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Lady in Green
Escaping an arranged marriage, Annalise Avery takes employment at Lord Gardiner's townhouse and, disguised as his housekeeper, vows to end the lord's lascivious and despicable ways.
HER SITUATION IS ONE OF DISMAY, DISILLUSIONMENT, AND DIRE PERIL....
Annalise Avery would rather run away than marry the despicable man her stepfather has chosen for her. All he wants is her fortune anyway. Escaping with two servants, Annalise takes employment at Lord Gardiner's town house, disguised as a housekeeper. No one suspects that the new housekeeper for his wild lordship's London pied-a-terre is a diamond of the first water and a famous horsewoman.
But as Annalise becomes familiar with Gardiner's tomcatting, she vows to thwart the despicable man and is lascivious ways. Sleeping powders in the wine and fleas in the bed do just the trick!
In the meanwhile, his lordship has grown quite preoccupied by the very mysterious Lady in Green who rides through the park atop a magnificent steed, spurring hearts young and old-including his own!
HER SITUATION IS ONE OF DISMAY, DISILLUSIONMENT, AND DIRE PERIL....
Annalise Avery would rather run away than marry the despicable man her stepfather has chosen for her. All he wants is her fortune anyway. Escaping with two servants, Annalise takes employment at Lord Gardiner's town house, disguised as a housekeeper. No one suspects that the new housekeeper for his wild lordship's London pied-a-terre is a diamond of the first water and a famous horsewoman.
But as Annalise becomes familiar with Gardiner's tomcatting, she vows to thwart the despicable man and is lascivious ways. Sleeping powders in the wine and fleas in the bed do just the trick!
In the meanwhile, his lordship has grown quite preoccupied by the very mysterious Lady in Green who rides through the park atop a magnificent steed, spurring hearts young and old-including his own!
246 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 22, 1993
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96 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Metzger
103 books200 followersBarbara Metzger is the author of over three dozen books and a dozen novellas. She has also been an editor, a proof-reader, a greeting card verse-writer, and an artist. When not painting, writing romances or reading them, she volunteers at the local library, gardens and goes beach-combing and yard-saling.
Her novels, mostly set in Regency-era England, have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA, the National Reader's Choice Award, and the Madcap award for humor in romance writing. In addition, Barbara has won two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times Magazine.
Source: http://www.barbarametzger.com/about_b...
Her novels, mostly set in Regency-era England, have won numerous awards, including the Romance Writers of America RITA, the National Reader's Choice Award, and the Madcap award for humor in romance writing. In addition, Barbara has won two Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times Magazine.
Source: http://www.barbarametzger.com/about_b...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
March 20, 2019
The hero is a rake and the heroin is a shrew *sigh*
There's no chemistry between the H/h. It's just about the housekeeper tried to thwart the earl's assignation in the name of the moral. And their banter is not that interesting. Too shrewish.
There's no chemistry between the H/h. It's just about the housekeeper tried to thwart the earl's assignation in the name of the moral. And their banter is not that interesting. Too shrewish.
July 6, 2024
Review from 2016
B for narration; C for content.
I’ve enjoyed a number of Barbara Metzger’s Regency Romances in print, and decided to listen to the recently released Lady in Green as it’s one I haven’t yet read. Her books are undoubtedly fluffy; those I’ve read are humorous and lively with lots of fun dialogue – and the synopsis of this – in which a young heiress in disguise becomes the housekeeper for a notorious rake – sounded as though it would be a nice, light-hearted listen.
But I’m sorry to say that while it’s definitely light-hearted, I disliked the principal storyline intensely. I know it’s meant to be madcap and zany; and perhaps it was in 1993 when the book was originally published, but over twenty years later, the heroine’s sanctimonious, holier-than-thou attitude got on my nerves to such an extent that it’s a miracle I stuck it out for the whole (almost) seven hours.
When Lady Annalise Avery overhears a conversation between her fiancé and her step-father in which the former makes no bones about the fact he intends to keep his mistress after his marriage, she is furious and refuses to go ahead with the nuptials. Her step-father – who has made a deal with the fiancé to share in Annalise’s large dowry – is intent on forcing the match, so Annalise runs away, cleverly covering her tracks to make it look as though she has headed off to Bath or a couple of other locations, when she has in fact doubled back to the estate to request help from her old nurse and her husband, a former gentleman of the road.
To cut a long story short – and I have to say that this part, detailing Annalise’s roundabout journey to London with Henny and Rob does drag – the three end up at the home of Annalise’s aunt, Lady Rosalind, who is currently abroad with her friend, Lord Elphinstone. Annalise has been assured that she can stay as long as she likes, and the three settle in as stable master, cook and housekeeper.
Ross Montclaire, Lord Gardiner (known as Gard to his friends and also as en Garde owing to his prowess with his sword) is fed up with his mother’s constant criticism of his way of life and her continual nagging at him to get married, so he decides to set himself up a little pied à terre where he can come and go as he pleases and entertain his filles du jour (or, really, filles du nuit *wink*). He is pleased to discover that Lord Elphinstone’s house in Bloomsbury is available to rent while the gentleman is abroad, and even though the housekeeper is quite possibly the most unprepossessing woman Gard has ever seen, he is impressed with the cook’s culinary skills and with the care and knowledge of horses shown by the stable master. He decides to take the house and all is going well until he informs the housekeeper that he will be bringing his various light o’ loves to the house of an evening.
Annalise is horrified at the thought that the house she has come to regard as home is going to be turned into some kind of bordello, and immediately sets about sabotaging her employer’s love life. One woman is given a sleeping draught; another runs screaming from the house when she sees the array of whips and manacles in Gard’s bedroom; on another occasion, Annalise lets a flea-infested dog sleep in the earl’s bed so that he and his ‘guest’ for the night get bitten to shreds, and another night, she puts an ‘inhibitor’ in his drink, so …
He’d been a three-bottle, four-barmaid man in his salad days. Obviously his salad was wilted.
– and in addition, she doesn’t scruple to tell her employer exactly what she thinks of him. I had a real problem with this. For one thing, Annalise is in Gard’s employ and for a servant to address a nobleman the way she talks to him should have led to instant dismissal. But most importantly – what business is it of hers what he gets up to in his own house?
Fortunately for Annalise, Gard is incredibly lenient with her and allows her to remain in her post. Even so, she continues to interfere in order to keep the house a strictly no-nookie zone – and it’s perhaps not to Gard’s credit that he fails to twig that his enforced celibacy is due to more than a string of strange accidents.
While Gard is trying to get his leg over each night, during the day, he makes the acquaintance of the mysterious Lady in Green who has begun to take early morning rides in Hyde Park. Heavily veiled, and accompanied only by a couple of beefy, taciturn grooms, nobody knows who this woman is, but judging from her perfect posture and the quality of her mount, she is widely rumoured to be everything from a foreign princess to an extremely expensive courtesan. When a group of young bucks gets too close to her one morning, Gard rides to the rescue and thereafter offers to be her escort.
Of course, we all know where this is going, and Gard is naturally furious when he finally works out who his annoying housekeeper really is and what she’s been up to. The romance, such as it is, is rushed and based on little other than physical attraction and the characters are two-dimensional. Gard is a decent chap at heart, and while he certainly is – or tries to be – promiscuous, he’s kind and good-hearted, but there’s not much more to him; and Annalise is such a self-righteous prig that I really don’t know what he saw in her other than her looks.
Stevie Zimmerman is a prolific narrator of historical romance, and is particularly well suited to this sort of light-hearted comedic story. She doesn’t overplay the comedy or play it for laughs, opting instead to let the humour come through from the words alone; and while I really didn’t like Annalise’s interfering tactics, some of them are nonetheless quite funny as is the gossip which starts circulating as a result. The cast of characters isn’t large, but Ms. Zimmerman’s differentiation is good throughout, and although she doesn’t lower the pitch of her voice overmuch to portray the men, she does ensure there’s a good contrast between characters of different gender and there is never any question of who is who in any one scene. I liked her portrayal of Gard in particular; he sounds attractively masculine and she effectively conveys his variety of emotional responses – his frustration and despair, his kindness and his compassion, making him the most sympathetic character in the book.
One thing I’ve noticed in other titles I’ve listened to by this narrator is that the sound quality isn’t as good as that of the vast majority of the audiobooks I listen to these days. Right from the start, there’s a tinny quality to the sound and to my ears, there is too much treble and not enough bass and mid-tones. I also noticed a repeated phrase at around 4:15:45, as well as a handful of mispronunciations. Overall, however, Ms. Zimmerman gives a solidly accomplished performance and if she could somehow improve the sound quality of her recordings, I’m certainly not against listening to more of them.
B for narration; C for content.
I’ve enjoyed a number of Barbara Metzger’s Regency Romances in print, and decided to listen to the recently released Lady in Green as it’s one I haven’t yet read. Her books are undoubtedly fluffy; those I’ve read are humorous and lively with lots of fun dialogue – and the synopsis of this – in which a young heiress in disguise becomes the housekeeper for a notorious rake – sounded as though it would be a nice, light-hearted listen.
But I’m sorry to say that while it’s definitely light-hearted, I disliked the principal storyline intensely. I know it’s meant to be madcap and zany; and perhaps it was in 1993 when the book was originally published, but over twenty years later, the heroine’s sanctimonious, holier-than-thou attitude got on my nerves to such an extent that it’s a miracle I stuck it out for the whole (almost) seven hours.
When Lady Annalise Avery overhears a conversation between her fiancé and her step-father in which the former makes no bones about the fact he intends to keep his mistress after his marriage, she is furious and refuses to go ahead with the nuptials. Her step-father – who has made a deal with the fiancé to share in Annalise’s large dowry – is intent on forcing the match, so Annalise runs away, cleverly covering her tracks to make it look as though she has headed off to Bath or a couple of other locations, when she has in fact doubled back to the estate to request help from her old nurse and her husband, a former gentleman of the road.
To cut a long story short – and I have to say that this part, detailing Annalise’s roundabout journey to London with Henny and Rob does drag – the three end up at the home of Annalise’s aunt, Lady Rosalind, who is currently abroad with her friend, Lord Elphinstone. Annalise has been assured that she can stay as long as she likes, and the three settle in as stable master, cook and housekeeper.
Ross Montclaire, Lord Gardiner (known as Gard to his friends and also as en Garde owing to his prowess with his sword) is fed up with his mother’s constant criticism of his way of life and her continual nagging at him to get married, so he decides to set himself up a little pied à terre where he can come and go as he pleases and entertain his filles du jour (or, really, filles du nuit *wink*). He is pleased to discover that Lord Elphinstone’s house in Bloomsbury is available to rent while the gentleman is abroad, and even though the housekeeper is quite possibly the most unprepossessing woman Gard has ever seen, he is impressed with the cook’s culinary skills and with the care and knowledge of horses shown by the stable master. He decides to take the house and all is going well until he informs the housekeeper that he will be bringing his various light o’ loves to the house of an evening.
Annalise is horrified at the thought that the house she has come to regard as home is going to be turned into some kind of bordello, and immediately sets about sabotaging her employer’s love life. One woman is given a sleeping draught; another runs screaming from the house when she sees the array of whips and manacles in Gard’s bedroom; on another occasion, Annalise lets a flea-infested dog sleep in the earl’s bed so that he and his ‘guest’ for the night get bitten to shreds, and another night, she puts an ‘inhibitor’ in his drink, so …
He’d been a three-bottle, four-barmaid man in his salad days. Obviously his salad was wilted.
– and in addition, she doesn’t scruple to tell her employer exactly what she thinks of him. I had a real problem with this. For one thing, Annalise is in Gard’s employ and for a servant to address a nobleman the way she talks to him should have led to instant dismissal. But most importantly – what business is it of hers what he gets up to in his own house?
Fortunately for Annalise, Gard is incredibly lenient with her and allows her to remain in her post. Even so, she continues to interfere in order to keep the house a strictly no-nookie zone – and it’s perhaps not to Gard’s credit that he fails to twig that his enforced celibacy is due to more than a string of strange accidents.
While Gard is trying to get his leg over each night, during the day, he makes the acquaintance of the mysterious Lady in Green who has begun to take early morning rides in Hyde Park. Heavily veiled, and accompanied only by a couple of beefy, taciturn grooms, nobody knows who this woman is, but judging from her perfect posture and the quality of her mount, she is widely rumoured to be everything from a foreign princess to an extremely expensive courtesan. When a group of young bucks gets too close to her one morning, Gard rides to the rescue and thereafter offers to be her escort.
Of course, we all know where this is going, and Gard is naturally furious when he finally works out who his annoying housekeeper really is and what she’s been up to. The romance, such as it is, is rushed and based on little other than physical attraction and the characters are two-dimensional. Gard is a decent chap at heart, and while he certainly is – or tries to be – promiscuous, he’s kind and good-hearted, but there’s not much more to him; and Annalise is such a self-righteous prig that I really don’t know what he saw in her other than her looks.
Stevie Zimmerman is a prolific narrator of historical romance, and is particularly well suited to this sort of light-hearted comedic story. She doesn’t overplay the comedy or play it for laughs, opting instead to let the humour come through from the words alone; and while I really didn’t like Annalise’s interfering tactics, some of them are nonetheless quite funny as is the gossip which starts circulating as a result. The cast of characters isn’t large, but Ms. Zimmerman’s differentiation is good throughout, and although she doesn’t lower the pitch of her voice overmuch to portray the men, she does ensure there’s a good contrast between characters of different gender and there is never any question of who is who in any one scene. I liked her portrayal of Gard in particular; he sounds attractively masculine and she effectively conveys his variety of emotional responses – his frustration and despair, his kindness and his compassion, making him the most sympathetic character in the book.
One thing I’ve noticed in other titles I’ve listened to by this narrator is that the sound quality isn’t as good as that of the vast majority of the audiobooks I listen to these days. Right from the start, there’s a tinny quality to the sound and to my ears, there is too much treble and not enough bass and mid-tones. I also noticed a repeated phrase at around 4:15:45, as well as a handful of mispronunciations. Overall, however, Ms. Zimmerman gives a solidly accomplished performance and if she could somehow improve the sound quality of her recordings, I’m certainly not against listening to more of them.
October 10, 2014
Light and fluffy, this story is like candy floss. Annalise, the protected back country issue of a disinherited Viscount and a wealthy coal merchant's daughter runs away from a mercenary step father and fiancé. Assisted by her ever loving nanny and her retired highwayman husband, Annalise reached London in search of shelter with her aunt, who it turns out, is away in Vienna. As the aunt's house is to rented be out to a lordling the young lady and her two cohorts decide to stay incognito and hire out as staff. Thus Annalise morphs into Annie Lee - hunchbacked hag of a housekeeper, with her helpers playing cook and groom. Trouble comes in the guise of Lord 'Gard' Gardiner, known in the ton as 'En Gard' for his sexual proclivities, which even a disapproving, handy-with-her-cane mother (who's haunted by her husband's even more disapproving-of-his-son ghost), cannot keep in check.
Gard rents the house with its retinue of staff hoping to use it as a pied a terre. Annie, nanny and Rob the ex-highwayman contrive endless ways to stop Gard from successfully concluding any of the numerous amorous liaisons he attempts in the rental. All this as Annie cannot stand the idea of the house she's staying in being used for base activities. She, in the meanwhile, cannot resist the temptation to go riding on her magnificent horse, albeit veiled, to avoid identification, and unwittingly becomes the cynosure of the ton who name her Lady in Green and try to find out who she is. Gard falls in love at first sight with the mysterious Lady in Green - all because she's this exceptional horse rider, who's gutsy enough to fend off unwanted attention and likes to stay silent! He discovers the step father's dastardly plot to find Annalise and hold her captive or declared insane so he can sponge off her fortune. And begins to suspect that the mysterious lady is the missing heiress.
In the meanwhile, at home, Gard is in turns furious and in turns fascinated by his ugly housekeeper, Annie, remaining unsuspicious of the untoward incidents happening to his inamoratas and himself at the rented house; which doesn't say much for his intellect. But then, that's not exactly what he's best known for. Added to that is his lack of suspicion that there's more to Annie than the obvious make believe ugliness-despite hearing her play complex musical scores competently, her imperious manner and other such give aways. With much help from the universe, he finally realises that Annalise and Annie are one and the same, and comes to her rescue in the nick of time. And providing the running humour element to the story, is Gard's inability to get his way with any of the women he chooses due to a variety of reasons, leading to the rumour that his duelling days are over. His tryst with Annie also suffers the same fate thanks to his mother and her aunt, who arrives just in time to throw a spanner in the works. Annie is enfolded into Gard's mother's dignified embrace, who is just relieved that he's chosen a woman, and that too a rich one who is a Duke's grand daughter.
Gard comes across as a handsome, rich, physically fit and highly sexed aristocrat whose concerns, for the most, don't extend beyond his immediate pleasures - not exactly my idea of either an alpha or an adorable beta. Annalise is prudish, understandable due to her innocence and morals. Her tricks to keep Gard away from sexual profligacy at the rented house verge on the extreme and should have lead to straight out discovery - leading me to suspect that both the hero and heroine suffered early childhood developmental delays of the brain - insufficient vitamins?
Gard rents the house with its retinue of staff hoping to use it as a pied a terre. Annie, nanny and Rob the ex-highwayman contrive endless ways to stop Gard from successfully concluding any of the numerous amorous liaisons he attempts in the rental. All this as Annie cannot stand the idea of the house she's staying in being used for base activities. She, in the meanwhile, cannot resist the temptation to go riding on her magnificent horse, albeit veiled, to avoid identification, and unwittingly becomes the cynosure of the ton who name her Lady in Green and try to find out who she is. Gard falls in love at first sight with the mysterious Lady in Green - all because she's this exceptional horse rider, who's gutsy enough to fend off unwanted attention and likes to stay silent! He discovers the step father's dastardly plot to find Annalise and hold her captive or declared insane so he can sponge off her fortune. And begins to suspect that the mysterious lady is the missing heiress.
In the meanwhile, at home, Gard is in turns furious and in turns fascinated by his ugly housekeeper, Annie, remaining unsuspicious of the untoward incidents happening to his inamoratas and himself at the rented house; which doesn't say much for his intellect. But then, that's not exactly what he's best known for. Added to that is his lack of suspicion that there's more to Annie than the obvious make believe ugliness-despite hearing her play complex musical scores competently, her imperious manner and other such give aways. With much help from the universe, he finally realises that Annalise and Annie are one and the same, and comes to her rescue in the nick of time. And providing the running humour element to the story, is Gard's inability to get his way with any of the women he chooses due to a variety of reasons, leading to the rumour that his duelling days are over. His tryst with Annie also suffers the same fate thanks to his mother and her aunt, who arrives just in time to throw a spanner in the works. Annie is enfolded into Gard's mother's dignified embrace, who is just relieved that he's chosen a woman, and that too a rich one who is a Duke's grand daughter.
Gard comes across as a handsome, rich, physically fit and highly sexed aristocrat whose concerns, for the most, don't extend beyond his immediate pleasures - not exactly my idea of either an alpha or an adorable beta. Annalise is prudish, understandable due to her innocence and morals. Her tricks to keep Gard away from sexual profligacy at the rented house verge on the extreme and should have lead to straight out discovery - leading me to suspect that both the hero and heroine suffered early childhood developmental delays of the brain - insufficient vitamins?
December 22, 2025
The FMC is escaping an unwanted match with a fortune hunter and poses as the housekeeper in her absent aunt's house. The trouble is that the house has been rented as an earl's love nest. So the earl brings an endless array of lovers and lightskirts to the house, and the FMC sets out to sabotage all those affairs in various ways.
Just like some other Barbara Metzger books I've read recently, this one is amusing but supremely unromantic. I dunno, I just don't have it in me to fall in love with a dude who pities himself so much because he can't get a prostitute to sleep with him.
Just like some other Barbara Metzger books I've read recently, this one is amusing but supremely unromantic. I dunno, I just don't have it in me to fall in love with a dude who pities himself so much because he can't get a prostitute to sleep with him.
September 1, 2016
Annalise Avery is grateful for her recovery from brain fever. Though she has a long way to go before she's healthy, she is eager to begin planning her wedding to her neighbor Barbaby Coombes. When she overhears her stepfather Sir Vernon and Barnaby discussing how they plan to use HER fortune (on themselves, naturally, and on women), Annalise is furious. How dare Barney plan to set up a mistress with her money? Annalise declares she'll marry for love or not at all. Sir Vernon has other plans far more dastardly and Annalise has no choice but to run away. Accompanied by her old nanny, Henny and Henny's husband Rob, a former highwayman, Annalise heads off to London to stay with her estranged Aunt Rosalind. Aunt Ros is off to Vienna with her "friend" Lord Eliphinstone and the house has been rented by one Lord Gardiner. Ross Montclaire, Sixth Earl of Gardnier aka "Lord En Garde" has had it with his mother's meddling in his life. He wants nothing to do with the simpering debutantes his mother throws his way or with his mother's scolding about how he lives his life. Renting Lord Eliphineston'e house is the perfect solution. There he can set up his paramores and enjoy himself without his mother interfering. He hasn't counted on the strange scruples of his housekeeper, the hideous hag Mrs. Annie Lee! Outraged at Gard's rakish ways, Annalise tries to drive him away with one trick after another. During the day she rides heavily veiled in the park wearing her green riding habit. All the men want to make her an improper proposal but Gard decides to offer his innocent (for now) protection. Will Annalise succumb to Lord En Garde's charms? Will Gard finally lose his heart at last? Not if Annalise's uncle has his way...
I really disliked this book. Annalise declares she's learned more about debauchery in one week than in all of her 21 years. That comment summarizes the book nicely. The plot hinges on Gard's amorous exploits and the author is not shy about making her hero a womanizer to the nth degree. He's not content with one woman the way most heroes are, he must have a woman in his bed every night. He claims to be fastidious but he isn't really all that choosy, as long as she seems clean, isn't an innocent or well-born young lady. Married women, actresses, widows, random females, they all parade in and out of the house. I admit that "Annie's" attempts to scare off the women are funny. The methods she uses are clever and cause a lot of gossip among the ton. My favorite part of Barbara Metzger's novels is usually the dog, but he only appears at the beginning and at the end briefly. The hero and heroine don't have any good basis for a long-term relationship. He is fundamentally a nice person aside from his womanizing and I can see why she would be attracted to him. He doesn't really know her though at all and she lies to him throughout the book. It took me a few days to finish this book and only then because I almost never leave a book unfinished and because I paid for this one. (75 cents but still...). I would not recommend it.
I really disliked this book. Annalise declares she's learned more about debauchery in one week than in all of her 21 years. That comment summarizes the book nicely. The plot hinges on Gard's amorous exploits and the author is not shy about making her hero a womanizer to the nth degree. He's not content with one woman the way most heroes are, he must have a woman in his bed every night. He claims to be fastidious but he isn't really all that choosy, as long as she seems clean, isn't an innocent or well-born young lady. Married women, actresses, widows, random females, they all parade in and out of the house. I admit that "Annie's" attempts to scare off the women are funny. The methods she uses are clever and cause a lot of gossip among the ton. My favorite part of Barbara Metzger's novels is usually the dog, but he only appears at the beginning and at the end briefly. The hero and heroine don't have any good basis for a long-term relationship. He is fundamentally a nice person aside from his womanizing and I can see why she would be attracted to him. He doesn't really know her though at all and she lies to him throughout the book. It took me a few days to finish this book and only then because I almost never leave a book unfinished and because I paid for this one. (75 cents but still...). I would not recommend it.
October 18, 2020
Great romcom! I love the humor and and hijinx and banter and the straightforwardness of the characters. It makes for little angst and suspense, as I prefer. A perfectly fun, light read!
This rating is, as usual, based solely upon my personal preferences and not on the quality of the work and so I may remember what I loved about the book.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes regency romance of the light and funny variety. It will not change your life but it will entertain.
This rating is, as usual, based solely upon my personal preferences and not on the quality of the work and so I may remember what I loved about the book.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes regency romance of the light and funny variety. It will not change your life but it will entertain.
April 23, 2014
Delightful! A rake and a runaway heiress find love and laughter. Readers will enjoy much of the latter while reading this book.
April 6, 2013
Loved it!
October 25, 2018
I really liked the beginning but as the novel went on, I got annoyed and I was left with a poor impression of the book. Ultimately, I didn't like the romance. I didn't really find the chasing away his bed partners funny. I think it's because it was rooted in sanctimony from the beginning that I didn't feel the same way as the heroine did. It was mean spirited. She was taking out her hurt on a stranger. A stranger who was unaware of her actions and I didn't find it amusing or funny in the least. If she owned that she did it because she wanted him for herself, maybe I could have brought myself to sympathize with her. As it was, she maintained throughout the majority of the book that she did it to teach him a lesson and guide him to the righteous path. It was just so sanctimonious that I couldn't stand it. That was their whole dynamic. She chases away his bed partners on the sly and he is left befuddled as to why he was being left behind. He was clueless about the whole thing so I don't know what lesson he was supposed to learn. I just felt bad for the guy.
The story revolves around Annalise and Gardiner. She was an heiress and her stepfather was cheating her out of her wealth. He devised a way to marry her off to a to a toadie who was in on the scheme. They would share the profits while leaving her in the dark of their goings on. She overheard them and promptly broke off the engagement. She ran from home because her stepfather was going to force her hand. She enlisted the help of her loyal servants to get to her aunt's home.
When she got there, she found out that the aunt left with her lover. A new master was to reside there. She employed herself and put a front that she was there all along. She took it upon herself to guide the rake to the righteous path. She disapproved of his womanizing ways and didn't tolerate it in the house she was living in. She drugged, released insects, and staged scenes to make sure he was chaste for the night.
Meanwhile, she gets to know that he is a nice guy under all his attempted affairs. He helps women out when needed.
He proposes to her as the lady in green. She was the rumoured lost heiress and he was attracted to her. Her deeds get revealed in time and he puts together that she was his housekeeper. She was sickly in the beginning and disguised herself so he didn't suspect it. He eventually puts the dots together.
The stepfather was still after her though. He abducts her but she is rescued.
Annalise and Gardiner decide to marry. The aunt returns, newly married to her longstanding lover. She insists Annalise and Gardiner court properly but Gardiner and Annalise were adamant in their desire to marry.
The story revolves around Annalise and Gardiner. She was an heiress and her stepfather was cheating her out of her wealth. He devised a way to marry her off to a to a toadie who was in on the scheme. They would share the profits while leaving her in the dark of their goings on. She overheard them and promptly broke off the engagement. She ran from home because her stepfather was going to force her hand. She enlisted the help of her loyal servants to get to her aunt's home.
When she got there, she found out that the aunt left with her lover. A new master was to reside there. She employed herself and put a front that she was there all along. She took it upon herself to guide the rake to the righteous path. She disapproved of his womanizing ways and didn't tolerate it in the house she was living in. She drugged, released insects, and staged scenes to make sure he was chaste for the night.
Meanwhile, she gets to know that he is a nice guy under all his attempted affairs. He helps women out when needed.
He proposes to her as the lady in green. She was the rumoured lost heiress and he was attracted to her. Her deeds get revealed in time and he puts together that she was his housekeeper. She was sickly in the beginning and disguised herself so he didn't suspect it. He eventually puts the dots together.
The stepfather was still after her though. He abducts her but she is rescued.
Annalise and Gardiner decide to marry. The aunt returns, newly married to her longstanding lover. She insists Annalise and Gardiner court properly but Gardiner and Annalise were adamant in their desire to marry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2013
http://openbooksociety.com/article/la...
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Monica
*Beware of possible Spoilers*
This is generally not my genre of choice and the cover put me off but the synopsis sounded interesting so I chose it to review. Boy am I glad I did. I laughed through much of this book!
The book opens with Annalise overhearing a conversation between her step-father and the man she’s been promised to since childhood, Barny. After hearing that Barny has a mistress and intends to carry on the relationship, Annalise calls off the marriage. Her step-father, not wanting to lose control of her inheritance, gives her the option to marry Barny or be committed. After he leaves for a special license, Annalise runs away to her former nanny, Henny, and her husband Rob. Together they run away to her Aunt Rosalind, who just happens to be out of town. Given very little choice they decide to hide out as servants while waiting for Rosalind’s return.Annalise disguises herself as a hag named Annie.
Meanwhile, the house has been rented out to Lord Gardiner(Gard), who has chosen to use the house to bring his latest conquests out of respectable society’s gossip’s reach. Annalise takes offense to this and doesn’t want her reputation to be ruined and finds creative ways to sabotage each encounter which in turn affects Gard’s reputation.
Annalise is an excellent horsewoman and enjoys a daily ride in the park. Gard encounters her there one morning and becomes entranced with the mystery woman. After an altercation, he becomes her escort for her daily rides and starts to piece together her identity.
Barny and her step-father discover her location and do their best to get her to return to them. Mayhem ensues with somewhat hilarious results.
All in all Annalise is a strong woman which is rare for pieces taking place during this time period. While starting off as a cad, Gard does redeem himself on different occasions in my eyes.
Henny and Rob seem to be wonderful people and show their love and support for Annalise.
There are a few other minor characters who also turned out to be wonderful. I am hoping for a story for Cholly and Mignon.
Whether you like historical romances or not, if you want an entertaining read, this book is for you. Don’t let the cover put you off either. This is definitely a case of don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Monica
*Beware of possible Spoilers*
This is generally not my genre of choice and the cover put me off but the synopsis sounded interesting so I chose it to review. Boy am I glad I did. I laughed through much of this book!
The book opens with Annalise overhearing a conversation between her step-father and the man she’s been promised to since childhood, Barny. After hearing that Barny has a mistress and intends to carry on the relationship, Annalise calls off the marriage. Her step-father, not wanting to lose control of her inheritance, gives her the option to marry Barny or be committed. After he leaves for a special license, Annalise runs away to her former nanny, Henny, and her husband Rob. Together they run away to her Aunt Rosalind, who just happens to be out of town. Given very little choice they decide to hide out as servants while waiting for Rosalind’s return.Annalise disguises herself as a hag named Annie.
Meanwhile, the house has been rented out to Lord Gardiner(Gard), who has chosen to use the house to bring his latest conquests out of respectable society’s gossip’s reach. Annalise takes offense to this and doesn’t want her reputation to be ruined and finds creative ways to sabotage each encounter which in turn affects Gard’s reputation.
Annalise is an excellent horsewoman and enjoys a daily ride in the park. Gard encounters her there one morning and becomes entranced with the mystery woman. After an altercation, he becomes her escort for her daily rides and starts to piece together her identity.
Barny and her step-father discover her location and do their best to get her to return to them. Mayhem ensues with somewhat hilarious results.
All in all Annalise is a strong woman which is rare for pieces taking place during this time period. While starting off as a cad, Gard does redeem himself on different occasions in my eyes.
Henny and Rob seem to be wonderful people and show their love and support for Annalise.
There are a few other minor characters who also turned out to be wonderful. I am hoping for a story for Cholly and Mignon.
Whether you like historical romances or not, if you want an entertaining read, this book is for you. Don’t let the cover put you off either. This is definitely a case of don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
July 16, 2017
Entertaining!
November 19, 2024
Mixed feelings about this one- on one level, a very very surface level, it was a funny romp wherein a prim, sheltered lady in disguise thwarts a libidinous rake who is renting her aunt's house, and hijinks ensue, until the end when the hero, reformed by his enforced week or so of celibacy, falls in love with and marries her.
On even a little bit more of a deeper level, you have a sanctimonious, priggish lady who not only poisons the hero at one point (with medicine meant to chemically "geld" male horses, if I'm reading the context right), she (well, an accomplice actually) ends up nearly ruining his reputation in a dangerous way by making it look as though he's trying to have sex with boys. And on the other hand you have a rakehell womanizer who literally cannot go a single night without a woman. Who adores women and wants to have sex with all of them who aren't children or related to him, pretty much as far as I can tell.
This is not a match made in heaven is all I'm saying because one or both of them would have to change who they fundamentally are for them to be compatible. Men who "love all women" and sleep around with a new person every single night rather than a series of relationships (sexual or whatever) do not tend to turn into one-woman men without a radical (and near-impossible) change of heart, habits, inclinations, etc.
Also, she has no right whatsoever to drug, poison, scare, infest, etc. him and/or his paramours to keep him from successfully having sex while she's in the house... but if she *hadn't* done so, I really can't see how *any* self respecting, well-brought-up lady of that time period could be with a man that they had witnessed/helped sex up all those various women. Like, he should have some disease by now and just ew.
Anyway, it's kind of a fun book if you don't take it too seriously, but if you tend to take things literally and think about them it might spoil the book really and you might get mad at the characters.
I think I'll give it 3 stars just because some of the hijinks are a little bit funny.
On even a little bit more of a deeper level, you have a sanctimonious, priggish lady who not only poisons the hero at one point (with medicine meant to chemically "geld" male horses, if I'm reading the context right), she (well, an accomplice actually) ends up nearly ruining his reputation in a dangerous way by making it look as though he's trying to have sex with boys. And on the other hand you have a rakehell womanizer who literally cannot go a single night without a woman. Who adores women and wants to have sex with all of them who aren't children or related to him, pretty much as far as I can tell.
This is not a match made in heaven is all I'm saying because one or both of them would have to change who they fundamentally are for them to be compatible. Men who "love all women" and sleep around with a new person every single night rather than a series of relationships (sexual or whatever) do not tend to turn into one-woman men without a radical (and near-impossible) change of heart, habits, inclinations, etc.
Also, she has no right whatsoever to drug, poison, scare, infest, etc. him and/or his paramours to keep him from successfully having sex while she's in the house... but if she *hadn't* done so, I really can't see how *any* self respecting, well-brought-up lady of that time period could be with a man that they had witnessed/helped sex up all those various women. Like, he should have some disease by now and just ew.
Anyway, it's kind of a fun book if you don't take it too seriously, but if you tend to take things literally and think about them it might spoil the book really and you might get mad at the characters.
I think I'll give it 3 stars just because some of the hijinks are a little bit funny.
May 1, 2019
Heiress Annalise Avery has been ill; she overhears her fiance' talking about his mistress(es) to Annalise's stepfather. The two men have decided to divide Annalise's fortune between themselves. Annalise wants no part of either man and so she runs away to London and her aunt.
However, when she gets there (with her old nanny and her husband, a former highwayman), she finds that her aunt has gone to Vienna. While waiting for her aunt to return, Annalise and the servants take over the house. One day, they find out that the house has been leased to Lord Gardiner and he plans to use it as a love nest.
Annalise disguises herself as an ugly housekeeper and decides that Lord Gardiner needs to learn some restraint, so she thwarts each of the Lord's encounters with actresses and light skirts. After a while, it is no longer funny, just tedious. Gard's interaction with Mimi was distasteful, not funny.
Overall, the humor of the early pages quickly devolved into ho-hum. Very average.
However, when she gets there (with her old nanny and her husband, a former highwayman), she finds that her aunt has gone to Vienna. While waiting for her aunt to return, Annalise and the servants take over the house. One day, they find out that the house has been leased to Lord Gardiner and he plans to use it as a love nest.
Annalise disguises herself as an ugly housekeeper and decides that Lord Gardiner needs to learn some restraint, so she thwarts each of the Lord's encounters with actresses and light skirts. After a while, it is no longer funny, just tedious. Gard's interaction with Mimi was distasteful, not funny.
Overall, the humor of the early pages quickly devolved into ho-hum. Very average.
September 13, 2022
Barbara Metzger's Regency romance novels are my favorite reads as she thinks of different ways to tell a romance story, breaking the usual Regency romance story line & interactions of the hero & heroine.
Mystery woman "the Lady in Green" rides in the park on a beautiful chestnut mare, the Regency men want to know who she is, is she a member of society, can they meet her?
Meanwhile, a young woman hides from her greedy uncle & presumed fiance who is a pervert & greedy. The young woman hopes to find a way out of her situation, to stop her uncle from abducting her back to an arranged marriage. Is there a hero to help her?
Mystery woman "the Lady in Green" rides in the park on a beautiful chestnut mare, the Regency men want to know who she is, is she a member of society, can they meet her?
Meanwhile, a young woman hides from her greedy uncle & presumed fiance who is a pervert & greedy. The young woman hopes to find a way out of her situation, to stop her uncle from abducting her back to an arranged marriage. Is there a hero to help her?
June 11, 2021
Metzger is the true Queen of clean Regency for me! She reminds me of PG Wodehouse with a bigger dollop of romance. This one was almost on par with Miss Lockharte’s Letters, my fave by her. Funny and sweet!
August 29, 2021
Disguises, highwaymen, dirty tricks, poisoning...
And that's just the good guys! Abductions, runaway horses, lovers who feel their love is unrequited, art, actresses , widows, painful learning experiences, and maybe ghosts, this one has it all,
And that's just the good guys! Abductions, runaway horses, lovers who feel their love is unrequited, art, actresses , widows, painful learning experiences, and maybe ghosts, this one has it all,
December 25, 2022
I liked it with reservations. I found myself losing patience with Annie as she continued to claim she couldn’t marry the Earl. For an intelligent woman, she had some silly notions. There were supporting characters that were delightful: Rob, Henny and Mignonette.
September 21, 2024
Gard starts off a pompous, promiscuous, stroppy male but after Annie had finished with him he was an adorable, heroic, good matured gentleman, still struggling to get laid. Annie was an absolute delight and her antics were hilarious. Very enjoyable read.
October 10, 2018
Lady......
Rather stupid but it had its moments. The author could have done with a little less plot. But, the characters were entertaining and the dialogue was amusing.
Rather stupid but it had its moments. The author could have done with a little less plot. But, the characters were entertaining and the dialogue was amusing.
August 3, 2019
The heroine is a self-righteous moraliser who insists on asserting her own rigid moral code on the hero. In his own home. While she is working for him. The hero just wants to get his leg over.
September 22, 2019
I enjoyed reading.
April 4, 2020
I didn't care too much for the hero because his reason for breathing was to get laid. I gave it 3 stars because I liked the heroin. I liked how she didn't allow her stepfather to control her life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2020
I loved this story!! Thank you Barbara Metzger!
February 7, 2021
Very amusing, as usual for Metzger. A quick read. Her humor is totally my cup of tea.
March 1, 2022
OK, but not as well written as others (stiff, formulaic).
January 21, 2023
3.5
Fun but ugh the heroine is a shrewish prude.
Fun but ugh the heroine is a shrewish prude.
Read
August 7, 2023Very amusing
I laughed over and over reading the tricks she pulled to keep him out of the arms of women of low virtue. Many times I laughed til I cried. Very enjoyable boojk.
I laughed over and over reading the tricks she pulled to keep him out of the arms of women of low virtue. Many times I laughed til I cried. Very enjoyable boojk.
October 13, 2023
I enjoyed this romp. The heroine was smart and brave. A fun story.
January 6, 2024
Basically a hate-to-love story, which is not my favourite trope.
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