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The Doctor's Daughters
Her heart chose to ignore her mind. The Burney household always bustled, what with a doctor father, three daughters, an aunt and one rather large dog. But life had never seemed hectic or confusing--until Daniel Elliot came to town. Rachel, the eldest Burney daughter, took an immediate dislike to the rugged Canadian, the new squire of Branford. But was her glamorous sister Carola falling in love with him? Of course, it made no difference to Rachel; she had Edward
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
About the author
Anne Weale
225 books49 followersJay Blakeney
aka Anne Weale, Andrea Blake
Jay Blakeney was born on Juny 20, 1929. Her great-grandfather was a well-known writer on moral theology, so perhaps she inherited her writing gene from him. She was "talking stories" to herself long before she could read. When she was still at school, she sold her first short stories to a woman's magazine and she feels she was destined to write. Decided to became a writer, she started writing for newspapers and magazines.
At 21, Jay was a newspaper reporter with a career plan, but the man she was wildly in love with announced that he was off to the other side of the world. He thought they should either marry or say goodbye. She always believed that true love could last a lifetime, and she felt that wonderful men were much harder to find than good jobs, so she put her career on hold. What a wise decision it was! She felt that new young women seem less inclined to risk everything for love than her generation.
Together they traveled the world. If she hadn't spent part of her bridal year living on the edge of a jungle in Malaysia, she might never have become a romance writer. That isolated house, and the perils of the state of emergency that existed in the country at that time, gave her a background and plot ideally suited to a genre she had never read until she came across some romances in the library of a country club they sometimes visited. She can write about love with the even stronger conviction that comes from experience.
When they returned to Europe, Jay resumed her career as a journalist, writing her first romance in her spare time. She sold her first novel as Anne Weale to Mills and Boon in 1955 at the age of 24. At 30, with seven books published, she "retired" to have a baby and become a full-time writer. She raised a delightful son, David, who is as adventurous as his father. Her husband and son have even climbed in the Andes and the Himalayas, giving her lots of ideas for stories. When she retired from reporting, her fiction income -- a combination of amounts earned as a Mills & Boon author and writing for magazines such as Woman's Illustrated, which serialized the work of authors -- exceed 1,000 pounds a year.
She was a founding member of the The Romantic Novelists' Association. In 2002 she published her last novel, in total, she wrote 88 novels. She also wrote under the pseudonym Andrea Blake. She loved setting her novels in exotic parts of the world, but specially in The Caribbean and in her beloved Spain. Since 1989, Jay spent most of the winter months in a very small "pueblo" in the backwoods of Spain. During years, she visited some villages, and from each she have borrowed some feature - a fountain, a street, a plaza, a picturesque old house - to create some places like Valdecarrasca, that is wholly imaginary and yet typical of the part of rural Spain she knew best. She loved walking, reading, sketching, sewing (curtains and slipcovers) and doing needlepoint, gardening, entertaining friends, visiting art galleries and museums, writing letters, surfing the Net, traveling in search of exciting locations for future books, eating delicious food and drinking good wine, cataloguing her books.
She wrote a regular website review column for The Bookseller from 1998 to 2004, before starting her own blog Bookworm on the Net. At the time of her death, on October 24, 2007, she was working on her autobiography "88 Heroes... 1 Mr. Right".
aka Anne Weale, Andrea Blake
Jay Blakeney was born on Juny 20, 1929. Her great-grandfather was a well-known writer on moral theology, so perhaps she inherited her writing gene from him. She was "talking stories" to herself long before she could read. When she was still at school, she sold her first short stories to a woman's magazine and she feels she was destined to write. Decided to became a writer, she started writing for newspapers and magazines.
At 21, Jay was a newspaper reporter with a career plan, but the man she was wildly in love with announced that he was off to the other side of the world. He thought they should either marry or say goodbye. She always believed that true love could last a lifetime, and she felt that wonderful men were much harder to find than good jobs, so she put her career on hold. What a wise decision it was! She felt that new young women seem less inclined to risk everything for love than her generation.
Together they traveled the world. If she hadn't spent part of her bridal year living on the edge of a jungle in Malaysia, she might never have become a romance writer. That isolated house, and the perils of the state of emergency that existed in the country at that time, gave her a background and plot ideally suited to a genre she had never read until she came across some romances in the library of a country club they sometimes visited. She can write about love with the even stronger conviction that comes from experience.
When they returned to Europe, Jay resumed her career as a journalist, writing her first romance in her spare time. She sold her first novel as Anne Weale to Mills and Boon in 1955 at the age of 24. At 30, with seven books published, she "retired" to have a baby and become a full-time writer. She raised a delightful son, David, who is as adventurous as his father. Her husband and son have even climbed in the Andes and the Himalayas, giving her lots of ideas for stories. When she retired from reporting, her fiction income -- a combination of amounts earned as a Mills & Boon author and writing for magazines such as Woman's Illustrated, which serialized the work of authors -- exceed 1,000 pounds a year.
She was a founding member of the The Romantic Novelists' Association. In 2002 she published her last novel, in total, she wrote 88 novels. She also wrote under the pseudonym Andrea Blake. She loved setting her novels in exotic parts of the world, but specially in The Caribbean and in her beloved Spain. Since 1989, Jay spent most of the winter months in a very small "pueblo" in the backwoods of Spain. During years, she visited some villages, and from each she have borrowed some feature - a fountain, a street, a plaza, a picturesque old house - to create some places like Valdecarrasca, that is wholly imaginary and yet typical of the part of rural Spain she knew best. She loved walking, reading, sketching, sewing (curtains and slipcovers) and doing needlepoint, gardening, entertaining friends, visiting art galleries and museums, writing letters, surfing the Net, traveling in search of exciting locations for future books, eating delicious food and drinking good wine, cataloguing her books.
She wrote a regular website review column for The Bookseller from 1998 to 2004, before starting her own blog Bookworm on the Net. At the time of her death, on October 24, 2007, she was working on her autobiography "88 Heroes... 1 Mr. Right".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 5, 2017
4 Stars ~ Rachel is the elder of three daughters and when her mother passes away, she takes on the task of running her doctor father's house, putting off her own career as an artist in London. She likes her role and finds time to do some free lance illustrations for children's books. Rachel particularly enjoys her excursions on to the manor estate, now vacate for three years since the old squire passed away. It's there while she's enjoying a quiet sunny morning that she meets Daniel, the grandson and heir. He startles her and unnerved she becomes defensive and sparks fly between them. Rattled Rachel is determined to dislike Daniel, but at every turn he's surprising her. While he too has a brittle façade, Rachel also sees the intelligent brave man beneath. But when she thinks he's taken an interest in her sister Carola, Rachel finally accepts the proposal of her childhood friend, Edward.
This is a charming story that sweeps into Rachel's world of family joys and tribulations. She's always dreamt of a faceless man who was her Mr. Right, but when she finally meets him, she's confused and totally unnerved. Daniel's a self-made man who's worked very hard all his life. It's obvious from the start that he's completely smitten with Rachel and is only waiting for her to catch up. Lovely read!
This is a charming story that sweeps into Rachel's world of family joys and tribulations. She's always dreamt of a faceless man who was her Mr. Right, but when she finally meets him, she's confused and totally unnerved. Daniel's a self-made man who's worked very hard all his life. It's obvious from the start that he's completely smitten with Rachel and is only waiting for her to catch up. Lovely read!
October 1, 2021
I couldn't warm up to the heroine. She was very judgmental.
Her dad was amazing. Best dad I've ever come across in an Harley.
The hero was a bit too laid back in my opinion, but he was an upright man. He deserved better.
Her dad was amazing. Best dad I've ever come across in an Harley.
The hero was a bit too laid back in my opinion, but he was an upright man. He deserved better.
August 4, 2024
Unpleasant romance set in a picturesque English village, where two sisters vie for the affection of the sardonic new squire. The heroine is the eldest of the titular "doctor's daughters." She has kept house for her father, her ungrateful younger sisters, and her hypochondriac aunt, ever since her mom died. When she meets the man who inherited the village's abandoned manor, she judgmentally categorizes him as an uncouth and vulgar Canadian backwoodsman. Then, she rejects him as a rake who makes passes at anything in a skirt. The hero plays a cat and mouse game with her, blowing hot and cold, making moves on her, then dating her younger, glam puss sister, remaining sardonic and cryptic until the conclusion of the story, as was the trend with many of these vintage romances. Unfortunately for this modern reader, this made me not warm up to him, or her, so their inevitable happily ever after left me unmoved.
pback-to-read
June 1, 2021Doctor Burney had a busy household. His wife had died several years ago, but the rambling old village house hummed with the activities of 3 daughters.
Young Suzy was still at school; Carola was the glamour girl of the family with ambitions to become a model; Rachel, the oldest, had volunteered to take on the job of housekeeping under the watchful eyes of Aunt Flo, but also found time for some freelance art work.
As might be expected, Rachel's life was quiet, but pleasant enough — until the arrival of the new squire, Daniel Elliot, to whom she took an immediate disliked, Daniel was not a man to be ignored, as Rachel found when he showed signs of becoming a disturbing influence in the lives of all the doctor's family.
Young Suzy was still at school; Carola was the glamour girl of the family with ambitions to become a model; Rachel, the oldest, had volunteered to take on the job of housekeeping under the watchful eyes of Aunt Flo, but also found time for some freelance art work.
As might be expected, Rachel's life was quiet, but pleasant enough — until the arrival of the new squire, Daniel Elliot, to whom she took an immediate disliked, Daniel was not a man to be ignored, as Rachel found when he showed signs of becoming a disturbing influence in the lives of all the doctor's family.
May 5, 2017
It's a love triangle mess. Disappointed but it comes from the library so I can return it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2009
(sigh) this book hunt me down for i haven't got the chance to read the ending, the last part aaaaaahhhh... can't find any copies, hope still i'll manage to read the end part!? :O
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews