, though the website is not fully developed with them yet, it will be the main focus. As I think people enjoy rediscovering favourites.
And considering the amount of time I spend in charity shops etc, the later Essie Summers are ridiculously hard to find!
Charlotte Lamb was my first M&B book with a sex scene when I was 12. Mum read it first and told me it was too adult for me, so of course I snuck a read when she was out. I read that book a lot. *g* Sara Craven, despite having been around for ages, is a recent discovery for me.
@Laura
I wonder why Essie Summers books are attracting high prices? Actually, I don’t think I have ever read a Essie Summers book. Do you still read those old M&Bs?
@SarahT
Australian authors were my favourite, too. Lucy Walker, particularly. Her heroines took no crap and tended to have an no-nonsense attitude, which was a thrill to the pre-teen me.
You and I seem to have similar life routes.
@Edie
I wonder why older M&Bs are still popular. Simpler times? I read a old M&B a couple of years ago that had an English heroine with a mini car and working as a secretary. There weren’t many complications and conflicts, just her resisting the lure of falling in love with her boss because she was afraid of losing her job, which she needed to support her teenage brother’s private school tuitions. I think the story set in the Cotswold. So English and so middle class.
@Kat
Charlotte Lamb’s books were nuts! Do you remember which one has the heroine bashing the hero’s head with a desk statue because he insulted her late father’s name?
The Essie Summers that are worth the most are the later titles, the ones not printed by Mills and Boon as they had a much smaller print run and I do not think they have been reprinted. Though there is also Macbride one which for some reason I don’t think got reprinted as much by M&B.
- With some I think it is the nostalgia of books they read when younger, glomming favourite authors backlists. That is what a couple of customers have said, for the others I have no idea why they are popular. lol
“Do you still read those old M&Bs?”
Yes, but it’s not out of nostalgia because I didn’t start reading M&Bs until quite recently. I’m doing research on them. I’ve been really enjoying discovering Mary Burchell. Jayne reviewed one of her novels recently at Dear Author. Some of Essie Summers’ seemed better than others, but I’ve enjoyed quite a few of them. I haven’t read a vast number of Charlotte Lamb’s, but I have the impression that she was an author who liked pushing the boundaries of the genre from time to time.
@Edie
Interesting. I should give Essie Summers and her Dutch doctors a try to see what the fuss is about.
@Laura
Yes, Charlotte Lamb was once seen as a boundary-kickin’ author, mostly because she didn’t close the bedroom door. I remember her most from a documentary in which she (along with her daughter, I believe?) was interviewed at her Isle of Man home about the romance genre or M&B’s “cottage” industry. She was apparently the first M&B author to break through the £1 million barrier during late 1970s or early 1980s.
Essie Summers doesn’t have Dutch doctors. That’s Betty Neels. I didn’t care for Betty Neels as a kid but now that I can read beyond torrid romance I love them. Essie Summers are special because her characters are ‘kindred spirits’ & the New Zealand backdrop is marvellous.
@Laura
I was curious about the documentary and found a reference in Sarah Holland’s wikipedia page:
“In 1993, BBC 2 filmed Sarah Holland and Charlotte Lamb for the 50 minute documentary Paradise Road directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe, who later married actor Martin Clunes. In 1996, a 30 minute documentary was made about Sarah Holland and Charlotte Lamb; Island of Dreams, Granada Television.”
I think it’s ‘Paradise Road’ that I saw.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Holland
“I should give Essie Summers and her Dutch doctors a try to see what the fuss is about.”
I think you might be getting Essie Summers confused with Betty Neels. Betty Neels had lots and lots of Dutch doctors. Essie Summers’s are usually set in New Zealand and quite often a heroine from the UK emigrates to New Zealand.
I love Essie Summers books and Betty Neels books. Essie and Betty are now both deceased. Essie wrote about New Zealand and Betty wrote about Dutch doctors.
I love Lucy Walker and Essie Summers books. I also love Iris Bromige books too. I have read as many of the books by these authors as I could get my hands on. I wish I could discover another author that measures up to these three. Any suggestions?
I don’t know, but I’ve just posted your question to see if the others would make suggestions. Probably not, but there you go: Question: Authors similar to Lucy Walker, Essie Summers and Iris Bromige.
Mary Burchell, Catherine George. The characters have character and each story has a story . LW. ES – each is a one of a kind but so are these two very individual, highly satisfying authors
Anne Weale! I reaaly liked her older books… “Never To Love” was the best!
My favourite older author (I discovered her as a teenager in the 70s!) is Jaqueline Gilbert – real characters, great stories, without any of the ‘weak/vulnerable/sacherine sweet heroines’ common in some of the older M & Bs. My fav 90s author is Susan Napier, and maybe some Robyn Donald. Unfortunately, Robyn Donald has recently got stuck in a ‘Royals’ rut and has become as repetitive & boring as bat-s…! I don’t mind some of the newer writers, but unfortunately, too many of them seem to think that all a good M & B needs is steamy sex scenes!The best writers know how to give enough description to make a story ‘steam’, without it becoming written porn!
This has really got me reminiscing now! Just recalled Anne Weale – her heroes were to die for! I desperately wanted to meet one when I was younger – in fact, I still do! All her books were fabulous!
Hi All Found your comments really interesting. My Grandmother passed last year and i have her collection of 1960/1970s Lucy Walker books. There are 20 which it took some time for her to find, we always had to look for her name when we passed a second hand book stall. I am going to get rid of them and am glad to hear people out there are still interested.
I love Lucy walker books I have several but I loved the Distant Hills by Lucy Walker. I had it but it was so old it came apart and now I would love to read it again.
Hi Theresa
I loved Lucy Walker’s novels, especially ‘A Man Called Masters’. It is always so sad when you have read all you can find of a good author, and you dream of turning up an undiscovered treasure!What do you plan to do with them?
Addicted to love….
I,m not really sure how to get rid of them. I had thought of putting them on ebay thinking maybe someone out there is looking for a particular book to add to their collection, seems quite hit and miss though- any suggestions? We have raised a good amount of money for her favourite local charity so far.
How much would you want for 1 book?
Your article is a good trip down the memory lane.
I love how you said you could find books with vague details of the plot.
I have a similar situation. Maybe you can help me. I hope you can.
I’m trying to trace the first M&B book I read.
It was about 18 years ago when I was around 12 or maybe an year or two later.
I don’t remember the name of the author or the title of the book but I remember the story quite well.
It is as follows:
the gorgeous Chris(topher) has amnesia due to a plane crash in the Seychelles. the doctor who treats him has a sister called Ariel. Ariel names him Kane. They fall in love. Chris writes a book about their romance based on The Tempest. after some time, Chris regains his memory but forgets the 3 months when he had amnesia. He tries to find out but fails. Ariel comes to the city and becomes a scriptwriter and tries to meet Chris. Finally Chris tries to release his earlier book as a novel in order to find out someone related to his amnesiac days. Ariel comes forward to assist him with it. How they find each other again forms the rest of the story.
Hope someone can tell me what the book is.
Enjoy vintage romances.
Sorry about the delay! I didn’t see your response until now.
It’s possible that you’re referring to “One Life at a Time” by Natalie Spark (1986)
Summary: “Her search was over, her problems starting…
For three years Ariel had looked for the vital stranger who, because of amnesia, had stumbled onto her island and into her life. A man she had called Kane.
Now, in London, she’d found her man–a man of a different world, again a stranger, who showed little awareness of ever being someone other than Chris Donahue.
Though inevitably drawn to each other, could they get over the feeling of being substitutes–haunted as they were by the memory of another time, another place, another love…”
Harlequin no. 2799
Mills & Boon Romance no. 2567
Hope this helps.
Hello, I`m not sure if it`s possible to find the name of this book especially as I can`t remember any of the character names or the author. Here goes, I believe it was set in Amsterdam. There was a doctor and I believe the heroine was a nurse who had a lousy boy-friend. They went to dinner and after arguing he leaves the restaurant and the lady holding the cheque with not enough money in her purse to pay. The doctor (who happens to be eating in the same restaurant) sees her predicament and pays for her meal. She somehow ends up at his home where he doesn`t want his family to let on that he is a millionaire. I believe he has two children who somehow, end up falling through or being pushed either the flooring or down some type of hole. The doctor rescues them. That`s all I remember. I know it`s not very much to go on but, there have been discoveries with less to go on. Thank-you
Whenever there is a mention of Holland, I think of Betty Neels because her medical romances are usually set there. That’s the best I can offer, I’m afraid.
Thank-you so much for even that much. I looked up books written by Betty Neels that were written prior to 1975. The only problem is that books that are from that time don’t have the information listed as to what the book is about. Can’t see myself buying all those books just to find that particular one. Unfortunately, I can’t ask the author.
Try one of these sites as they often have summaries and book covers (which I find useful as I remember covers more!):
Fiction Database:
http://www.fictiondb.com/author/betty-neels~5527.htm
Fantastic Fiction:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/betty-neels/
GoodReads
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24376.Betty_Neels
LibraryThing (better book cover collections)
http://www.librarything.com/author/neelsbetty
Hope this helps.
I have another old M&B that I hope someone has read and remembered. The name of the heroine was Genista Gray and she was a flight attendant who had a brother that I believe embezzled his employer. His employer gave her an ultimatum, marry him as he entertained quite a bit or see her brother be charged. She married him, took a while to get the hang of entertaining and ultimately left him and returned to flying. He followed and begged her to take him back. Tried the M&B website to no avail, hope I have better luck with these readers.
You may be referring to “Rightful Possession” by Sally Wentworth (1979)
“She had been coerced into this marriage!
To keep her younger brother out of serious trouble, Genista agreed to marry Marc Kiriakos, the hard and ruthless international tycoon for whom her brother had worked.
She assumed their marriage would be in name only. Marc had made it clear that his sole reason for taking a wife was to protect him from all the women pursuing him.
Only after they were married did Genista find out that he intended their marriage to be a real one….”
Mills & Boon Romance no. 1461
Harlequin Romance no. 2254
Mills & Boon Best Seller (reissue) no. 498
Nothing but that book turns up with a mention of ‘Genista’. According to some online reviews she’s an air stewardess, so I hope this is the right one!
Thank-you, that is the book that I’ve been looking for. Now if someone can recognize my other request as most of Betty Neel’s older books don’t give a description. thanks again
i am also looking for a M&B book, a compilation of 4 stories, but i don’t remember the title/ author. i hope someone can help me.
the first story is about 2 rich brothers, the younger one will dump the heroine to marry another, so the older brother/hero will propose a marriage of convenience to the heroine. he was afraid she may disrupt the wedding. as the story goes, he will help her to get over his younger brother by taking her to Brazil (he works there) and eventually she will fall in love with him.
the second story is about a young woman taking care of her sister’s kid and one day she will meet he old lover. he will think that the kid is his and forces her to marry him. she will agree but with vengeance on her mind. but later he will find out the truth about the child, they’ll argue and at the end resolve their problems.
i only remember these 2 stories and the cover was yellow, i think..:)
Ooh, that’s a toughie. You might be better off sending that to Sarah at smartbitchestrashybooks.com as she hosts HABO (help a bitch out) every Wednesday. Her readers are pretty good at identifying books similar to yours.
Here are some examples:
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/categories/category/help_a_bitch_out/
Sorry that I couldn’t help this time, but good luck if you submitted it as a HABO at SBs!
Thank-you for all the suggestions. I will submit my request to that site. Wish me luck.
Hi everyone, I found the book. It’s called Sun and Candlelight by Betty Neels. Thanks for all the wonderful website suggestions.
To ava27: I belive the author for both the books is Sally wentworth. The first one is Jilted and the second is Fatal Deception. She’s my fave. her heroines were far from the coy, simpering idiots of today. And her heroes were to die for.
Hi there, I wonder if you could help me.
I’ve desperately been trying to identify an old 1980s MB book. The story is set in Kenya, on a game reserve. The hero’s name is Jarrod, his wife is called Cathy. They are separated, as she miscarried their baby and he didn’t come to the hospital. However it is later revealed that he couldn’t come as he was mauled by a tiger.
Anyway, she makes a visit out to Kenya after being gone for two years, as she wants a divorce in order to marry another man. ( He also comes out to Kenya with her. Comparisons between the husband and fiance are made. The fiance is found lacking.)
Jarrod agrees to the divorce, however he says that Cathy has to spend one week with him on the reserve. She agrees.
During the week she realises she isn’t in love with her fiance, and eventually H & h are reunited.
Please please let me know if this rings a bell. I remember the cover of the book was orange and the H & h are in khaki safari suits.
It may be ‘A Forever Affair’ by Rosemary Carter
“”Welcome home,” he said softly
Despite its savage beauty, Marakizi, Jarrod’s African game reserve, was no longer home to Cathy. She’d come back because Jarrod had ignored her letter asking for a divorce.
But a few minutes in Jarrod’s presence was enough to create havoc in Cathy–body and spirit. With him there was none of the calm peacefulness she’d found with Stewart, the gentle man who wanted to marry her.
Admittedly, Jarrod was still in her blood, but Stewart was her future. Where was it carved in stone that Cathy could love only one man in her lifetime?”
Harlequin Presents no. 855
Mills & Boon Romance no. 2423
Bingo!! Thanks a lot.
hello i am looking for a mills and boon book that i once read but i cant remember the title.
a heroine who had left her husband because she thought he was unfaithful and fled to Scotland with their young son comes back to ask for a divorce. but then the son is kidnapped and at first she thinks he kidnapped the child. the woman moves back in with the husband while police are searching for the child.at the end they find out that the woman’s sister is the one who took the child
I think the book you are referring to is Abduction by Charlotte Lamb from 1981. Here is the book’s summary:
” Surely the most terrifying thing that could happen to any woman must be for her child to be snatched-and indeed it was without doubt the worst thing that had happened to Marisa; that moment when she came out of a shop to find baby Jamie vanished would always feel like the end of everything. For most women in that dreadful situation, though it would at least by some comfort to be sustained by their husband’s love-but for Marisa it only meant that it had brought her estranged husband Gabriel back on the scene; the last thing she had wanted to happen. For nothing had changed in the two years since she had last seen him; the same gap still yawned between them. And meanwhile-where was Jamie. ”
I read this one a long time ago myself. I hope this helps.
ahh thank you so much but unfortunately its not the book i was looking for
but it has an almost similar story to it.
I am looking for a romance novel. I think it was either 80s or early 90s. A college English student meets and falls in love with an arabian prince (i think his name is Allen). The prince father got wind of their relationship and sent out his younger son (Hassan) to pose as the lady’s other lover. Allen and the young student parted ways when he thought she was sleeping with his younger brother. The girl later had a child (Husseing) that she gave away to Allen because she could not care for him. Eleven years later, Allen brought the boy to the school that the lady was teaching in and requested that she become a private tutor to the boy but she has to promise not to reveal her real identity to the boy. In the end, Allen found out that Hussein was actually his son and not his nephew. He also found out that his father used his deceased brother to destroy his relationship with the english girl because he didn’t want his first son who happened to be a christian in a muslim household marrying an english girl. Can anyone help me locate the title of this novel.
Its an Anne Mather.
I found it! Its Castle of Sand by Anne Mather. She’s Ashley & he is Alain.
Thank you so much!
Hi
This will be a challenge.
I do not remember much of it but it was my first ever m&b book I had read and would like to read it again.
I read this book between 1984-1989 however the book could be older I brought it from a 2nd hand store. I feel it was set in England, (modern , the eighties). It was about girl coming home from school and her mother had married again or about to marry and she had step brother/s that later she falls in love with. I think the step brother is a builder or works with wood. One of the Parents could have died hence her coming back home. I think it has the word bachelor in the title or stepbrother
Thank you
Its an Anne Mather, but can’t remember the name
This isn’t the Anne Mather. That was the Hussan one.
Hi,
Another book request. I read this recently. The h starts work as a secretary. On her first day, she gets caught in the rain. Who should come to her rescue but her new boss, the H.
Anyway they are attracted to each other, but once he realises that she works for him, he tries to cool things down.
The h was in an abusive marriage. She has a toddler.
However, to make the H stay away from her, she pretends that she is still happily married.
Anyway, the flirtation goes on in the office. Then they spend the night together, and the H still thinks she is married, however he now knows that the husband beats the h, so he wants her to leave him…..
I think on the book cover they are both standing in a clinch. Can’t remember the names of the H & h though. I hope you can help!
Thanks
Hi,
About the book synopsis that I have outlined above…I forgot to mention, it’s not very old. It has one of those blue covers. It might even be as late as mid to late 2000s!
Please help!
hello i am looking for a mills and boon book that i once read but i cant remember the title.
a heroine who had left her husband because she thought he was unfaithful and fled to Scotland with their young son comes back to ask for a divorce. but then the son is kidnapped and at first she thinks he kidnapped the child. the woman moves back in with the husband while police are searching for the child.at the end they find out that the woman’s sister is the one who took the child
See the reply to your previous post #25 under Readerlicious….
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say excellent blog!
Hiya, I really need help finding this book. It’s about this blind heroine who helps other blind people come to terms with their loss of sight. She meets the hero,sparks fly & they are (more or less) a couple. One day,she decides to surprise him at home & catches him with another woman.With a broken heart,she flees the place & gets her eyes operated upon. The surgery is a success,but she has amnesia and forgets the bloke who broke her heart.Later, she goes somewhere & meets another man. Sparks fly again. Finally her memory comes back,this chap is the same bloke who broke her heart.The ‘other woman’ was only his sister & it all ends happily.I really hope someone somewhere has read this book !
The only blind heroine M & B I have read is”The Ivory Cane” by Janet Dailey. The girl was Sabrina, I think but I don’t remember the story details. Could it be your book?
I did read ‘The ivory cane’ hoping it’s ‘my’ book.No such luck. My book is written by one of the more popular authors & was published before 1990. If I’m right, it ought to be somewhere between the 1970′s & 80′s. I think it’s a Mills & Boon,but it could just as well be a Harlequin or Silhouette publication.Arrrgh! Thanks for trying,must say that I loved Janet Dailey as a teen!
Hello,
I am hoping someone can help me find this book. It’s an M&B, I believe the setting is down under – either Australia or NZ – in the late 80′s or early 90′s. I thought it may have been a Robyn Donald, but I have had no luck reading summaries of her books. In it, the H and the Hero meet at a gathering and there is instant attraction – they really like each other. At the same time, the H’s brother has recently separated from his wife as she has had an affair and he is devastated.
It turns out that she cheated with the Hero and the H is shocked and heartbroken by this news. The Hero tries to explain that he met her sister-in-law at some conference and they had a short, passionate affair and that he didn’t know that she was married. She, of course cuts all contact with him and is disgusted that he is the cause of all her dear brother’s misery, not to mention her own.
I believe she is a nurse or something and takes private cases. He tricks her into coming down to his estate to care for his sick or injured mother so that he can have her there and plead his case.
I really, really hope this will ring bells with someone. I read it back then when it was a new M&B release and have wanted to read again for years. I have also searched through other M&B authors from Australia and NZ with no luck! Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Hi
I recognised this straight away as I had recently re-read it! It is A Willing Surrender by Robyn Donald. I usually love her older books (spare me the later royal ones!!) and this one is not too bad!
http://www.amazon.com/Willing-Surrender-Robyn-Donald/dp/0373109768
You are AWESOME!!!!! Thank you soooooo much!! I agree, I’ve never read any of her later ones as they were hardly recognizable as the Robyn Donald of her earlier works! You don’t know how much I appreciate this.
Hi, I have 7 old hardcover with dustjacket mills and boons from the 1950/60s that I have picked up secondhand over the years from charity shops. The art on the dust jackets are wonderful.
Titles are Rose Burghley The Sweet surrender, Hettie Grimstead The reluctant Bride and Dream Street, My dear Doctor Anne Lorraine, fortune goes beggin by margaret malcolm, South to forget Essie Summers and when the Kookaburra laughed by Nana sharpe. I was wondering if they have any value? Does anyone collect mills and boon other than me?
I certainly don’t think they’re worth a fortune, Sue, but you could probably find a buyer for them on eBay. I’ve been buying vintage M&Bs for a while there and they come up for sale regularly. I tend to ignore the ones that are priced above what I’m willing to pay so I don’t know what the average price is but I get the impression that prices are increasing, and they tend to go for a bit more when they’ve got covers, particularly if the covers are in good condition. That said, I just bought a couple (with covers) at the cheaper end of the scale and they were around £4.50 each (including postage). I suspect the Essie Summers might be worth a bit more, because she’s a popular author.
thanks for your reply.
Ok, this is a bit of a toughie….This book is an old 80s from the MB Temptation series ( I think ). They were nearly always set in America.
Anyway, this one is set in New Orleans. The h & H had a fling about 6 years ago. He was from an illustrious French family settled in New O. I think the family got wind and made the H leave h, I can’t remember..
All I know is that the h has a daughter, and makes masks. She works on a stall selling her masks in the French Quarter ( there is a lot of reference to the F Qtr & Mardi Gras). In fact I think she is selling her masks at the market for the Mardi Gras carnival.
I can’t remember how H & h meet up again, but I think he is sort of wandering around the market place and suddenly sees h after so many years. She is desperate to keep the daughter a secret.
I think H comes to know the girl is his, as she is taken ill towards the end of the book ( or something like that).
The h has a soft sounding name like Amy, I think H has a french name, but nothing else is very clear.
Please help, desperate to find this book!!
I happened to come across a couple of old dog eared Mills and Boon romances for 20 pence each at my local charity shop most of them were by Betty Neel, I have to admit I have never read a Mills and Romances because they look so cheesy and perdictable and boy was i proved right when i read a few paragraphs from Betty Neel’s ‘a conveniant marraige’ i was in hysterics it was so badly written and cheesy, the so called hero is stilted and seems to have stepped right out of the 18th century his vocabulary is ghastly and more fitting in a Jane Austen novel, as for the heroine she is typically frumpy and dumpy and a wide eyed virgin—-purleeeeese I beg of you no more!
I luv mbs to the sole .i m in my late 20s but old book rocks.romance is must.a bit of friction is good. and happy endings followed by good night sleep.i luv chase.i respect myself to much.i m liberated person. to much i think……todays books r more into physical love.i hate that.respect your self.today people r missing romance……..get MBS old ones.u will luv them………understand the core……
the first mills and boon i read was about 1969 one of my mums friend gave it to me and i have never forgotten the title ; it was miss columbine and harley quinn i; i cant remember the author; but this started me on my love of romance novels ‘
The book Miss Columbine and Harley Quinn also known as Trust in Tomorrow was written by Margery Hilton 1970. You can view it here on Fantastic Fiction:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/h/margery-hilton/miss-columbine-and-harley-quinn.htm