A rags-to-riches Regency story that will keep you turning the pages! Perfect for fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen. Can Prudence find her forever home…? 1795, England Miss Prudence Hursley, orphaned from a young age, has grown up at the Paddington Charitable Seminary for Indigent Young Ladies. Primed for service, she is now ready to take up a position as a governess. Full of trepidation as she takes the stagecoach to meet her employer at Rookham Hall, Prudence is sad to be leaving Nell and Kitty – her childhood friends who have replaced the family she lost and become like sisters to her. Prudence has been given a temporary position by Mr Julius Rookham to teach – or tame – his two young wards, who have so far had an unconventional upbringing. But when Prudence meets Julius she finds his changeable moods disconcerting. And it will take more than a little patience to turn the two unruly girls into refined young women, ready to enter society. With her future hanging in the balance, can Prudence make herself invaluable enough to secure a permanent position? And can Nell and Kitty advise her on how to handle the mysterious Mr Rookham…? PRUDENCE is the first book in the Governess heart-warming Regency romance novels with strong female lead characters.
Author
An avid reader from an early age, Elizabeth Bailey grew up in colonial Africa under unconventional parentage and with theatre in the blood. Back in England, she trod the boards until discovering her true métier as a writer in her thirties, when she fulfilled an early addiction to Georgette Heyer by launching into historical romance. Eight years and eight books later, Elizabeth joined the Harlequin Mills & Boon stable, fuelling her writing with a secondary career teaching and directing drama, and writing plays into the bargain. With 18 historicals published, Elizabeth turned to other genres, producing two titles (Fly the Wild Echoes and For One More Tomorrow) in the cross-genre literary/paranormal field as well as a suspense novella (Silence of a Stranger). She has several short stories available too and a guide for writers on editing. Continuing her foray into other genres, but returning to her favourite historical period, Elizabeth turned to mystery. She placed her female sleuth in the late Georgian world of intrigue, elegance, aristocrats and rogues, where privilege rubbed shoulders with the harsh realities of making ends meet. While Ottilia moves in the upper echelon of Society, she is thoroughly at ease in the lower, which allows Elizabeth to cross boundaries with impunity. These novels are now published with Sapere Books and the list continues to grow. Sapere also publish her Brides by Chance Regency Adventures, a series dedicated to the countless women who could not ordinarily hope for romance and marriage: poor relations, dowerless females, those who did not "take", orphans. In a word, the classic Cinderella heroine. Now retired from teaching, Elizabeth concentrates on writing and promotion, with a sideline in running an assessment critique service for writers.
