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Infamous Rakes #1-2
The Infamous Rakes: The Forthright Lady Gillian and The Fickle Fortune Hunter
Will two of London’s most notorious rogues be outmatched in the game of love by two clever young ladies?
When Lady Gillian Carnaby reads of her own betrothal to a hitherto unknown Baron Hopwood in the London Times, she is shocked to learn that the man is real. Worse, Hopwood is merely a minor title for Josiah Hawtrey, Marquess of Thorne, a man with such a scandalous reputation that London society is quite willing to believe he would become affianced to a noblewoman he has never met. To save her reputation, Gillian and the Marquess must go through the motions of a betrothal. But when Gillian sees that Thorne desires her as a woman, if not a wife, she must play a most challenging game of love with one of London’s most notorious rakes.
When Lady Gillian Carnaby reads of her own betrothal to a hitherto unknown Baron Hopwood in the London Times, she is shocked to learn that the man is real. Worse, Hopwood is merely a minor title for Josiah Hawtrey, Marquess of Thorne, a man with such a scandalous reputation that London society is quite willing to believe he would become affianced to a noblewoman he has never met. To save her reputation, Gillian and the Marquess must go through the motions of a betrothal. But when Gillian sees that Thorne desires her as a woman, if not a wife, she must play a most challenging game of love with one of London’s most notorious rakes.
The Marquess of Thorne’s friend, handsome Lord Edward Crawley, seeks to wed a wealthy heiress to shore up his faltering estate—and pay off his gambling debts. When Felicia Adlam realizes that her breathtakingly beautiful younger sister, Theodosia, is the seductive fortune-hunter’s target, she vows to protect Theo from him, no matter what it takes. But Crawley is charmingly honest about his intentions, and undeniably appealing, so Felicia soon discovers that she risks surrendering to the accomplished rake’s seductive charms herself.
572 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
66 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Scott
172 books381 followersAmanda Scott, USA Today Bestselling Author and winner of Romance Writers of America’s RITA/Golden Medallion (LORD ABBERLEY'S NEMESIS) and Romantic Times’ Awards for Best Regency Author and Best Sensual Regency (RAVENWOOD'S LADY), Lifetime Achievement (2007) and Best Scottish Historical (BORDER MOONLIGHT, 2008), began writing on a dare from her husband. She has sold every manuscript she has written.
Amanda is a fourth-generation Californian, who was born and raised in Salinas and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in history from Mills College in Oakland. She did graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in British History, before obtaining her Master’s in History from California State University at San Jose. She now lives with her husband and son in northern California.
As a child, Amanda Scott was a model for O’Connor Moffatt in San Francisco (now Macy’s). She was also a Sputnik child, one of those selected after the satellite went up for one of California’s first programs for gifted children. She remained in that program through high school. After graduate school, she taught for the Salinas City School District for three years before marrying her husband, who was then a captain in the Air Force. They lived in Honolulu for a year, then in Papillion, Nebraska, for seven. Their son was born in Nebraska. They have lived in northern California since 1980.
Scott grew up in a family of lawyers, and is descended from a long line of them. Her father was a three-term District Attorney of Monterey County before his death in 1955 at age 36. Her grandfather was City Attorney of Salinas for 36 years after serving two terms as District Attorney, and two of her ancestors were State Supreme Court Justices (one in Missouri, the other the first Supreme Court Justice for the State of Arkansas). One brother, having carried on the Scott tradition in the Monterey County DA’s office, is now a judge. The other is an electrician in Knoxville, TN, and her sister is a teacher in the Sacramento area.
The women of Amanda Scott’s family have been no less successful than the men. Her mother was a child actress known as Baby Lowell, who performed all over the west coast and in Hollywood movies, and then was a dancer with the San Francisco Opera Ballet until her marriage. Her mother’s sister, Loretta Lowell, was also a child actress. She performed in the Our Gang comedies and in several Loretta Young movies before becoming one of the first women in the US Air Force. Scott's paternal grandmother was active in local and State politics and served as president of the California State PTA, and her maternal grandmother was a teacher (and stage mother) before working for Monterey County. The place of women in Scott’s family has always been a strong one. Though they married strong men, the women have, for generations, been well educated and encouraged to succeed at whatever they chose to do.
Amanda Scott’s first book was OMAHA CITY ARCHITECTURE, a coffee-table photo essay on the historical architecture of Omaha, written for Landmarks, Inc. under her married name as a Junior League project. Others took the photos; she did the research and wrote the text on an old Smith-Corona portable electric. She sold her first novel, THE FUGITIVE HEIRESS - likewise written on the battered Smith-Corona in 1980. Since then, she has sold many more books, but since the second one she has used a word processor and computer. Twenty-five of her novels are set in the English Regency period (1810-1820). Others are set in 15th-century England and 14th- through 18th-century Scotland, and three are contemporary romances. Many of her titles are currently available at bookstores and online.
Amanda is a fourth-generation Californian, who was born and raised in Salinas and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in history from Mills College in Oakland. She did graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in British History, before obtaining her Master’s in History from California State University at San Jose. She now lives with her husband and son in northern California.
As a child, Amanda Scott was a model for O’Connor Moffatt in San Francisco (now Macy’s). She was also a Sputnik child, one of those selected after the satellite went up for one of California’s first programs for gifted children. She remained in that program through high school. After graduate school, she taught for the Salinas City School District for three years before marrying her husband, who was then a captain in the Air Force. They lived in Honolulu for a year, then in Papillion, Nebraska, for seven. Their son was born in Nebraska. They have lived in northern California since 1980.
Scott grew up in a family of lawyers, and is descended from a long line of them. Her father was a three-term District Attorney of Monterey County before his death in 1955 at age 36. Her grandfather was City Attorney of Salinas for 36 years after serving two terms as District Attorney, and two of her ancestors were State Supreme Court Justices (one in Missouri, the other the first Supreme Court Justice for the State of Arkansas). One brother, having carried on the Scott tradition in the Monterey County DA’s office, is now a judge. The other is an electrician in Knoxville, TN, and her sister is a teacher in the Sacramento area.
The women of Amanda Scott’s family have been no less successful than the men. Her mother was a child actress known as Baby Lowell, who performed all over the west coast and in Hollywood movies, and then was a dancer with the San Francisco Opera Ballet until her marriage. Her mother’s sister, Loretta Lowell, was also a child actress. She performed in the Our Gang comedies and in several Loretta Young movies before becoming one of the first women in the US Air Force. Scott's paternal grandmother was active in local and State politics and served as president of the California State PTA, and her maternal grandmother was a teacher (and stage mother) before working for Monterey County. The place of women in Scott’s family has always been a strong one. Though they married strong men, the women have, for generations, been well educated and encouraged to succeed at whatever they chose to do.
Amanda Scott’s first book was OMAHA CITY ARCHITECTURE, a coffee-table photo essay on the historical architecture of Omaha, written for Landmarks, Inc. under her married name as a Junior League project. Others took the photos; she did the research and wrote the text on an old Smith-Corona portable electric. She sold her first novel, THE FUGITIVE HEIRESS - likewise written on the battered Smith-Corona in 1980. Since then, she has sold many more books, but since the second one she has used a word processor and computer. Twenty-five of her novels are set in the English Regency period (1810-1820). Others are set in 15th-century England and 14th- through 18th-century Scotland, and three are contemporary romances. Many of her titles are currently available at bookstores and online.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 27, 2018
The Forthright Lady Gillian
Josh rescues Gillian from a cliff edge where the sea is pounding against the rocks. Josh, the Marquess of Thorne, discovers through the Times that he is betrothed to Gillian Carnaby. He soon realizes she didn't place the notice in the paper, but Gillian knows who did. Josh decides they will pretend to be betrothed until a point in the future. Gillian didn't agree to this. She ends the engagement soon upon her arrival in London. Josh realizes he doesn't want to end it. Can he convince Gillian they should marry for real?
The Fickle Fortune Hunter
Lord Edward "Ned" Crawley must marry an heiress to bring Longworth to solvency. Felicia "Felicity" Adlam is the hub upon which her family rotates. She uses diplomacy to sooth her family members' feelings. She is depended upon to solve crises and bring order to chaos. When Sir Richard Vyne is commissioned to paint Theodorsia "Theo" Aldam's portrait, Crawley agrees to play nursemaid between the pair to keep the peace. What he's hoping is that Felicity will be there also. He soon learns to accept the advice of the Marquess of Thorne. Crawley obtains a steward to help make Longworth profitable. But even with the changes, can he change the image of himself as a fortune hunter? Will he convince Felicity he wants her for herself and not for the fortune she'll bring to the estate?
I found both stories interesting. The sentence structure and rhythm took some getting used to, but once I did, the stories clipped along at a good pace. This reader could sense the emotional value of each story. I feel the primary characters in the first novella could have been fleshed out more. I felt the simple plots of both stories were thought out thoroughly and competently. I enjoyed these novellas. Amanda Scott is an excellent historical romance author. I look forward to reading more of her novels.
Josh rescues Gillian from a cliff edge where the sea is pounding against the rocks. Josh, the Marquess of Thorne, discovers through the Times that he is betrothed to Gillian Carnaby. He soon realizes she didn't place the notice in the paper, but Gillian knows who did. Josh decides they will pretend to be betrothed until a point in the future. Gillian didn't agree to this. She ends the engagement soon upon her arrival in London. Josh realizes he doesn't want to end it. Can he convince Gillian they should marry for real?
The Fickle Fortune Hunter
Lord Edward "Ned" Crawley must marry an heiress to bring Longworth to solvency. Felicia "Felicity" Adlam is the hub upon which her family rotates. She uses diplomacy to sooth her family members' feelings. She is depended upon to solve crises and bring order to chaos. When Sir Richard Vyne is commissioned to paint Theodorsia "Theo" Aldam's portrait, Crawley agrees to play nursemaid between the pair to keep the peace. What he's hoping is that Felicity will be there also. He soon learns to accept the advice of the Marquess of Thorne. Crawley obtains a steward to help make Longworth profitable. But even with the changes, can he change the image of himself as a fortune hunter? Will he convince Felicity he wants her for herself and not for the fortune she'll bring to the estate?
I found both stories interesting. The sentence structure and rhythm took some getting used to, but once I did, the stories clipped along at a good pace. This reader could sense the emotional value of each story. I feel the primary characters in the first novella could have been fleshed out more. I felt the simple plots of both stories were thought out thoroughly and competently. I enjoyed these novellas. Amanda Scott is an excellent historical romance author. I look forward to reading more of her novels.
March 2, 2025
This Compendium was written for an American (not English) Audience.
I listened to the audiobook version of this title , which was poorly narrated by Lucinda Gainey. It’s already been commented upon by other Audible Reviewers that the Narrator is ALL WRONG for this particular genre. Because:
(i). She’s an American who cannot perform credible English accents.
(ii). She cannot maintain the same accent/timbre/identity for the same characters (confusing).
(iii). She mispronounces Proper names of Towns and Cities…
However, this hasn’t been picked up in post production because Only the story is based in the UK, everything else about these tales are American (including the author). So it’s meant for an American audience and not an English audience. Which is why it lacks credibility for English reviewers.
All of the characters were hard to like or empathise with. The storylines, whilst unusual, were not endearing. Aside from the limitations of the narrator, the author includes anachronistic American slang (2 Blocks, rather than 2 Streets; Ass, instead of Arse… etc). These sayings are ignored by non English listeners, but it causes us Brits to mentally trip up and takes us off track!
This title was included in the Audible Plus Catalogue and as such, made this easy to persevere with. However, I would be unlikely to revisit this Author again because I’d spend too much time editing the story rather than enjoying it.
I listened to the audiobook version of this title , which was poorly narrated by Lucinda Gainey. It’s already been commented upon by other Audible Reviewers that the Narrator is ALL WRONG for this particular genre. Because:
(i). She’s an American who cannot perform credible English accents.
(ii). She cannot maintain the same accent/timbre/identity for the same characters (confusing).
(iii). She mispronounces Proper names of Towns and Cities…
However, this hasn’t been picked up in post production because Only the story is based in the UK, everything else about these tales are American (including the author). So it’s meant for an American audience and not an English audience. Which is why it lacks credibility for English reviewers.
All of the characters were hard to like or empathise with. The storylines, whilst unusual, were not endearing. Aside from the limitations of the narrator, the author includes anachronistic American slang (2 Blocks, rather than 2 Streets; Ass, instead of Arse… etc). These sayings are ignored by non English listeners, but it causes us Brits to mentally trip up and takes us off track!
This title was included in the Audible Plus Catalogue and as such, made this easy to persevere with. However, I would be unlikely to revisit this Author again because I’d spend too much time editing the story rather than enjoying it.
March 26, 2024
I had to skip a lot of it after about 50 percent of the first book on audiobook as so much repetitive and what felt like 'filler' chat really slowed it down to the point I found all the characters and especially the lead characters very dull indeed. The stuff at the pleasure gardens dragged on in such a boringly complicated manner I was just wanting the Male lead to marry someone so the story would end. It was a good set-up to begin with so the rapidity of the downward slide was masterful in its own way. I didn't listen to the second. The reader didn't help with weird pronunciation and strange phrasing.
November 2, 2022
A truly wonderful set of novels!
Humor is a wonderful aspect in a good story. Couple that with wonderful characters and true love, then you have a wonderful reading experience, thank you, Jack.
Humor is a wonderful aspect in a good story. Couple that with wonderful characters and true love, then you have a wonderful reading experience, thank you, Jack.
July 17, 2014
3.5/5
There are two books in this; The Forthright Lady Gillian which I very much enjoyed, and The Fickle Fortune-Hunter which sadly felt a little lacklustre for me.
There are two books in this; The Forthright Lady Gillian which I very much enjoyed, and The Fickle Fortune-Hunter which sadly felt a little lacklustre for me.
September 22, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews