Belle is the story of an elopement gone horribly awry. Belle and Stephan thought they were taking the shortest road to wedded bliss, but instead found themselves side-tracked along a scenic route to Gretna Green filled with kidnappers, cattle thieves, homicidal inn keepers, furious former fiancés, enraged parents and one very dogged Bow Street runner. The way to love was paved with uncomfortable adventures and excruciating embarrassments.
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Belle is a departure from the more serious tales of Jacobites in Scotland. Though still rich in historical detail, I hope you will enjoy the quirky outrageousness of a Regency comedy that takes a lighter look at matters of the heart.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Belle found herself awake for dawn's arrival but was quite unable to appreciate the glory of sunrise in the country. The gory color of dawnlight flooding her eastern window underscored the unfamiliar pain in her head, and pressed mercilessly against her inflamed eyelids. To add audible insult to the morning's ocular assault, a dozen cockerels began to crow in disharmony right outside her casement. The blessed oblivion of sleep was ended.
Belle opened her eyes and noted unhappily that the mattress beneath her was listing toward the right, suggesting that some weight greater than her own was laid down upon it.
With a growing pall of resignation, Belle turned her head to see if she truly had a companion in her bed. At the sight of Stephan Kirton's pale face on the pillow beside her, Belle's stomach rolled over and announced that it, too, was dissatisfied with the early hour and her precarious circumstances.
Though Belle would have preferred to do any retching in private, she thought it wise to immediately seek out the nearest repository for her overindulgence in case she was overcome before her will could assert mastery over her stomach.
Belle opened her eyes and noted unhappily that the mattress beneath her was listing toward the right, suggesting that some weight greater than her own was laid down upon it.
With a growing pall of resignation, Belle turned her head to see if she truly had a companion in her bed. At the sight of Stephan Kirton's pale face on the pillow beside her, Belle's stomach rolled over and announced that it, too, was dissatisfied with the early hour and her precarious circumstances.
Though Belle would have preferred to do any retching in private, she thought it wise to immediately seek out the nearest repository for her overindulgence in case she was overcome before her will could assert mastery over her stomach.
* * *
Putting the unused basin aside, and avoiding the unforgiving image in the glass, she made an effort to smooth her badly crushed costume, and then checked once again to be certain that Stephen's presence in her bed was not simply a brandy-induced hallucination. It was not. Her careless foray into the garden of desire had netted her a snake which was curled up in her bed.
And this time her would-be-husband's eyes were slitted open. His expression was as filled with suffering and rue as she imagined her own to be. Given his complexion, she thought it merciful that he did not seem inclined to the rigors of remorseful conversation, for his grim expression said plainly that it could only be an unpleasant exchange. Belle decided that whatever witch's brew they had been drinking last night would have been more properly served in a skull than a goblet.
"Good morning." Stephen's voice was a harsh rumble.
Of, course, it was early hours yet, but Belle could not perceive a single good thing about this particular morning.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
i usually love her books. ive been reading romance for over 10 years now and i find it very rare that i come across a book that i just cannot bear to finish! this is one such book. i was so bored by it. the female character was an idiot! i had to struggle not to give up reading it half way through. not a good book if uve never read anything by ms jackson before.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Most people who adore Melanie Jackson know her as one of the finest historical writers around. She draws vivid characters, who grab you from the start, that are intelligent, with sparkling wit and a sparkle in the eye. This time she paints her story with a lighter, whimsical touch and scores another bullseye, showing you she is a talent to watch.
Stephan Kirton has been dumped - the lady in question having no ambition to marry the scarred, ...son of a Duke; while Belle had been abandoned by her betrothed, Quincy. ...
Their journey is one escapade after another, meeting Sweeney Todd, Scottish reivers and various others characters along the way and scandalising the whole countryside in the process!
This is one delightful read I could not put down!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars
5 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A WONDERFUL book!
13 Mar 2002
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Stephan and Annabelle (Belle) are a delightful couple who are perfect for each other. Stephan realizes this rather quickly, he just has to convince Belle...while avoiding Scottish Reevers and a myriad of other troubles on their way to Gretna Green.
Ms Jackson proves with this book that she can write with a lighter voice and still maintain her beautiful writing style. Readers will connect quickly with this engaging couple and truly enjoy this troubled journey to true love.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
warm historical romance
11 April 2002
By Harriet Klausner
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
If life was fair and simple, Stephen Kirton would be happily married to a respectable lady. However, as far as Stephen is concerned life is unreasonable and complex so he knows his dream will never happen, as Polite Society will never accept a person born on the wrong side of the sheets let alone his commerce with the "lower classes".
Instead, he seeks a night of revelry at the hedonistic Ormstead Park where he is shocked to see Annabelle Winston, an unattainable fantasy from his less complicated youth. They share drunken kisses at night, but that morning she rejects his proposal of marriage to avoid scandal. BELLE flees, but Stephen follows because he knows she is the one person who could bring happiness into his bleak dismal world.
BELLE is a warm historical romance though readers will wonder if the hero is a Regency adult or a disenchanted 1960s youth failing to score during the summer of Love. Stephen is the duel edge sword of the exciting plot. Readers will either moan along with him as a charmer who deserves the love of a good woman or tell him to get a life. Belle is an intriguing individual whose fall from grace contrasts with her letters to her mother. Melanie Jackson provides a well-written tale, but readers need to decide whether Stephen is an immature whiner or a misfortunate antihero.
Harriet Klausner
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
what a romp!
5 April 2002
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Melanie Jackson has fashioned a fun romp, laced with historical detail and a lyrical feel. Stephen and Annabelle fall into each others' arms when they are nothing short of "foxed." Both have been jilted and are looking for what love really means. The opening, where we slowly discover through the characters' own points of view, just how incapacitated they are becoming, is really excellent writing. When they wake the next morning, compromised in reputation, if not in fact, and feeling the worse for wear, the chase begins with each trying to save the other from him or herself. Reavers, poison, and a series of delightful card games where the lovers play for stakes much higher than money, are barriers to their final bliss. But we know they are going to get there. Ms. Jackson has obviously spent time in the English country-side and in some wonderful inns. You can feel the reality of the settings right along with the characters as you join them on their wild ride to love.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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