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Winged Victory
The Earl of Poynton is known throughout England for his superb taste in race-horses and for his affairs with married women. Yet the Lennox's raffish heart is touched by the beautiful young Cledra Melford, who asks him to help save her beloved thoroughbred Star from her cruel uncle ... and teaches him the meaning of true love!
179 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published April 1, 1982
About the author
Barbara Cartland
1,206 books866 followersBorn in 1901, Barbara Cartland started her writing career in journalism and completed her first book, Jigsaw, when she was just 24. An immediate success, it was the start of her journey to becoming the world’s most famous and most read romantic novelist of all time. Inspiring a whole generation of readers around the globe with her exciting tales of adventure, love and intrigue, she became synonymous with the Romance genre. And she still is to this day, having written over 644 romantic fiction books.
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, plays, music, poetry and several advice books on life, love, health and cookery – totalling an incredible 723 books in all, with over 1 billion in sales.
Awarded the DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 in honour of her literary, political and social contributions, she was President of the Hertfordshire branch of the Royal College of Midwives as well as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Always a passionate advocate of woman’s health and beauty, she was dubbed ‘the true Queen of Romance’ by Vogue magazine in her lifetime. Her legend continues today through her wonderfully vivid romantic tales, stories that help you escape from the day to day into the dramatic adventures of strong, beautiful women who battle, often against the odds, eventually to find that love conquers all.
Find out more about the incredible life and works of Dame Barbara Cartland at www.barbaracartland.com
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, plays, music, poetry and several advice books on life, love, health and cookery – totalling an incredible 723 books in all, with over 1 billion in sales.
Awarded the DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 in honour of her literary, political and social contributions, she was President of the Hertfordshire branch of the Royal College of Midwives as well as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Always a passionate advocate of woman’s health and beauty, she was dubbed ‘the true Queen of Romance’ by Vogue magazine in her lifetime. Her legend continues today through her wonderfully vivid romantic tales, stories that help you escape from the day to day into the dramatic adventures of strong, beautiful women who battle, often against the odds, eventually to find that love conquers all.
Find out more about the incredible life and works of Dame Barbara Cartland at www.barbaracartland.com
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 15, 2023
The Hero and heroine meet when the heroine desperately pleads with the Hero to buy her beloved horse.
The orphaned heroine has been living w her nasty uncle ever since her parents died. The uncle, although rich, has threatened to sell her horse to a man known to abuse his horses. The Hero agrees, but this makes him curious about the heroine.
He knows of the unsavory reputation of the uncle, and no one in their circle likes him. The Hero is in fact scheduled to go to a horse auction that the uncle is holding. During the auction, the Hero does not bid for any horse and takes the opportunity to look around the stables. He also finds it strange that one of the stalls is locked and covered in horse blankets.
That evening he secretly goes back to the stables of the uncle. He finds the heroine. She has been tied, gagged and whipped cruelly. He spirits her away and brings her to his estate, where he had also sent her horse, so she can heal and recover.
He tries to keep the heroine’s whereabouts secret since he knows her uncle will try to get her back, and since he is her guardian, the Hero can be charged with kidnapping. His grandmother and his friend tell him to find a husband for the heroine, which will put her out of the clutches of the uncle, but the Hero is curiously reluctant to do this. He is very gentle and protective of the heroine.
He knows the uncle is capable of murder, and that he somehow suspects that the Hero has something to do with the disappearance of the heroine and her horse.
One evening, as the Hero is about to fall asleep, the heroine comes into his room and tells him that she has a bad feeling that her horse is in danger. They rush to the stables and see that it is burning. Thankfully, they are able to release all the horses and put the fire out. While helping the heroine escape the burning stables the Hero notices a body lying near one of the stalls. It is the uncle.
The Hero then surmises that the uncle was intending to burn down the stable w the heroine’s horse and all the other horses. However, when he tried to tie down the heroine’s horse, the horse managed to kick him and he died.
Since the heroine is the only direct relative of the evil uncle, she inherits all his properties and money for some added poetic justice! 😄
The Hero realizes that all the protective tendencies he had for the heroine is actually love and they get married.
The orphaned heroine has been living w her nasty uncle ever since her parents died. The uncle, although rich, has threatened to sell her horse to a man known to abuse his horses. The Hero agrees, but this makes him curious about the heroine.
He knows of the unsavory reputation of the uncle, and no one in their circle likes him. The Hero is in fact scheduled to go to a horse auction that the uncle is holding. During the auction, the Hero does not bid for any horse and takes the opportunity to look around the stables. He also finds it strange that one of the stalls is locked and covered in horse blankets.
That evening he secretly goes back to the stables of the uncle. He finds the heroine. She has been tied, gagged and whipped cruelly. He spirits her away and brings her to his estate, where he had also sent her horse, so she can heal and recover.
He tries to keep the heroine’s whereabouts secret since he knows her uncle will try to get her back, and since he is her guardian, the Hero can be charged with kidnapping. His grandmother and his friend tell him to find a husband for the heroine, which will put her out of the clutches of the uncle, but the Hero is curiously reluctant to do this. He is very gentle and protective of the heroine.
He knows the uncle is capable of murder, and that he somehow suspects that the Hero has something to do with the disappearance of the heroine and her horse.
One evening, as the Hero is about to fall asleep, the heroine comes into his room and tells him that she has a bad feeling that her horse is in danger. They rush to the stables and see that it is burning. Thankfully, they are able to release all the horses and put the fire out. While helping the heroine escape the burning stables the Hero notices a body lying near one of the stalls. It is the uncle.
The Hero then surmises that the uncle was intending to burn down the stable w the heroine’s horse and all the other horses. However, when he tried to tie down the heroine’s horse, the horse managed to kick him and he died.
Since the heroine is the only direct relative of the evil uncle, she inherits all his properties and money for some added poetic justice! 😄
The Hero realizes that all the protective tendencies he had for the heroine is actually love and they get married.
January 23, 2020
This one had some confusing bits.
The story premise is a good old fashioned damsel in distress, hero saves damsel, more distress, a horse is in distress, hero saves both of them, and they both love each other. The H and the h fall in love and they both love the horse.
Cledra (I have never heard this name before) is a young orphan whose guardian uncle is a monster. She is very ethereal, beautiful, innocent to the point of motoring past naïveté. She also has a special affinity to her horse, which figures largely in the conclusion of the story. Lennox, the Earl is the smartest, richest, most handsome man in the land. A thinking man’s man, his best friend would say. Anyway, he does all the stuff I mentioned above admirably. His protective instincts are top-notch. Along the way, he ponders why he so easily casts off women and laments he will never ever get married (is he calling himself a cold fish?). As you may have guessed, Cledra changes all of that nonsense.
The confusing bits...so there is quite a lot of intrigue with the madman uncle. He seems to have a history of being a sore loser and killing something or someone close to the person who bested him. And he wants his niece back. That in itself seems like a pretty good mystery. But there are gaps that are never closed. The Earl hides Cledra so well it seems impossible that she could be found so quickly. Who was helping him? We’ll never know. To me, there was a logical character who could have been the informant but no. We never know the age difference between the H and h although I think it’s a pretty good spread. Not that there is anything wrong with that, esp. in the Regency era. But it’s kinda creepy how the h is described as so fairy like, other worldly and the H call her child throughout until he wants to marry her. Huh. There are more confusing bits but I will let you find and ponder them.
If you’ve never read BC before, I wouldn’t start with this one. This is only my third BC so I’m making that recommendation like I’m an expert. Lol. That said, it’s worth reading, especially if you like the damsel in distress trope. You’ll just have to not mind the confusing bits.
One final note with a SLIGHT SPOILER that I believe is important to mention. There is an extreme case of violence against a female that is described. Not necessarily graphic, but specifics are discussed.
The story premise is a good old fashioned damsel in distress, hero saves damsel, more distress, a horse is in distress, hero saves both of them, and they both love each other. The H and the h fall in love and they both love the horse.
Cledra (I have never heard this name before) is a young orphan whose guardian uncle is a monster. She is very ethereal, beautiful, innocent to the point of motoring past naïveté. She also has a special affinity to her horse, which figures largely in the conclusion of the story. Lennox, the Earl is the smartest, richest, most handsome man in the land. A thinking man’s man, his best friend would say. Anyway, he does all the stuff I mentioned above admirably. His protective instincts are top-notch. Along the way, he ponders why he so easily casts off women and laments he will never ever get married (is he calling himself a cold fish?). As you may have guessed, Cledra changes all of that nonsense.
The confusing bits...so there is quite a lot of intrigue with the madman uncle. He seems to have a history of being a sore loser and killing something or someone close to the person who bested him. And he wants his niece back. That in itself seems like a pretty good mystery. But there are gaps that are never closed. The Earl hides Cledra so well it seems impossible that she could be found so quickly. Who was helping him? We’ll never know. To me, there was a logical character who could have been the informant but no. We never know the age difference between the H and h although I think it’s a pretty good spread. Not that there is anything wrong with that, esp. in the Regency era. But it’s kinda creepy how the h is described as so fairy like, other worldly and the H call her child throughout until he wants to marry her. Huh. There are more confusing bits but I will let you find and ponder them.
If you’ve never read BC before, I wouldn’t start with this one. This is only my third BC so I’m making that recommendation like I’m an expert. Lol. That said, it’s worth reading, especially if you like the damsel in distress trope. You’ll just have to not mind the confusing bits.
One final note with a SLIGHT SPOILER that I believe is important to mention. There is an extreme case of violence against a female that is described. Not necessarily graphic, but specifics are discussed.
September 23, 2018
This book is decent.
There's even some character development!
There's even some character development!
November 7, 2022
A good read. The horses were the best part of this book. The Earl was not as arrogant as I think the author intended him to be. I am always amazed by the names the author finds for her heroines.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews