Romance of the Rose

by Julie Beard

When beautiful, quick-tempered Lady Rosalind Carbery inherits Thornbury Manor, she's determined to rule it alone and remain a virgin like the great Queen Elizabeth I. She longs for freedom and dreams of writing, like her friend William Shakespeare.

But Drake Rothwell has other plans. A dashing privateer who was raised by Rosalind's father, he returns from the high seas to claim Thornbury as his own. Their merry battle takes a turn for the worse when the queen settles their dispute --- by taking the house from both of them. Desperate, Drake and Rosalind join forces to lay double claim to the land by marrying --- in name only. But soon the Rose of Thornbury realizes the one territory she cannot protect from Drake is her heart.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, British Literature, Enemies To Lovers, Marriage Of Convenience

380 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1998

About the author

Julie Beard is a former journalist who brings her reporting skills to her award-winning, bestselling novels. Imagine investigating weapons of the Middle Ages, or the importance of reputations in the Victorian era, as she did when writing Midnight Angel (Berkley Sensation, December 2003). Julie has been hailed for her ability to magically recreate the distant past. Now she's busy "world building" in the future.

Julie was one of the launch authors for the Silhouette Bombshell series, a new line of romantic action/adventure novels. She debuted with Kiss of the Blue Dragon (August 2004) featuring 28-year-old Angel Baker, a certified retribution specialist who strives to see justice done in the year 2104. The sequel, Touch of the White Tiger, will be a September 2005 release.

Julie was a reporter and a news writer before turning her writing skills to more creative venues. She worked as the night beat for KSDK-TV, covering everything from murders to visiting politicians to hometown parades. As a news writer at the Fox affiliate in Chicago, she wrote copy for the legendary news anchor Walter Jacobson and Robin Robinson.

Julie also has given dozens of workshops and lectures around the country at community colleges, bookstores and writers conferences. She's conducted seminars and written articles about editing, writing, promotions and journalism. She wrote the popular "how-to" book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Your Romance Published. This comprehensive nonfiction title offers advice on everything from plotting and editing a novel to finding an agent and publisher.

Julie graduated from Northwestern University's prestigious Medill School of Journalism with a master of science degree in journalism. She graduated with a B.F.A. in theatre arts from Stephens College. She lives with her husband, two children and two incorrigible basenjis in the Midwest.

Sourced from: http://www.eharlequin.com/author.html...

Reviews

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, passionate book for lovers of the Elizabethan period. Of course Queen Elizabeth and the bard William Shakespeare make appearances. In fact, they are both heavily involved in the plot of this book. It's also a good book if you like unrequited love, and friends/enemies to lovers. Rosalind was a good heroine, and I admired her determination to live her own life, even if that meant remaining unwedded. Drake was complicated and had some motives that might have made him seem amoral, but Beard did a good job of making him sympathetic. I loved that he was helplessly in love with Rosalind, and had been since he was a child. Of course love denied turns to spite. Be even at his worst, he was not cruel to Rosalind. I enjoyed that both characters grew and had to made a determination about what was really important to them in their lives. The passion between them was fiery, yet the consummation came right on time. I enjoyed the look at the bawdy, intrigue-filled, and complicated lives that people led back in the 16th century. Not always pretty or pristine, but definitely interesting. This book is a keeper.

[Gkpotufe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Im not big on politics and this book was ALL politics. Cute ending with William Shakespeare.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ROMANCE OF THE ROSE (Romance-Elizabethian) - VG
Beard, Julie

From Fiction DB: When beautiful, quick-tempered Lady Rosalind Carbery inherits Thornbury Manor, she's determined to rule it alone and remain a virgin like the great Queen Elizabeth I. She longs for freedom and dreams of writing, like her friend William Shakespeare.

But Drake Rothwell has other plans. A dashing privateer who was raised by Rosalind's father, he returns from the high seas to claim Thornbury as his own. Their merry battle takes a turn for the worse when the queen settles their dispute--by taking the house from both of them. Desperate, Drake and Rosalind join forces to lay double claim to the land by marrying-in name only. But soon the Rose of Thornbury realizes the one territory she cannot protect from Drake is her heart!

A battle over a house / Shakespeare - really enjoyed this one.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok. It was a bit too predictable, it ended to perfectly to be realistic, there wasn't really enough romance for me, and sometimes the characters seemed more like teenagers than adults. Regardless though, the story was interesting enough to keep me reading and I did make it to the end. For that I give it three, maybe three and a half, stars.

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

it is a good book about a woman who wants to own her home alone but finds out there is a co owner who has plans for the house which she will not tolerate, so each sets out to thwart the others plans which lead to a surprise ending

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read - loved the ending!

[Mareena · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my #1 challenge (Title With Flower), I read Romance of the Rose by Julie Beard. When lovely, quick-tempered Lady Rosalind Carbery inherits Thornbury House from her father, she is determined to rule it alone as a virgin like the great Queen Elizabeth. She longs to be a successful playwright like her friend William Shakespeare. Drake Rothwell has other plans. Fostered by Rosalind's father when he was a boy, the bold privateer returns from the high seas to claim Thornbury House as his own. Their merry battles come to a head when the queen settles their dispute - by taking the house from both of them. Desperate to get the house back, Drake and Rosalind join forces to lay double claim to the land by marrying in name only. However, soon Rosalind realizes the one territory she cannot protect from Drake is her heart. I really liked this Elizabethan romance and I thought that it had a nice little twist at the end. I give it a B+!

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated "Romance of the Rose" by Julie Beard as very good when I read it in May of 2006. Three out of four of her stories were rated similarly, one including a short story which is an unusually high rating for a short story by me. So it appears Julie Beard can consistently provide very good tales for her readers.

[Angelica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first ever classic book I owned. I despise reading this for so many times because I couldn't understand a thing! Not a good book for a starter. A shakespearean inspired book.