Showing results by narrator "Anthony Wren" in All Categories

The Marquis of Wynstanton had become involved with one of the beauties of London Society - Locadi, Lady Marshall and when her husband died unexpectedly, the Marquis set out on a long journey to India and Nepal, as he wished to avoid any gossip arising about their liaison. After his return, he resumed the affair, staying on in London for some time when he should have gone straight to Wyn Castle and his country estate. Then he began to suspect that Locadi was using black magic to entice him to her and to induce him to propose marriage.

The handsome Viscount Trent finally makes up his mind to accede to the pleadings of his family and get married. He is twenty-seven and for a long time they have been begging him to take a wife and produce an heir to his illustrious title, his famous stately home and his vast estate. On the whole he finds debutantes extremely boring and has enjoyed a number of affaires-de-coeur with older married women. However there is one girl, Marigold Marlow, he considers outstanding and she is the acknowledged great beauty of the Season.

Following the death of her husband, the Countess of Wenlock was living in her magnificent house in London with her son, Donald, and her beautiful daughter, Salvia. One day out of the blue Donald suddenly drops a bombshell. He tells his mother and Salvia that he has lost all their money by trusting an American acquaintance of his who claimed that he would invest it all safely and produce big profits for the family. Donald leaves at once for America to follow the man and hopefully recover all or part of their money.

The beautiful Georgina Malton is in America with her father, who is making large amounts of money in opening gold mines and is becoming even richer by investing in newly discovered oilfields. Georgina desperately wants to return to England because she finds that men are only interested in her for her father’s money and she is very disillusioned by a European Prince who claims that he loves her but it is her riches he is after. She so wants to be loved for herself. So she and her Nanny set sail for England and her father promises to follow soon.

Colonel Storton has set his mind on his beautiful daughter, Alvina, marrying a man with money and a grand title. When Lord Hillborough became their next door neighbour in the country, the Colonel considered him to be an excellent husband for Alvina, but she found him repulsive and could not bear even to be touched by him. She therefore decided to leave her home and run away to avoid having to marry a man she did not love and could never love. When she saw a large and impressive yacht at a nearby Port, she went aboard and hid as a stowaway.

The beautiful Belinda Lanwick has not attended the dinner party given by her cousin as she is still in mourning following the death of her beloved father. However, when the guests were leaving, she saw Lord Ian Cheddington and thought him exceedingly handsome. She knew that he was one of the most sought after young men in London and was considered the most eligible bachelor in the Social world. It is then that she overhears an indiscreet conversation between her cousin and a Countess.

Carina was alone in the world and unsure of what the future held for her. Then a troupe of musicians, called "Bertie's Beauties", had an accident outside her gates and she found herself swept up in their fate as she took over from their injured pianist. Now one of the troupe, she went to perform at the Duke of Westbury's castle, never suspecting that the Duke would turn out to be the young man she had met for a few dramatic moments many years before. To hide her identity she allowed him to see her only when she was masked.

The Earl of Wentworth has a fiery and unpredictable temper and is about to fight a duel in Hyde Park with a Frenchman who has insulted him, when he is restrained by his friend, Sir Thomas Babbington, and a helpful Policeman. At the same time the beautiful Temia Brandon is returning home from her Finishing School in France and is longing to see her horse, Lightning, again. Temia discovers that her father has been hiding a dark secret for many years and is now being blackmailed by the odious Lord Alphonse who threatens to reveal the secret and ruin the family’s reputation.

The Marquis of Darincourt who is the greatest matrimonial catch in the Beau Monde decides at last that he will get married and has chosen Lady Charlotte Warde to be his wife. He has been pursued for years by every debutante and ambitious mother, but he has, however, preferred the sophisticated married women who amuse him with their provocative wit and attractions. He is a hero from the war with Napoleon and the Duke Wellington had twice awarded him the Gold Medal for Bravery.

The beautiful Alvita who had lost both her parents, was living quietly in her family home in Southern Russia. Her father had been Russian and her mother had been English. Alvita was pleased to receive a visit from her brother, Ivor, but shocked when he told her that they must leave Russia immediately, as a Revolution was inevitable and would start very soon. He had brought with him his friend, Nicholas, who said that he would help them pack up as many of their treasures as they could and make their way to England. Alvita felt a little unsure of Nicholas, but thought that perhaps she might be mistaken.

Simona Bell, the lovely daughter of Lord Belgrave, has been invited by her friend, Karoline von Honentaal to stay with her family in Berlin. Simona finds that Karoline's father, the Baron, owns an amazing collection of art which interests her greatly. Alone for a moment, she finds her way into the Baron's private Sanctuary, where she admires an unusual Sedan Chair. Hearing voices and frightened she might be discovered, she slips into the Sedan Chair and closes the door.

The Earl of Bracken is meeting his good friend Captain Charles Kenwood at his Club in St. James's Street. He has just returned from a visit to Syria where he had been introduced to Sheik Abu Hamid, the owner of the most magnificent Arab horses the Earl has ever seen. They are both keen to buy horses from the Sheik who is reluctant to sell unless his greatest wish can be fulfilled.

The Earl of Cariston is faced with insuperable problems as he has completely run out of money. He has sold everything on his estate that he can, but even so there is nothing he can do to support those who rely on him and they are on the verge of starvation. In desperation he calls into his Club to find an old friend, Lord Shield, and tells him all his woes. Lord Shield is in a bad way himself, but does suggest that he visits a certain Mr. Randon who is temporarily in London and beg for his help.

Major Michael Moore has been playing a very dangerous part in the Great Game in India where he foils a plot to kill the Viceroy who tells Michael he is now a marked man and that he must return to England immediately. To his astonishment on his way home he reads in a newspaper that following the death of his grandfather he has become the Duke of Grangemoore.

Lady Lolita Vernon, daughter of the late Earl of Walcott and Vernon, has run away. Her stepfather, Ralph Piran, is forcing her to accept the attentions and perhaps an offer of marriage from his business partner, Murdock Tanner, who is very rich but old and repulsive. While she is trying to cover her tracks in London she bumps into a small boy, Simon, who is weeping because he has been beaten cruelly by his stepmother.

The Marquis and Marquise de Castillon, together with their young son Jean-Pierre, were forced to flee France for England when the French Revolution broke out in 1789. Jean-Pierre was educated at Eton and only returned to Paris when Napoleon came to power. It was not long before he joined Napoleon's Army, survived the Retreat from Moscow and was badly wounded at the Battle of Waterloo. Whilst in hospital, he became friends with Colonel Hubert Dawlish who was in the next bed.

The Duke of Norlington and his sister Lady Latasha are living quietly in the country very happily with their horses. The Duke receives a letter from an old Oxford friend who is now His Royal Highness Prince Kraus of Oldessa, a small Principality in the Balkans. The Prince asks the Duke if his sister would consent to marry his brother, Prince Stephan, as she is related to the Royal family, thereby giving Oldessa British protection from the Russians who are vying to take over as many States as they can in the Balkans.

If you like Downton Abbey you will love Barbara Cartland. Beautiful Jasmina Winfield is a thoroughly modern American girl who likes to make her own decisions. A skilled and daring horsewoman, she is used to taking care of herself and takes orders from no one - especially not a man. Arriving in Yorkshire from Missouri to visit her relations, the Duke and Duchess of Harley, Jasmina is captivated by the sad romantic tale of her near neighbour the reclusive Earl of Somerton.

Returning from finishing school in France, Louisa Hatton was full of enthusiasm for the life ahead. She was convinced it would be exciting and romantic. But her parents had already planned a very suitable marriage for her to Lord Westbridge, their new neighbour. He was a cold, hard man and he wanted Louisa despite her protests. Her parents would not support her. Her father owed Lord Westbridge money.

"How could you, Mama? Papa has not even been dead a year!" When the beautiful Lucia Mountford's mother remarries less than a year after her father's death on the Titanic, she is shocked when the family's fortunes suddenly go into rapid decline and her mother becomes ill. Deeply in debt, her stepfather borrows a considerable sum of money from the handsome but roguish Lord Winterton.