Since the death of her almost bankrupt father, the beautiful Andrea Clerefall has been reduced to the status of a drudge under the stern eye of her stepmother and her two unpleasant stepsisters. Her only friend is her late mother’s old Nanny, Hattie, who is teaching her the art of embroidery. When Andrea encounters by chance the new Viscount at nearby Mannerly Hall and falls for his considerable charms, she never dares dream that her fortunes will soon be closely entwined with his.
Unexpectedly she and her stepfamily are invited to the Mannerly masked ball, but her stepmother spitefully ensures that Andrea is excluded from the glittering occasion. However Hattie comes to the rescue at the last minute and in the guise of ‘Griselda’, Andrea goes to the ball where she is a sensation and attracts the attentions of the Viscount, who by the end of the night declares that he will never let her escape him.
But escape she must as she is not of his class. By the time he discovers who she is, his heart is in chains to the calculating Lady Bethel and Andrea herself faces a life of degradation as the employee of the nefarious Madam Fabrice in the heart of London. Only love can free her and only her love can break the chains that hold the Viscount imprisoned.
Find out what happens to Andrea and how her prayers are eventually answered in this intriguing story by BARBARA CARTLAND.
Barbara Cartland was the world’s most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages. As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation. Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world. She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven. Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed. Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone’s life.
