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    A Rose In Winter
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    A Rose In Winter
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    A Rose In Winter
    Ebook711 pages12 hours

    A Rose In Winter

    By Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

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    About this ebook

    The fairest flower in Mawbry is Erienne Fleming, the enchanting, raven-haired daughter of the village mayor. Charming, spirited and exquisitely lovely, she is beset on all sides by suitors, any one of whom would pay a king's fortune for a place in her heart. But Erienne has eyes for only one: the dashing and witty young Yankee, Christopher Seton.

    But marriage for love is not to be, for her irresponsible and unscrupulous father, crippled by gambling debts, is intent on auctioning off his beautiful daughter to the highest bidder. And in the end, Erienne is devastated to find it is the strange and secretive Lord Saxton who has purchased her—a mysterious, tragic figure who wears a mask and a cloak at all times to hide disfiguring scars gained in a terrible fire some years back.

    But in the passing days, Saxton's true nature is revealed to her. A gentle and adoring soul, he treats his new bride with warmth and abiding tenderness, yet appears to her only by daylight. She, in turn, vows to be a good and loyal wife to him. And then Christopher Seton reenters Erienne's world. Conflicted by emotions she cannot suppress, Erienne valiantly attempts to remain honorable to her elusive, enigmatic husband but feels herself irresistibly drawn to Seton's passion, his fire, and his secrets. Entangled in intrigues she doesn't yet understand, Erienne Fleming will soon have to make a devastating choice: between love and honor . . . between her duty and her heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061753329
    Author

    Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

    (1939 - 2007) Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, creator of the modern historical romance, died July 6, 2007 in Minnesota. She had just turned 68. Her attorney, William Messerlie, said that she died after a long illness. Born on June 3, 1939 in Alexandria, Louisiana, Mrs. Woodiwiss was the youngest of eight siblings. She long relished creating original narratives, and by age six was telling herself stories at night to help herself fall asleep. At age 16, she met U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant Ross Woodiwiss at a dance, and they married the following year. She wrote her first book in longhand while living at a military outpost in Japan. Woodiwiss is credited with the invention of the modern historical romance novel: in 1972, she released The Flame and the Flower, an instant New York Times bestseller, creating literary precedent. The Flame and the Flower revolutionized mainstream publishing, featuring an epic historical romance with a strong heroine and impassioned sex scenes. ""Kathleeen E. Woodiwiss is the founding mother of the historical romance genre,"" says Carrie Feron, vice president/editorial director of William Morrow and Avon Books, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers. Feron, who has been Woodiwiss's editor for 13 years, continues, ""Avon Books is proud to have been Kathleen's sole publishing partner for her paperbacks and hardcover novels for more than three decades."" Avon Books, a leader in the historical romance genre to this day, remains Mrs. Woodiwiss's original and only paperback publisher; William Morrow, Avon's sister company, publishes Mrs. Woodiwiss's hardcovers. The Flame and the Flower was rejected by agents and hardcover publishers, who deemed it as ""too long"" at 600 pages. Rather than follow the advice of the rejection letters and rewrite the novel, Mrs. Woodiwiss instead submitted it to paperback publishers. The first publisher on her list, Avon, quickly purchased the novel and arranged an initial 500,000 print run. The novel sold over 2.3 million copies in its first four years of publication. The success of this novel prompted a new style of writing romance, concentrating primarily on historical fiction tracking the monogamous relationship between a helpless heroines and the hero who rescued her, even if he had been the one to place her in danger. The romance novels which followed in her example featured longer plots, more controversial situations and characters, and more intimate and steamy sex scenes. ""Her words engendered an incredible passion among readers,"" notes Feron. Bestselling author Julia Quinn agrees, saying, ""Woodiwiss made women want to read. She gave them an alternative to Westerns and hard-boiled police procedurals. When I was growing up, I saw my mother and grandmother reading and enjoying romances, and when I was old enough to read them myself, I felt as if I had been admitted into a special sisterhood of reading women."" New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips, a leading voice in the women's fiction arena, says, ""We all owe our careers to her. She opened the world of romance to us as readers. She created a career for us to go into."" The pioneering author has written 13 novels over the course of 35 years, all New York Times bestsellers. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss's final literary work, the upcoming Everlasing, will be published by William Morrow in October 2007. ""Everlasting is Kathleen's final gift to her fans,"" notes Feron. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, who was predeceased by her husband and son Dorren, is survived by sons Sean and Heath, and numerous grandchildren.

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    Reviews for A Rose In Winter

    4/5

    292 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is my 2 nd favorite historical live story ever. My first is her book Shanna.
    • 4/5
      Started slow, but turned out quite interesting. Woodiwiss never fails to amuse.
    • 5/5
      You will love it, if historical romance is your thing?
    • 5/5
      I just reread this book after many years and again it was a "can't put it down until its finished" read. The characters are so well written. This book has a great storyline with enough adventure and humor to keep you engaged in continuing to read it. You want to know how the story ends and it is the true definition of historical romance that only Kathleen Woodiwiss could bring you.
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed it
    • 5/5
      It was my first ever romance book and i just HAD to read it again. Totally loved it.
    • 5/5
      I am not sure how many times I have read this book over the years but it has been quite a few. I fell in love with Ms. Woodiwiss' writing with the first book I read, The Wolf and The Dove. I have read all the others and enjoy them each time I read them. I was very sad when I read that Kathleen E. Woodiwiss died. She was an exceptional storyteller and a ground breaker. If you haven't read any of her books then please do. Her heroes are alpha males that resist falling in love with all their might but when they do they cherish their chosen lady. The ladies are feisty and more than willing to defend their men and their homes. This book is set in the late 18th Century. Ms. Woodiwiss has done her homework and researched her book well enough that you can almost see and feel the period that she is writing about.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This book was super romantic, and the connections to the Phantom of the Opera love story were evident. Loved it.
    • 4/5
      A Rose in Winter is a version of Beauty and the Beast. Erienne is forced into marriage due to her father's gambling debts. The man he owes the money to is Christopher Seton who has fallen for Erienne. Erienne's father will not allow the courtship and ends up "selling" her to the highest bidder. Christopher is banned from the bidding but places bids under his titled name of Lord Saxton. Lord Saxton is said to have been burned in a fire that destroyed his family home. Whenever he appears in public it is with a leather mask, cloak, a limp and leather gloves. Erienne eventually falls for him but still has feelings for Christopher.
    • 5/5
      My older sisters gave me this book to read when I was still in middle school. (I started reading romance novels early because I wanted to be like my sisters.) Well, as young as I was, I fell in love with this book. I read it every summer for years. Sometimes even on Christmas break. My sisters and I even talked about what actors would play the characters in the movie, if ever they made one. I love the whole beauty and the beast aspect of it.
    • 5/5
      This book is my absolute all time favorite book by anyone. I was hooked on Woodiwiss after reading this book and went on to read everything she ever published.
    • 3/5
      As always with Woodiwiss, her heroine is too beautiful to be believed and her hero too handsome and strong. Despite her headstrong refusal to bend to anyone's will but her own, he loves her. And although she cannot see him clearly and is attracted to his cousin, she begins to care for him. This tale shares some elements of Beauty and the Beast - with a beautiful woman at the mercy of a shrouded and sometimes snarling male. It is a bit silly and sometimes requires quite a suspension of disbelief. Despite this, it's an enjoyable romp with an interesting mix of drama, romance and comedy.
    • 3/5
      Reasonably entertaining (but predictable) Beauty and the Beast Plot. Erienne Fleming's father, the hard drinking and gambling mayor of their northern England town needs to sell her in marriage to the highest bidder to pay off his gambling debts. Handsome Yankee Christopher Seton wants Erienne, but since Christian is the one he owes the greatest debt to, Christian is banned from bidding for her hand. Instead, Erienne's hand is purchased by the mysterious Lord of Saxton who was horribly injured and scarred for life in a fire. Erienne is as first horrified by her new husband's appearance and fights her growing attraction to Christopher at the same time and thus begins KEW's take on the Beauty and the Beast. Unfortunately, as much fun as KEW's romances can be to read, this book has some major flaws. The big twist in the plot is pretty easy to figure out -- as other reviewers have noted. In fact, almost everything in the book is pretty easy to figure out. The bad guys were inept and almost cartoonish in their bad deeds. Erienne is supposed to be intelligent and well educated, but her initial reactions to her disfigured husband just don't ring true, Stuart was nothing but kindness itself and a very gentle and loving husband. She was always running off and getting herself into a pickle so that Christopher could rescue her, and I have to agree with the other reviewers in that it got to be just a tad bit over the top that every man in the book was dying to jump her bones. All in all, not the worst in the historical romance genre, but far from the best either and certainly not one of KEW's better efforts (which would be Ashes in the Wind), but well suited for a rainy Sunday afternoon easy on the brain type of fluff. I'm sorely torn between a two and three star rating, so I'm calling it at 2.5 stars rounded it up to three.
    • 1/5
      My first experience with Woodiwiss will probably also remain my only one... too much detail, too much time before the pace of the story picked up, and didn't like her prerences for long sentences and conversations in 'old english'.