Old Lover's Ghost

by Joan Smith

When her father is asked to exercise his skill at placating ghosts at the haunted manor house of the Earl of Merton, Charity believes she may have an opportunity to nurture a romance with the charming but cynical Earl

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Regency, Ghosts, Traditional Regency, Regency Romance, Clean Romance

222 pages, Hardcover

First published April 2, 1994

About the author

Joan Smith is a graduate of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and the Ontario College of Education. She has taught French and English in high school and English in college. When she began writing, her interest in Jane Austen and Lord Byron led to her first choice of genre, the Regency, which she especially liked for its wit and humor.
Her favorite travel destination is England, where she researches her books. Her hobbies are gardening, painting, sculpture and reading. She is married and has three children. A prolific writer, she is currently working on Regencies and various mysteries at her home in Georgetown, Ontario.
She is also known as Jennie Gallant

Reviews

[Danae · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one misses the mark of the witty and warm stories with a touch of cleverness that one has come to expect of Joan Smith's writing. Charity, loving daughter of a ghost hunter father, is beginning to realise that she won't get married as her father is always on the move from one haunted manor to another. Much as she loves her Dad, this existence on wheels is beginning to rankle. When they arrive at Keefer Hall to help the Earl of Merton's mother get rid of a haunting, Charity feels attracted to the Earl despite his cynicism about ghosts while his younger brother becomes a convert to the cause. Is the ghost haunting the Countess real or a fake? What does she feel so guilty about? What role are her companion, the vicar and a hermit on the estate playing? And what of the all the other ghosts that routinely throw objects to the floor in the Armaments Room and sing in the cloisters? As Charity and Merton begin to unravel the mysteries assisted by his younger brother and impeded by others, they begin to appreciate each other's qualities. Will that be enough to seal the deal? Or will the incorporeal get in the way. Read to find out...a somewhat dry tale that could do more dollops of humour.

[Patrizia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho letto quasi tutti i romanzi di Georgette Heyer: per ritrovare un po' di quello spirito, non mi resta che rivolgermi ai 'fake regency' di Joan Smith. Certo, non son tutti allo stesso livello, e questo non è forse uno dei migliori. Ma devo ancora una volta riconoscere che ho passato un rilassante pomeriggio di divertimento.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book buried in my to-be-reread pile. It's summer so i wanted some light reading between yardwork and catching up on my housework.

I rather like how the author brought the heroine to the hero without any major contrivances. It's also a fun premise. Victorians were fascinated by the supernatural. I'd be surprised if the Regency period wasn't full of its own believers. This is the first romance which features the supernatural.

In the end, this wasn't so much a romance as much as it was a mystery. Not a whole lot of courting except in the sense of how the two main characters worked to hard to appear attractive to the right person.

The hero wasn't perfect and he apologized for his autocratic ways nicely.

This was just a nice book. I liked it.

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and Ghosts in a Regency Romp

I read this last September and gave it the following review and 2 stars. This time I liked it much more. I just wish more attention had been paid to the two main heroes of this smart love story.


This one wasn't too bad. There's a ghost catcher and his daughter, a lord and his mother and brother and then all the other characters that make up this mystery and love story. The plot of a long lost son and his troublesome mom can get a bit tedious but Charity Wainwright and Lord Merton don't let it happen too much.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smith's deft hand in dialogue shows the couple, girl as smart as guy, dance closer, in action silly or serious. Charity's da is called by Merton's mama to investigate past, guilty about pregnant servant. Fakes compete with real spirits who sing, grieve, spat.

[Anne Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of paranormal and romance, a whole lot of fun.

For my full review: http://www.regrom.com/2015/10/18/joan...

[Lola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Merton was just a bit too pompous and self righteous for my tastes.