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The Homeless Heiress
Book by Anne Herries
304 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2008
About the author
Anne Herries
286 books67 followersLINDA SOLE also writes under the names of Anne Herries, Emma Quincey, Lynn Granville and one as Juliana Linden.
Linda was born in Swindon. Her family moved to Ely in Cambridgeshire when she was nine, and Linda attended the local school but left at fifteen to work as a hairdresser in her father's business. She was married at eighteen and ran her own hairdressing business for some years before moving to Cambridge, although Linda has now moved to somewhere a bit quieter in Cambridgeshire. She started writing in 1976, combining this with helping her husband to run his antique shop.
Writing as Anne Herries, Linda won the 2004 RNA Romance Award and the Betty Neels Trophy. She lives in Cambridgeshire. After many happy years of taking their holidays in Spain she and her husband, now have a second home in Norfolk. Being only a short drive, they can visit for a few days at a time, which suits their busy lifestyle these days. They are only just across the road from the sea, and can see it from their windows. At home and at the sea they enjoy watching the wildlife and have many visitors to their gardens, particularly squirrels. Anne loves watching their antics and spoils both them and her birds shamelessly. She also loves to see the flocks of geese and other birds flying in over the sea during the autumn, to winter in the milder climes of this country. Anne loves to write about the beauty of nature and sometimes puts a little into her books, though they are mostly about love and romance. She writes for her own enjoyment and to give pleasure to her readers.
Linda was born in Swindon. Her family moved to Ely in Cambridgeshire when she was nine, and Linda attended the local school but left at fifteen to work as a hairdresser in her father's business. She was married at eighteen and ran her own hairdressing business for some years before moving to Cambridge, although Linda has now moved to somewhere a bit quieter in Cambridgeshire. She started writing in 1976, combining this with helping her husband to run his antique shop.
Writing as Anne Herries, Linda won the 2004 RNA Romance Award and the Betty Neels Trophy. She lives in Cambridgeshire. After many happy years of taking their holidays in Spain she and her husband, now have a second home in Norfolk. Being only a short drive, they can visit for a few days at a time, which suits their busy lifestyle these days. They are only just across the road from the sea, and can see it from their windows. At home and at the sea they enjoy watching the wildlife and have many visitors to their gardens, particularly squirrels. Anne loves watching their antics and spoils both them and her birds shamelessly. She also loves to see the flocks of geese and other birds flying in over the sea during the autumn, to winter in the milder climes of this country. Anne loves to write about the beauty of nature and sometimes puts a little into her books, though they are mostly about love and romance. She writes for her own enjoyment and to give pleasure to her readers.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 16, 2015
This is pretty horrible. The writing is as uninspiring as the characters were. It's been pointed out by others that the Heiress has only been "homeless" for two weeks and despite having been raised as a lady (with some freedoms given by her mother) she can pick pockets without a lot of blundering. Yet she's silly enough to get robbed and doesn't exactly make that much of an effort to use her brain when escaping from her Uncle and Aunt.
I do find it amusing, however, that despite the fact that her Uncle was basically robbing her and taking advantage of her fortune (gasp no one saw this coming! An evil uncle?! It's never been done before :O) Georgie is continually told to let the men handle her inheritance and not to worry her pretty head about any of it. She's told lawyers will invest it and give you a lovely little allowance to live off of. I understand that this was pretty much the way things were in those days but you'd think that after have troubles to begin with Georgie might want to be a little more informed about her money and her investments. Given how unhelpful the lawyers were when her Uncle was helping himself, maybe a little more interest on her part would keep her fortune in her own hands. You'd think that the hero might want to help her be a bit more informed while he was at it as well. At one point our hero basically says that hers isn't the only abuse story out there and sort of tells her it isn't her fault she didn't know...and then reaffirms that she shouldn't think more on the matter because her lawyers will have the whole money thing well in hand. Do they not see the trouble in all this? If Georgie wanted to avoid being screwed for the second time wouldn't it be prudent of her to ask a few questions, learn a bit more about her finances? At this point she's made mention that she could use her money to establish a household for herself and marry only if she's in love (indicating that staying single is also a possibility as well). These ideas buck the system but because of her great fortune she can get away with it (supposedly) so a little interest in her own finances wouldn't exactly cause a scandal.
Georgie gets into trouble and she basically walks into it through her own stupidity. That she manages to muddle out of it at all isn't because of her keen intellect. As a character she's a useless ninny that remains childlike and naive despite encountering hardship that should spark a bit of growth or, at the very least, caution in her.
One of my "favorite" character moments was when Jenny (the sister to the hero) tells our heroine that if women ran the world they'd have sorted out this whole war thing so that it didn't happen...yet throughout the story Jenny is the stereotypical fluttering bird female character. She's obsessed with shopping and buying things (in fact, many of the scenes that include her have her talking about buying something or actually buying something) and couldn't give a fig about her children. I'm not even sure why the author included the two as we only hear brief mentions of their existence but never actually meet them. Jenny is actually more than willing to run away with our heroine into danger (to follow her husband and our hero into war) and leave a cousin and nannies to watch over them. Yes, with this nurturing instinct and brilliant thinking I
bet Jenny would've fixed that whole "war" problem easily. *Eye roll*
Avoid this book, there isn't anything here that hasn't been done, and done with better character development and romance.
I do find it amusing, however, that despite the fact that her Uncle was basically robbing her and taking advantage of her fortune (gasp no one saw this coming! An evil uncle?! It's never been done before :O) Georgie is continually told to let the men handle her inheritance and not to worry her pretty head about any of it. She's told lawyers will invest it and give you a lovely little allowance to live off of. I understand that this was pretty much the way things were in those days but you'd think that after have troubles to begin with Georgie might want to be a little more informed about her money and her investments. Given how unhelpful the lawyers were when her Uncle was helping himself, maybe a little more interest on her part would keep her fortune in her own hands. You'd think that the hero might want to help her be a bit more informed while he was at it as well. At one point our hero basically says that hers isn't the only abuse story out there and sort of tells her it isn't her fault she didn't know...and then reaffirms that she shouldn't think more on the matter because her lawyers will have the whole money thing well in hand. Do they not see the trouble in all this? If Georgie wanted to avoid being screwed for the second time wouldn't it be prudent of her to ask a few questions, learn a bit more about her finances? At this point she's made mention that she could use her money to establish a household for herself and marry only if she's in love (indicating that staying single is also a possibility as well). These ideas buck the system but because of her great fortune she can get away with it (supposedly) so a little interest in her own finances wouldn't exactly cause a scandal.
Georgie gets into trouble and she basically walks into it through her own stupidity. That she manages to muddle out of it at all isn't because of her keen intellect. As a character she's a useless ninny that remains childlike and naive despite encountering hardship that should spark a bit of growth or, at the very least, caution in her.
One of my "favorite" character moments was when Jenny (the sister to the hero) tells our heroine that if women ran the world they'd have sorted out this whole war thing so that it didn't happen...yet throughout the story Jenny is the stereotypical fluttering bird female character. She's obsessed with shopping and buying things (in fact, many of the scenes that include her have her talking about buying something or actually buying something) and couldn't give a fig about her children. I'm not even sure why the author included the two as we only hear brief mentions of their existence but never actually meet them. Jenny is actually more than willing to run away with our heroine into danger (to follow her husband and our hero into war) and leave a cousin and nannies to watch over them. Yes, with this nurturing instinct and brilliant thinking I
bet Jenny would've fixed that whole "war" problem easily. *Eye roll*
Avoid this book, there isn't anything here that hasn't been done, and done with better character development and romance.
September 30, 2010
I didn't care much for this book. The heroine runs away from home, has all her property stolen and winds up living on the streets, dressed like a boy, and stealing for her living. Though she's been raised a lady, she can somehow pick pockets with the best of the urchins. And she picks the wrong pocket, stealing papers from a man working as a government agent. He takes her home and hides her there from the villain she ran from.
I had problems with a lot of this book. The writing seemed to veer from overwrought to pedantic. A lot of time was spent in dialogue telling what the people were going to do, but she didn't show them actually doing it. Many of the historical elements were off-I'm not especially picky (though I do have a grad degree in history), but this was too far off the track. The story felt very episodic-lots of things happening, but it didn't seem to get anywhere. It also suffered from "kitchen sink" syndrome--too many things in the plot to allow room for the romance. I mean, it even sends the characters to Waterloo. I read it all, but it makes me sad to admit that I was wincing all the way through. I Want to like the books I read, but this one, I didn't much.
I had problems with a lot of this book. The writing seemed to veer from overwrought to pedantic. A lot of time was spent in dialogue telling what the people were going to do, but she didn't show them actually doing it. Many of the historical elements were off-I'm not especially picky (though I do have a grad degree in history), but this was too far off the track. The story felt very episodic-lots of things happening, but it didn't seem to get anywhere. It also suffered from "kitchen sink" syndrome--too many things in the plot to allow room for the romance. I mean, it even sends the characters to Waterloo. I read it all, but it makes me sad to admit that I was wincing all the way through. I Want to like the books I read, but this one, I didn't much.
September 23, 2010
– The Homeless Heiress was completely totally and utterly…predictable. The back cover blurb is misleading in that the heroine has only been ‘homeless’ for two weeks and through her own inability to take care of herself, got robbed and ended up with no place to go. Sorry but its hard to have much sympathy for her in that situation. The characters are flat and the plot was predictable, The Homeless Heiress is more than out of a home, she’s out of luck too. ~ Cerise, www.ireadromance.com
November 8, 2015
This was terrible story, Georgie acted and talked like a 10 year old throughout the book. The actions of the characters just didn't make any sense, they didn't feel like real people. The story line just wouldn't end and it was only 320 pages. Sentences were repeated over and over again. In other words it was boring.
December 12, 2011
Intriguing beginning, with a mysterious ex-military government agent capturing a scruffy thief and then discovering the grimy boy is an elegant young lady fallen on desperate times.
The predictability of the romantic development is offset by a subplot concerning treacherous Bonapartists, but neither the romance nor the action is able to prevent the story slipping into a repetition of stilted dialogues, lifeless descriptions, and two-dimensional characterisations.
The last few chapters are particularly dire. With a hundred pages to go I had enough interest invested in the outcome to soldier on to the end, but only by skimming and skipping through dozens of ever-more-boring paragraphs.
The historical authenticity of the story wasn't helped by some disturbingly modern colloquialisms and copy-and-paste descriptions of clothing, food, and other atmosphere-building props.
The predictability of the romantic development is offset by a subplot concerning treacherous Bonapartists, but neither the romance nor the action is able to prevent the story slipping into a repetition of stilted dialogues, lifeless descriptions, and two-dimensional characterisations.
The last few chapters are particularly dire. With a hundred pages to go I had enough interest invested in the outcome to soldier on to the end, but only by skimming and skipping through dozens of ever-more-boring paragraphs.
The historical authenticity of the story wasn't helped by some disturbingly modern colloquialisms and copy-and-paste descriptions of clothing, food, and other atmosphere-building props.
September 22, 2013
«Ma voi tornerete, Richard. Vi amo tanto che il mio amore vi riporterà da me.»
Mi è piaciuto molto, Georgie è una bella protagonista, impulsiva ma non stupida nonostante la sua giovane età; Richard è stato un soldato ed ora è una spia e l'amore che prova per la fanciulla che ha accolto in casa sua salvandola dalla strada lo mette nella difficile posizione di scegliere tra amore e dovere, infatti non crede di poterle offrire il matrimonio finché la guerra contro Napoleone è in pieno svolgimento ma ha decisamente sottovalutato il coraggio della nostra protagonista, che per raggiungere il suo amore ferito non esita a seguirlo in mezzo alla battaglia *_* Sconfitto il cattivo comune, un bell'epilogo romantico ha chiuso in bellezza! ^_^
Mi è piaciuto molto, Georgie è una bella protagonista, impulsiva ma non stupida nonostante la sua giovane età; Richard è stato un soldato ed ora è una spia e l'amore che prova per la fanciulla che ha accolto in casa sua salvandola dalla strada lo mette nella difficile posizione di scegliere tra amore e dovere, infatti non crede di poterle offrire il matrimonio finché la guerra contro Napoleone è in pieno svolgimento ma ha decisamente sottovalutato il coraggio della nostra protagonista, che per raggiungere il suo amore ferito non esita a seguirlo in mezzo alla battaglia *_* Sconfitto il cattivo comune, un bell'epilogo romantico ha chiuso in bellezza! ^_^
September 4, 2017
Ever pick up a book by the pool on holiday and spend your time wondering why it's so awful, and pressing on with it in the hope it gets better, and then hitting the end and spotting the mills&boon sign and then realising that that is why it didn't?
Well, that's two stories running that have done that to me in a week.
This one was "girl in an unlikely situation, has an unlikely romance with an unlikely gentleman that she just happens to run into, and international unlikely events ensue".
Probably enjoyable, if you enjoy repetitive battering home of the small bits of plot that there are.
Well, that's two stories running that have done that to me in a week.
This one was "girl in an unlikely situation, has an unlikely romance with an unlikely gentleman that she just happens to run into, and international unlikely events ensue".
Probably enjoyable, if you enjoy repetitive battering home of the small bits of plot that there are.
January 1, 2014
I enjoy the light romances set in Regency times. Especially hen the heroine is a minx or willing to stand up for herself. Georgie, here is more a minx getting in trouble & needing rescuing. As usual, the two lovers are at odds, neither wanting to admit their feelings, although his reasons made more sense to me. Still a good escape for an evening.
June 30, 2012
there is no waiting around for it to get into.striaght away they have met and your into the story.only started it late last night but today i cant put it down,will soooooo be finished by the end off the day :) a complete thumbs up from me
November 2, 2016
Anne has a talent to make you are there and you won't want to come back. My favorites are her medieval historicals but that is all authors but I love Regencies also. You want to escape she will take you there and you'll love every minute
December 30, 2013
1,5 stars.
It was interesting at the beginning but then it got abit lot boring.
Not bad but not good either. So-so.
It was interesting at the beginning but then it got a
Not bad but not good either. So-so.
July 3, 2019
A good mismash of intrigue and romance. The only gripe is that some of the thoughts and dialogue in places was a little reptetative in places. Very enjoyable never-the-less
July 6, 2020
Very different and good.
April 10, 2017
2+ stars.
I expected more hinging on the plot of homeless and pickpocket, but that was just the set-up. And not much of one (which is fine, simply not what I'd thought I'd settled in to read). Not my fave heroine, but Georgie had her moments.
Side note: Authors of Regency seem to be very shy (afraid) of giving their hero's too long in thinking -- liking -- about the heroines-dressed-as-lads, lest they come across as being interested in the lad. I believe that's why the discovery/reveal always comes so quickly in the books of this plot-stripe I've read.
I expected more hinging on the plot of homeless and pickpocket, but that was just the set-up. And not much of one (which is fine, simply not what I'd thought I'd settled in to read). Not my fave heroine, but Georgie had her moments.
Side note: Authors of Regency seem to be very shy (afraid) of giving their hero's too long in thinking -- liking -- about the heroines-dressed-as-lads, lest they come across as being interested in the lad. I believe that's why the discovery/reveal always comes so quickly in the books of this plot-stripe I've read.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews