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The Artful Heir
With her renowned father ill, a well-to-do young woman finds work restoring priceless paintings left to a new heir. As she sets out to prove to him her expertise in art, she is won over by his charm, just as many visiting highborns are smitten with his wealth -- including a prospective bride. Amid intrigue and suspense, she is suddenly swept up in a dangerous affair only a lady of courage would consider...or a lady in love would dare!
219 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
37 people want to read
About the author
Martha Kirkland
33 books5 followersMartha Kirkland is a graduate of Georgia State University and has taught both English and drama at the high school level. A classical singer, she believes it was the years she spent practicing scales that gave her the discipline needed to write twenty-six books. She is a lifelong resident of Atlanta, and her family includes a husband and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 7, 2017
Sarah Sterling travels from London to Donmore Hall in Northumberland to clean and restore a priceless art collection for Matthew Donaldson (the new heir at Donmore Hall). One day, when Sarah is looking at the paintings she discovers that some of the paintings aren’t the originals and may be forged to look like the real thing---someone may be substituting paintings/copies for the original works of art. Sarah and Matthew try to figure out who could be responsible for this. Then an attempt is made on Sarah’s life…
This was a very sweet romance with a lovely main couple and a little suspense. Matthew was a great hero. I liked how kind he was to the little girl when they took a trip to Hadrian’s Wall.
He was charming, likable and handsome. Sarah was a good heroine. She was nice, sweet, but also gutsy at times. There was even an enjoyable secondary romance.
A highly entertaining and romantic read!
This was a very sweet romance with a lovely main couple and a little suspense. Matthew was a great hero. I liked how kind he was to the little girl when they took a trip to Hadrian’s Wall.
He was charming, likable and handsome. Sarah was a good heroine. She was nice, sweet, but also gutsy at times. There was even an enjoyable secondary romance.
A highly entertaining and romantic read!
July 5, 2017
"Of all he had inherited -the house, the lands, the art- it was this place he accepted most readily. This place spoke to his heart, told him he was home."
Matthew Donaldson had inherited an elderly relative's estate through a misunderstanding. As a former soldier, his uncommon ways gave voice to the town's gossips. He had just settled when it came to his attention that his ancestors' collection of art was threatened. He wrote for the best person to restore what portraits had remained. But instead of the gentleman to whom he wrote, his daughter came in his place.
Miss Sarah Sterling traveled to northernmost England in her father's absence. At twenty-six years of age, he had taught her everything she knew. He was not in the best of health when they had received Mr. Donaldson's letter. They needed this commission so with her father's blessing Sarah journeyed north.
The Artful Heir was a lovely romance with some light suspense and two interesting MCs. A slew of plot devices were thrown in their path but both the H and h dealt with them in a respectable fashion. I have to praise the author's intelligence when she wrote the way the Matthew and Sarah spoke to each other. I loved the couple's chemistry; though the mystery was easily solved, it was still entertaining. If you are looking for an enjoyable traditional Regency, look no more.
Matthew Donaldson had inherited an elderly relative's estate through a misunderstanding. As a former soldier, his uncommon ways gave voice to the town's gossips. He had just settled when it came to his attention that his ancestors' collection of art was threatened. He wrote for the best person to restore what portraits had remained. But instead of the gentleman to whom he wrote, his daughter came in his place.
Miss Sarah Sterling traveled to northernmost England in her father's absence. At twenty-six years of age, he had taught her everything she knew. He was not in the best of health when they had received Mr. Donaldson's letter. They needed this commission so with her father's blessing Sarah journeyed north.
The Artful Heir was a lovely romance with some light suspense and two interesting MCs. A slew of plot devices were thrown in their path but both the H and h dealt with them in a respectable fashion. I have to praise the author's intelligence when she wrote the way the Matthew and Sarah spoke to each other. I loved the couple's chemistry; though the mystery was easily solved, it was still entertaining. If you are looking for an enjoyable traditional Regency, look no more.
July 31, 2015
This is undoubtedly one of Kirkland's best, in characterization, plot, and flow. The hero and heroine are conscientious, kind, truth to themselves, and easily earned this reader's heart.
Matthew Donaldson believes himself not a gentleman for his many years in the war, and having unexpectedly come to the inheritance of a large estate - the old Donaldson had suddenly disinherited his long-time heir, Matthew feels a duty to treasure the precious art collection assembled by generations of Donaldsons - which is where Sarah Sterling comes in, to work as art restorer on behalf of her sick father. Sarah came all the way from London to Northumberland and is quickly taken with the wild beauty of this land, the wondrous art collection, and its perplexingly kind owner. Throw in an art theft mystery, a brief secondary romance between two of Matthew's cousins (one of them being the disinherited heir), and you have there both a wonderful romance and an intriguing mystery without any annoying side characters or loose plot ends.
I also found the banter and puns in the book much to my liking, as both Sarah and Matthew are very intelligent, and to my great relief, the appearance of what seemed to be another matron pushing her daughter at Matthew for his wealth ended up without much drama and nefarious schemes - as is the norm with such characters in these kinds of books - so the romance is quite unhindered and left to develop slowly on its own without misunderstandings or really, any frustration.
The mystery element is nicely done, as well, with an obvious red herring from the start, although the discerning reader would have picked up on the culprit ages ago. Even so, our characters are smart and the villain is just at the right intelligence level with a sound reason for his crimes, so I enjoyed the progress made on this front albeit having long guessed at the villain's identity.
If you enjoy traditional regencies, this is definitely a book you don't want to miss.
Matthew Donaldson believes himself not a gentleman for his many years in the war, and having unexpectedly come to the inheritance of a large estate - the old Donaldson had suddenly disinherited his long-time heir, Matthew feels a duty to treasure the precious art collection assembled by generations of Donaldsons - which is where Sarah Sterling comes in, to work as art restorer on behalf of her sick father. Sarah came all the way from London to Northumberland and is quickly taken with the wild beauty of this land, the wondrous art collection, and its perplexingly kind owner. Throw in an art theft mystery, a brief secondary romance between two of Matthew's cousins (one of them being the disinherited heir), and you have there both a wonderful romance and an intriguing mystery without any annoying side characters or loose plot ends.
I also found the banter and puns in the book much to my liking, as both Sarah and Matthew are very intelligent, and to my great relief, the appearance of what seemed to be another matron pushing her daughter at Matthew for his wealth ended up without much drama and nefarious schemes - as is the norm with such characters in these kinds of books - so the romance is quite unhindered and left to develop slowly on its own without misunderstandings or really, any frustration.
The mystery element is nicely done, as well, with an obvious red herring from the start, although the discerning reader would have picked up on the culprit ages ago. Even so, our characters are smart and the villain is just at the right intelligence level with a sound reason for his crimes, so I enjoyed the progress made on this front albeit having long guessed at the villain's identity.
If you enjoy traditional regencies, this is definitely a book you don't want to miss.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews