Part of Series
When the lovely but demure eighteen-year-old Safina, daughter of the Earl of Sedgewick, is called home from her Finishing School in Florence by her stepmother, Isobel, her heart leaps at the happy thought of going back to her beloved home, Wick Park, and seeing her father again after living abroad for so long. But to Safina’s dismay, Isobel has summoned her to return under false pretences to force her to marry the penniless Duke of Dallwyn, a gentleman she does not even know, let alone love! The Duke too has been duped and Isobel is using blackmail to coerce him into this marriage with Safina. So the reluctant bride and bridegroom meet for the first time at the altar in the family Chapel at the Duke’s house to seal their terrible fate. The whole plot is designed to ensure that the wicked Isobel can get her grasping hands on the enormous fortune left to Safina by her adored late mother. But, as the Duke discovers before very long, there is much more to the beautiful Safina than meets the eye. Finally events conspire to prove to all concerned that the magic of love is infinitely more powerful than evil.
Author
Dame Mary Barbara Hamilton Cartland was a English writer, during her long career, she wrote over 700 books, making her one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century. She sold over 1,000 million copies throughout the world, earning her a place in the Guinness Book of Records. The world's most famous romantic novelist, she also wrote autobiographies, biographies, health and cookery books, and stage plays and recorded an album of love songs. She was often billed as the Queen of Romance, and became one of the United Kingdom's most popular media personalities, appearing often at public events and on television, dressed in her trademark pink and discoursing on love, health and social issues. She started her writing career as a gossip columnist for the Daily Express. She published her first novel, Jigsaw, a society thriller, in 1923. It was a bestseller. She went on to write myriad novels and earn legions of fans, she also wrote under her married name Barbara McCorquodale. Some of her books were made into films. Ever the romantic, during WWII, she served as the Chief Lady Welfare Officer in Bedfordshire. She gathered as many wedding dresses as she could so that service brides would have a white gown to wear on their wedding day. She also campaigns for the rights of Gypsies, midwives and nurses. Barbara Cartland McCorquodale passed away on 21 May 2000, with 160 still unpublished manuscripts, that are being published posthumously.
