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Dangerous #4
Dangerous Lady
Coming to London to fulfill her duties as Queen Victoria's maid of honor, Lady Letitia Deverill must implore the infuriatingly handsome Lord Raventhorpe for help when her pet monkey discovers the startling truth behind her surprising inheritance--a truth that will thrust them into a world of danger and love. Original.
348 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 12, 1999
54 people are currently reading
235 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 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 15, 2024
The historical details were interesting, but the story and characters left me ‘meh’. The pacing in particular seemed off, and in my opinion the book would have benefitted from being about a third shorter.
I also hate the overused stereotype of the clueless/bumbling elderly female in HRs, and refuse to believe that two women who discreetly and successfully ran such a ‘house’ for two decades could be such shatterbrained idiots.
I also hate the overused stereotype of the clueless/bumbling elderly female in HRs, and refuse to believe that two women who discreetly and successfully ran such a ‘house’ for two decades could be such shatterbrained idiots.
August 28, 2025
Superb
The Queen of enemies to lovers is as talented as Georgette Heyer with a little more spice. Fans of Bridgeton will devour these delectable novels. Perfect for a holiday weekend or a busy midweek break. I have enjoyed these novels immensely.
The Queen of enemies to lovers is as talented as Georgette Heyer with a little more spice. Fans of Bridgeton will devour these delectable novels. Perfect for a holiday weekend or a busy midweek break. I have enjoyed these novels immensely.
October 14, 2018
I Book. 3.5 stars
April 21, 2019
Absolutely loved it. Good plot, interesting characters.
June 15, 2020
Great story
This book was full of history as well as a fiction story. I enjoyed reading this book. It was fun.
This book was full of history as well as a fiction story. I enjoyed reading this book. It was fun.
Read
April 9, 2024Audiobook
December 10, 2013
When I first picked up this book to read (and I do not recall where I got it; it might have been from a Friends of the Library book sale, it might have been one of the books my eldest left out in an open box on her back porch, it might have been from the swap bookcase at the VA Hospital … I just do not recall), the bright red cover suggested that it was one of those romance things I should not be reading, but there was no lurid picture, so I thought I would at least start it to see if it were worth reading. The list of other books on the flyleaf opposite the title page seemed to be typical of the neo-romantic nonsense my daughter seems to enjoy so much, and the name of “Amanda Scott” sounded familiar, but I just could not place it. Still, the book was in my hands, and I had some time for reading, so I started it … and I am delighted that I did, because I enjoyed it very much, is why I gave it four stars, which I do not do for much fiction. I probably should hold my praise until I read a few other books by Ms. Scott, but I am inclined on the basis of this first reading to say that she belongs in the same category as Georgette Heyer, which I mean to be high praise. The kind of overt sex I was afraid I would find behind that bright red cover did not appear until the epilogue, and even then it was cutely done. More to the point, the characters are interesting and say very amusing things; I had a lot of chuckles while reading this book, and I got so wrapped up in it that I stayed up much too late into the wee hours of the morning in order to finish it.
This is, in fact, a Victorian romance — one of those formula things that is a story of a young English woman of noble heritage looking (or not looking) for love amongst the same class gentleman of her age – which in this case essentially is the second year Queen Victoria’s reign, 1838 – 1839. The heroine of these books almost always has a lower-class dresser to provide support for her mistress’s more refined sensibilities; the hero almost always has a slightly less intelligent companion who acts as his stooge. (In this case, there are two — an equally ranked friend who really does not get fully developed, and a younger brother who at least gets started on to the right path by the end of the book.) In addition, there is always an amusing relative, usually an elderly woman who acts as a counterpoint to the heroine. Again, in this case, there are two, sweet elderly ladies who happened to be the great aunts of the hero and who also happen to be living in the London house that the heroine has just inherited — and who for the past 20 years have been operating that house as a place of convenience for couples of the ton who want a little privacy for their assignations. As is always the case, the heroine and the hero are instant enemies at the beginning of the story but gradually begin to find each other more appealing. There are lots of wrinkles in the plot, and it probably would help to do a little refresher research on the conflicts between the Whigs and the Tories before reading it.
Ms. Scott takes a few liberties with history, which I suppose would be very bothersome to puristic readers, but I found the tale sufficiently entertaining that I could forget all that.
This is, in fact, a Victorian romance — one of those formula things that is a story of a young English woman of noble heritage looking (or not looking) for love amongst the same class gentleman of her age – which in this case essentially is the second year Queen Victoria’s reign, 1838 – 1839. The heroine of these books almost always has a lower-class dresser to provide support for her mistress’s more refined sensibilities; the hero almost always has a slightly less intelligent companion who acts as his stooge. (In this case, there are two — an equally ranked friend who really does not get fully developed, and a younger brother who at least gets started on to the right path by the end of the book.) In addition, there is always an amusing relative, usually an elderly woman who acts as a counterpoint to the heroine. Again, in this case, there are two, sweet elderly ladies who happened to be the great aunts of the hero and who also happen to be living in the London house that the heroine has just inherited — and who for the past 20 years have been operating that house as a place of convenience for couples of the ton who want a little privacy for their assignations. As is always the case, the heroine and the hero are instant enemies at the beginning of the story but gradually begin to find each other more appealing. There are lots of wrinkles in the plot, and it probably would help to do a little refresher research on the conflicts between the Whigs and the Tories before reading it.
Ms. Scott takes a few liberties with history, which I suppose would be very bothersome to puristic readers, but I found the tale sufficiently entertaining that I could forget all that.
October 5, 2015
Dangerous Lady by Amanda Scott
Lady Letitia Deverill, daughter of a diplomat to France, arrives in London to take up her duties as maid of honor to Queen Victoria and to serve as landlord to a couple of older ladies who are tenants in a lovely home she has recently inherited. Letty is from an active Tory family which is in the minority in the current English government and she knows she is the token member of that party within Victoria's household, as the Queen favors the Whigs. Letty is unusual in that she has been raised to speak her mind and be an independent woman. She is intelligent and well spoken regarding politics. She also shocks people (especially men) by taking on the duties of landlord herself rather than having her father handle those matters of business. This is the cause of unwanted advice and scorn from the handsome Viscount Raventhorpe, who is constantly trying to interfere in her life. Although she inherited the home once owned by Mr. Benthall with the stipulation that the two older ladies would be granted life tenancy for 40 pounds a year, the viscount had inherited the remainder of his substantial fortune. Along with being shunned at court because of her political beliefs, Letty is also trying to maneuver the twists and turns of discovering a secret about the home she owns and the two ladies who live there. With Raventhorpe's help, they find a way to salvage her threatened reputation along with the reputations of some in the higher echelons of society, as well as thwart an assassination attempt directed at the young queen.
Lady Letitia Deverill, daughter of a diplomat to France, arrives in London to take up her duties as maid of honor to Queen Victoria and to serve as landlord to a couple of older ladies who are tenants in a lovely home she has recently inherited. Letty is from an active Tory family which is in the minority in the current English government and she knows she is the token member of that party within Victoria's household, as the Queen favors the Whigs. Letty is unusual in that she has been raised to speak her mind and be an independent woman. She is intelligent and well spoken regarding politics. She also shocks people (especially men) by taking on the duties of landlord herself rather than having her father handle those matters of business. This is the cause of unwanted advice and scorn from the handsome Viscount Raventhorpe, who is constantly trying to interfere in her life. Although she inherited the home once owned by Mr. Benthall with the stipulation that the two older ladies would be granted life tenancy for 40 pounds a year, the viscount had inherited the remainder of his substantial fortune. Along with being shunned at court because of her political beliefs, Letty is also trying to maneuver the twists and turns of discovering a secret about the home she owns and the two ladies who live there. With Raventhorpe's help, they find a way to salvage her threatened reputation along with the reputations of some in the higher echelons of society, as well as thwart an assassination attempt directed at the young queen.
May 11, 2015
In this book, although it is exciting in a lot of chapters, I really feel this book is more write-by-number than many of Amanda Scott's other books are. I like originality, and this book certainly isn't that. That said, it was well researched and written.
March 3, 2010
I gave it three stars because I learned so much about the early years of Victoria's reign, not because I think she is a great writer.
November 2, 2013
wonderful women!
August 15, 2014
Boring. Too much talking.
February 21, 2010
Excellent. Fun story and history.
March 29, 2017
lots of secrets, really liked trying to figure them out. Very good!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews