Hugo, Lord Mandersley won Miss Lucia Mannering from her stepfather in a card game. They were all drunk and Hugo did not intend to accept his prize, but Lucia insisted; she would not stay another moment under her stepfather's roof. So Hugo took her to his Aunt Aurelia. With her wonderful voice (her mother had been an Italian singer), Lucia was soon the toast of London, but she was pursued by another man who would have her, not only for her beauty but to spite his enemy Hugo.
Sheila Walsh was a reliable storyteller and knew how to hold a reader's interest, but this is one of her lesser works. It contains too many already familiar elements - kidnappings, a duel to the death, Prinny on the prowl, young men off to the wars, a hero and heroine perpetually at odds. It is readable but not remarkable. It does have a lovely Allan Kass cover, even though the heroine's hair color is wrong; maybe he didn't get the memo :)
Sheila Walsh was a reliable storyteller and knew how to hold a reader's interest, but this is one of her lesser works. It contains too many already familiar elements - kidnappings, a duel to the death, Prinny on the prowl, young men off to the wars, a hero and heroine perpetually at odds. It is readable but not remarkable. It does have a lovely Allan Kass cover, even though the heroine's hair color is wrong; maybe he didn't get the memo :)
