Gothic Romance, read in 1970/80's? Heroine is probably a governess. Hero has a clan of people completely loyal to him, owns large estate. Clan were smugglers at night? A "crag" is mentioned.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Sherry, are you still looking for this book?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Check out this listopia:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...

Also go to the listopia page and do a search on "governess."

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Sherry, if you bump your thread up to the top of the queue every month or two or three, you'll have a better chance of getting it found, since it will stay near the top for when we get new members. And for us longer term members, it will stay fresher in our minds as we go about our day-to-day reading.

[Aerulan]

Sherry wrote: "How do I do that?"

Just post something, whatever you like. Most people say something like "bump", that will send your thread back to the top of the forum lists.

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen]

Sherry wrote: "Ok thanks."

Is it a historical gothic romance? and can you remember anything else ..the slightest thing?

[Amber (Daisymau)]

Secret of the Pale Lover by Clarissa Ross. Is the only book I can think of right now. It's been a long time since I read it, but I don't think the heroine was a governess. I think she was picked to marry the son or something like that.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

See Sherry--a new suggestion and questions from this latest bump. Even if the suggestion isn't RIGHT, it's still a suggestion--and can cause other titles to spark in readers minds.

[Amber (Daisymau)]

I did a keyword search for governess and found these books. Hope this helps.

The Shadow Between
The Girl from Paris
The Silence of Herondale
Francesca
Green Willows
And Then There Was Georgia
The Deep Pool
Bride Of Misfortune
Evil in the House by Evelyn Bond
The Chinese Door
The Hounds of Carvello
The Tormented
Lady of Mallow
The Pretty Ones
The Time of the Dragon
Dark Castle Silver Strand
The Swaying Pillars
The Devil's Dress
Fiona
Hawksbill Manor
Seadrift House
Shadow of the Cat
The House of Kuragin
The Changling
Darcourt
The Rochemer Hag
The House In The Woods
Uneasy paradise
The Witches of Windlake
Claire
Wild Boar Wood
Bluethorne
Province of Darkness Province of Darkness
Child of Satan
The Witches' Ladder
The Silent Place
The Devil Boy
China Shadow
Evil of Dark Harbor
Face In The Pond
Night of the Dead
Mistress of Ravenswood
Dark Shadows
Falcon's Island
The Hermitage
Smuggler's Gate
Mansion of Mystery
The Curse of Concullens
Lady Ingram's Room
Cameron's Landing
Lost Roses of Ganymede House
Moorhaven

[Kirstin]

Is it The Falcon's Bride by Dawn Thompson? The hero is a leader of a gympsy clan but it also involves some time travel.

[Amber (Daisymau)]

Here's a list of nannies in gothics.

Devil by the Sea
The Capricorn Stone
Any Two Can Play
Seven for a Secret

Tutors:

Imperial Blue by Evelyn Bond
The Attic Child
Door into Terror
Hands of Terror by Jeanne Crecy
Abbey Gate
The Tormented
Children of the Storm
The Heatherton Heritage
The Man Without a Face
Summer of Fear by Susan Marvin
Storm Wind Rising
The Veil of Silence
Crystal Shadows
Moonwind
Mists of Ravensfall
Lady of Seven Emeralds

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen]

I Think the problem with old gothics is that most of them are so obscure its hard to find.

Governess in gothics...why it could number a huge amount. There is a vintage gothic romance forum...maybe an idea to post there? :)

http://www.gothicromanceforum.com/

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Mistress of Mellyn?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Sherry wrote: "There was also something about a crag in the book."

Did the crag figure in the plot somehow, or is that just a random memory of a physical description?

[Tanya]

Is it The Love Knot by Beatrice Small?

[Juels]

Don't know why this is coming to mind...

Crown of Mist by Kimberly Cates

[Juels]

The MacOrvan Curse by Florence Bowes?

Sorry, couldn't find a description.

[Holly]

Dragonwyck? It's a very famous gothic.

[Kris]

Sherry, what makes this a gothic romance?

Can you tell us something about a crisis in the story (e.g., feuding clans, heroine escaping an arranged marriage or a dark past, a love triangle)?

You mention a clan. Is it definitely set in Scotland? Time period?

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

City of Gold and Shadows
Marsanne: A novel

came up in a search on "gothic" and "smugglers".

[Kris]

A shot in the dark - Dark Citadel by Caroline Farr?

Is the hero the leader or laird of the clan?

[Bren fall in love with the sea.]

Was it Fiona by by Catherine Gaskin? That is gothic, came out in the 70's and she is a governess. Love interest is named Fergus.

[Kris]

Fiona by Catherine Gaskin - Bren's suggestion

[Frances]

Jane eyre is the book that comes to my mind but I don't know if gothic fits!

[Sarah]

There's a couple of Barbara Michaels books that this could be - how about Black Rainbow, or Greygallows, or another one that I can't think of at this time - have you checked her out?

[Kris]

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë - Frances's suggestion

Black Rainbow or Greygallows by Barbara Michaels - Sarah's suggestions

[RavensScar]

Could it be one of Barbara Cartlands books?

[[deleted user]]

No governess, she's a penniless poor relation, but Jamaica Inn has a group of smugglers that come out at night led by a pale/albino priest. Also, he's not the hero, but does lead the heroine along as a good guy for most of the story. They shine a light off a crag to tempt the ships to hit the rocks and sink.

[Tammy]

Carola Salisbury's Dark Inheritance had smugglers and wreckers and a governess protagonist.

[Kris]

Author Barbara Cartland - Lina's suggestion

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - Andy's suggestion

Dark Inheritance by Carola Salisbury - Tammy's suggestion

[Anne]

There’s a Gothic called Let the Crags Comb Out Her Dainty Hair.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

However, I can’t find much about the plot from the one GR review. But it has a crag...

[Amber (Daisymau)]

Ravensmount by Marjorie McEvoy?

[Amber (Daisymau)]

Couldn't find the book listed here, but Hour of the Harp by Lynna Cooper has a governess/tutor.

[Kris]

Sherry, I added some details to the topic header, so your book might be recognized from that description alone. Many members only read the headers.

Feel free to update it by clicking the small "edit" link after the topic header. This only works on the full Desktop website - not the Mobile website or app. (On the Mobile website, there's a "Desktop version" link at the bottom of the page.)

[S.U.]

A Hazard of Hearts? I have seen the movie, and the story line is similar.

[Amber (Daisymau)]

I did a keyword search for crag and found these books:

Seagull Crag by Elisabeth Welles.
heiress to crag castle by Minerva Rosetti.
Hawks of Glenaerie by Ruth MacLeod.
Castle Barebane by Joan Aiken.
The Encounter by Charity Blackstock.
The October Witch by Alanna Knight.
Wyndspelle by Aola Vandergriff.
Death by the Zodiac by Mona Farnsworth.

[Amber (Daisymau)]

Smugglers' moon by Sylvia Thorpe? Strangers on the Moor? The h isn't a governess, but is traveling with her old governess, who is now her traveling companion.

[Amber (Daisymau)]

I'm going to mention this book, but I know it's not the right one. The Sea Treasure by Elisabeth Barr. The h is a governess on a ship that is going to England with her two charges and the parents. Near the Cornish coast a group of wreckers attack the ship and kill everyone aboard. The h hides on the beach and is rescued by the H, but she has amnesia and can't remember her name or anything else.

[Amber (Daisymau)]

A Scent of Oleander by Constance Lea? The h is a governess to a Count's two children.

[Laina]

I see it was mentioned already, but I wanted to second Jamaica Inn - if you haven't had a chance to read the book, there is a plot synopsis here on Wikipedia you can read to see if it's a match:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica...

Good luck!