Victorian Authors

Eminent Victorians, Lytton Strachey's wonderfully witty and Wildean quartet of biographies, stands out as one of the most radical and groundbreaking works of its genre. With relentless precision, Strachey explores the lives of four exemplars of the Victorian age: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold and General Gordon, irreverently bringing to light the flaws, strengths, ambitions and hypocrisies of these treasured legends.

The Victorian Plague is a satire on self-awareness, religion and philosophy. The title is an allegory to what eastern theology dubs the ego, its effect on the conditioning of the modern primate and civilization as it currently stands. It is the author's unfiltered zeitgeist and theory of reality. The author presents a deconstruction of our modern-day perception of what reality is, what it means to be alive and presents some subjective theories of the historical influences that led us to arriving at the awareness that we currently rest at.

All of London is abuzz over the imminent arrival of Wulfric Bedwyn, the reclusive, cold-as-ice Duke of Bewcastle, at the most glittering social event of the season. Some whisper of a tragic love affair. Others say he is so aloof and passionless that not even the greatest beauty could capture his attention. But on this dazzling afternoon, one woman did catch the duke's eye - and she was the only female in the room who wasn't even trying.

Growing up with four unruly brothers has made Freyja Bedwyn far bolder than most society ladies. From feisty manner to long, tumbling hair, Lady Freyja is pure fire - a woman who seeks both adventure and freedom. Adventure soon finds her on a visit to Bath, when a handsome stranger bursts into Freyja's room and entreats her to hide him. His name is Joshua Moore, Marquess of Hallmere, a man with a hell-raising reputation of his own who is quickly intrigued by the independent beauty.

With his laughing eyes and wild, rakish good looks, Lord Rannulf Bedwyn is a hard man to resist. To Judith Law, a woman in need of rescue when her stagecoach overturns, Rannulf is simply her savior, a heroic stranger she will reward with one night of reckless passion before she must become a companion to her wealthy aunt. Imagine Judith's shock when the same stranger turns out to be among England's most eligible bachelors, and when he arrives at Harewood Grange to woo her cousin.

Young. Ravishing. Exquisitely marriageable. From the moment he spies Lady Morgan Bedwyn across the glittering ballroom, Gervase Ashford, Earl of Rosthorn, knows he has found the perfect instrument of his revenge. But wedlock is not on the mind of the continent's most notorious rake. Nor is it of interest to the fiercely independent Lady Morgan herself...until one night of shocking intimacy erupts in a scandal that could make Gervase's vengeance all the sweeter.

As the fires of war raged around him, Lord Alleyne Bedwyn was thrown from his horse and left for dead - only to awaken in the bedchamber of a ladies' brothel. Suddenly the dark, handsome diplomat has no memory of who he is or how he got there - yet of one thing he is certain: The angel who nurses him back to health is the woman he vows to make his own. But like him, Rachel York is not who she seems.

In monetary matters, Jeremy Lockhart, Viscount Dearing, is used to being in control, but from his first sight of Lady Charlotte, his carefully cultivated world is rocked to its foundations. Determined to best her other, more eligible suitors, he goes to great lengths to ensure his betrothal to Charlotte. A locked black leather box holds the dark secret that has assured his success.

As the fourth daughter of a baron, Miss Hannah Fairchild has no dreams of grandeur when it comes to marriage. Forget a duke or an earl. The shy, spinsterly wallflower would be happy with a doctor or (even better) the bookseller's son. Unfortunately, if she wants to save her family from financial ruin - and her father from debtor's prison - a duke is precisely what she needs.

Lord Vaughn, Viscount Darlington, has a dark reputation for sinful pleasures, putting off even the most ardent mamas who crave his title for their unmarried daughters. They say he's dangerous enough to ruin a woman with just one look...but he can't resist the pleas of a woman who needs his help. This rogue might yet be redeemed. All of London adores Perdita Darby. She receives invites to every party and has eligible gentlemen willing to wait for her, but she has no desire to marry.

Furious at being tricked into marrying a woman who keeps a hedgehog in her pocket, Derek couldn't get away from Eleanor fast enough after their vows were read. It's been a year since he's seen her, and he has no plans to change that anytime soon - until his scheming cousin shows up and declares the union a sham. Now Derek has exactly one month to woo a wife he never desired and consummate a marriage he never wanted.

A shy wallflower, Caroline hasn't the faintest idea why the Duke of Readington chose her to be his bride. She could ask, but that would mean speaking to him...and she'd rather have a conversation with the devil Eric married Caroline for one simple reason: he wasn't in love with her. Having seen firsthand how love can bring a man to his knees, he's determined not to make the same mistakes his father did. After a winter storm leaves him stranded with Caroline, Eric turns around and finds himself stumbling over the wife he never wanted...but is slowly beginning to desire....or was it?

Notorious rogue Lawrence Russell has no desire to marry - or, heaven forbid, fall in love. Although he enjoys his fair share of pleasure, Lawrence prefers to protect his heart. Yet when he comes to the rescue of a brave and passionate Persian princess, he discovers his heart may be at risk from the very thing he's always feared....

As an innocent girl, Madeline Sedgewick learned that nothing comes without a price - even desire. Five years later, now widowed and deeply in debt, she's certain that the stranger who bought her last husband's notes of credit will demand swift, steep repayment. But she never imagines her creditor will be Brock Taylor, her baseborn former stable-hand turned newly wealthy entrepreneur - the man who stole her virginity and her heart. She's even more stunned when he says that he'll forgive her debts only if she becomes his wife.

Making Oscar Wilde reveals the untold story of young Oscar's career in Victorian England and post-Civil War America. Set on two continents, it tracks a larger-than-life hero on an unforgettable adventure to make his name and gain international acclaim. Combining new evidence and gripping cultural history, Michele Mendelssohn dramatizes Wilde's rise, fall, and resurrection as part of a spectacular transatlantic pageant. With superb style and an instinct for storytelling, she brings to life the charming young Irishman who set out to captivate the US and Britain with his words.

Elijah Seton steps into the world in pursuit of a ghost ship and those who murdered his father. He thought he knew his enemy, and he would do anything to see them fall. But he was wrong. Elijah's world is turned upside down when he finds a rare woman that his heart demands should fly free. Beatrice Hamilton lives with wealth and ease in her gilded cage. Until a new mill worker rattles her bars and gives her a glimpse of the freedom beyond. As the two work together, centuries of hate and anger are revealed that keep them apart.

Bram Stoker, despite having a name nearly as famous as his legendary undead count, has remained a puzzling enigma. Now, in this psychological and cultural portrait, David J. Skal exhumes the inner world and strange genius of the writer who conjured an undying cultural icon.

Leo Murphy believes in playing the odds, as long as the house wins. As the owner of Elysium, London’s most exclusive gambling hell, Leo’s existence depends on predicting his opponent’s next move. Rarely is he surprised. Until he meets the Lord Masterson's young bride losing at cards.

Lady Theodosia Barrington is practically begging to be ruined. That’s the assumption of the Marquess of Haven after spying Theodosia at a house party given by the Duke of Granby. After his father left him little else but a title and a crumbling estate, Haven is in desperate need of an heiress.

Lady Andromeda Barrington is the most unsuitable young lady in London. At least in the Duke of Granby’s opinion. Granby doesn’t care for bastard relatives or tainted pedigrees and Andromeda possesses both. Nor does he like opinionated young ladies who enjoy hurling insults in his direction. Andromeda is, in short, the most annoying creature he’s ever met. When she arrives, uninvited, to a house party given at his estate, Granby can’t decide whether to kiss Andromeda senseless or send her packing. Andromeda is the victim of infatuation and bad luck.