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The Unruly Chaperon
When Lady Mathilda Cavendish arrived at a house party hosted by her young cousin's suitor, she had only one goal in mind--to stop the proposed match. The chaperon never imagined that her cousin's betrothed would be the only man she'd ever loved--Crispin Malvern, the Duke of St. Ormond. A fate all the more cruel because one look told her that she'd never stopped loving a man who could never be hers.... Yet widowhood has given Tilda a strength she'd never possessed before. And when one night of passion unleashed her most secret longings, the unruly chaperon must decide whether to follow the dictates of decorum...or desire.
296 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2003
40 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Rolls
100 books123 followersWe live in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, in a beautiful lush valley full of apple, pear and cherry orchards. We moved here a couple of years back, escaping from the city and it’s just gorgeous. The property is small, only five acres, but we have room for two small noisy boys, three dogs, two cats and several woolly things masquerading a environmentally friendly lawnmowers. Before that we lived in Melbourne, which was fun, but we always wanted to live in the country and now we do.
I’ve been married to an ex-nuclear physicist – don’t ask! for the last 17 years and we have two rowdy little boys, commonly described as “feral”. Most of our friends think we have far too many animals, and everyone knows we have far too many books.I grew up moving around a fair bit. Dad was in the army and every few years we had to up sticks and move on. I was born in England, expelled from kindergarten in Melbourne, started school in Papua New Guinea and finished school in Melbourne. After taking a degree in Music Education I taught music for several years while my husband finished his Ph.D.
How I started writing
I had the writing bug from a very early age. From the time I could read I loved writing stories. Throughout my school days I was nearly always writing something very quietly, and there were several teachers who encouraged me. One student teacher, whose name I have totally forgotten, when I was in sixth grade, as well as a couple of high school English teachers, Mrs Redman and Mrs Mackay.
I started writing my first book after I finished my Masters degree. For one thing I really, really missed my thesis. I’d enjoyed researching it, and I loved writing it. So it seems inevitable now that when I was looking for something to do in the evenings to unwind after work, I started writing again.
I’d been staying with an old school friend. Meg is a fellow Georgette Heyer fan, and she had a very large collection of Regencies on her bookshelves. Well, that was an eye-opener. I’d had no idea anyone else apart from Heyer had actually written them. By the time I went home I had an idea floating around in my brain and I sat down and roughed out some sort of chapter plan. Then I started typing. Six months later I had a story with a beginning a middle and an end which I sent to Meg. After a great deal of talking, she persuaded me to send it off to Harlequin Mills & Boon. After doing the rounds of all three editorial offices and undergoing a major rewrite and extension while I was about seven months pregnant with the second small noisy boy, it was accepted for publication and published as The Unexpected Bride.
Most of my writing friends have threatened to lynch me over that story at one time or another. Personally I envy them for having learnt an enormous amount about writing and the industry before acquiring an editor who understandably expects you to know what you are doing.
I’ve been married to an ex-nuclear physicist – don’t ask! for the last 17 years and we have two rowdy little boys, commonly described as “feral”. Most of our friends think we have far too many animals, and everyone knows we have far too many books.I grew up moving around a fair bit. Dad was in the army and every few years we had to up sticks and move on. I was born in England, expelled from kindergarten in Melbourne, started school in Papua New Guinea and finished school in Melbourne. After taking a degree in Music Education I taught music for several years while my husband finished his Ph.D.
How I started writing
I had the writing bug from a very early age. From the time I could read I loved writing stories. Throughout my school days I was nearly always writing something very quietly, and there were several teachers who encouraged me. One student teacher, whose name I have totally forgotten, when I was in sixth grade, as well as a couple of high school English teachers, Mrs Redman and Mrs Mackay.
I started writing my first book after I finished my Masters degree. For one thing I really, really missed my thesis. I’d enjoyed researching it, and I loved writing it. So it seems inevitable now that when I was looking for something to do in the evenings to unwind after work, I started writing again.
I’d been staying with an old school friend. Meg is a fellow Georgette Heyer fan, and she had a very large collection of Regencies on her bookshelves. Well, that was an eye-opener. I’d had no idea anyone else apart from Heyer had actually written them. By the time I went home I had an idea floating around in my brain and I sat down and roughed out some sort of chapter plan. Then I started typing. Six months later I had a story with a beginning a middle and an end which I sent to Meg. After a great deal of talking, she persuaded me to send it off to Harlequin Mills & Boon. After doing the rounds of all three editorial offices and undergoing a major rewrite and extension while I was about seven months pregnant with the second small noisy boy, it was accepted for publication and published as The Unexpected Bride.
Most of my writing friends have threatened to lynch me over that story at one time or another. Personally I envy them for having learnt an enormous amount about writing and the industry before acquiring an editor who understandably expects you to know what you are doing.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 13, 2018
I liked this book more than I expected. This story do have potential, some parts are better than I expected from a Mills&Boon story.
What I liked:
- Tilda (the heroine) - she is a strong heroine with an interesting and complicated past, quite well developed for a category romance
- Crispin (the hero) - he is not just your another alpha man from a historical romance. Again, he is a complicated and fascinating character. He and Tilda make a very strong and memorable couple, highly likeable.
- Milly - she could be some of those silly, annoying secondary characters, instead she is a pretty nice addition to the whole story
- the whole idea of the plot of the chaperon and fiancé in love - this may not be the most innovative idea but still, it is not as popular as some others and it is very well done
- a bit of some Shakespearian vibe - I'm not sure why and what exactly but the whole story has some atmosphere of Shakespeare comedy
What I didn't like:
- the whole mess with misunderstandings that are based on people not talking to each other - Tilda and Crispin are so convinced that they know what the other thinks and feels that they don't talk about it (and they are of course wrong and extremely unhappy), I seriously hate it when it happens in my books
What I liked:
- Tilda (the heroine) - she is a strong heroine with an interesting and complicated past, quite well developed for a category romance
- Crispin (the hero) - he is not just your another alpha man from a historical romance. Again, he is a complicated and fascinating character. He and Tilda make a very strong and memorable couple, highly likeable.
- Milly - she could be some of those silly, annoying secondary characters, instead she is a pretty nice addition to the whole story
- the whole idea of the plot of the chaperon and fiancé in love - this may not be the most innovative idea but still, it is not as popular as some others and it is very well done
- a bit of some Shakespearian vibe - I'm not sure why and what exactly but the whole story has some atmosphere of Shakespeare comedy
What I didn't like:
- the whole mess with misunderstandings that are based on people not talking to each other - Tilda and Crispin are so convinced that they know what the other thinks and feels that they don't talk about it (and they are of course wrong and extremely unhappy), I seriously hate it when it happens in my books
July 22, 2010
Oh, it was all just a Big Misunderstanding!
December 27, 2024
Review coming soon, but I highly recommend if you love the angsty, sexy romances of early 2000. Elizabeth Rolls always reminds me why I started reviewing Harlequins in 2003.
June 21, 2013
I liked the main character very much. She is very strong, but believably so given the time period. I enjoyed the book, until I was about 2/3 through it. The main couple were together, yet the story didn't end. Rolls spent all this time writing about misunderstandings and a boring subplot about poachers. I was disappointed, since the book had started so well.
September 3, 2018
This book started off really well with an interesting heroine and hero. I specially liked the heroine. However, the second half was full of silly misunderstandings.
February 27, 2024
2.5 stars
Meh. Too much sex and desire on the page, much more than I'm comfortable with. And the conflict is sort-of artificial, arising from misunderstandings on both protagonists' parts. If they just talked to each other instead of making the wrong assumptions, this book could've been dispensed with altogether. There is nothing else there.
Meh. Too much sex and desire on the page, much more than I'm comfortable with. And the conflict is sort-of artificial, arising from misunderstandings on both protagonists' parts. If they just talked to each other instead of making the wrong assumptions, this book could've been dispensed with altogether. There is nothing else there.
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August 9, 2024A love quadrangle which comprises 50% idiots who can't tell that it isn't actually a love quadrangle...delightful. It does go on a bit too long though (the sex is boring tbh).
You can tell it was first published in the early 2000s because of the quantity of chest hair.
You can tell it was first published in the early 2000s because of the quantity of chest hair.
April 13, 2018
Much more depth than most regencies...though still predictable!
May 15, 2024
One of the 1st romance books I ever read. Lots of angst and misunderstandings/miscommunication.
March 14, 2011
I decided to read this book because my friend has read a few of Elizabeth Rolls' books and has recommended a few to me. Something I really like in this book is how dominant and strong Tilda was even though she had to go through a horrible childhood. I felt like Tilda was very resilient to most of the negative things that her family did to her when she came back after the death of her husband. Something I did not like was how her Uncle treated her and how she was forced into marriage with some one 40 years her senior. Something I would change about this book is how it took so long for Tilda and St Ormond that they were in love. I will read more Elizabeth Rolls books.
March 23, 2013
from abxc 12/11; fairly good English historical romance about a widow who is her cousin's chaperone who finds herself falling in love with the intended during a house party. Which is just as well - the cousin is in love with someone else anyway.
June 8, 2008
One of my favourite romance novels. The wordplay between the two characters is delightful.
January 28, 2010
I love this author, and this book was great. A little heavy on the tragic misunderstandings, but at least they didn't do anything TSTL as a result.
June 24, 2010
Not one of my favorite ones. I got one more book to read of hers.
April 18, 2012
Loved it! A lovely story written with humour and poignancy.
May 17, 2016
I think it paled in comparison to other books I have read these days, but overall, it was ok
July 24, 2011
Total fodder and again good sex scenes:)
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March 22, 2013This was another good book. I really enjoyed this one, and I hope to read more by this author
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews