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Love and the Loathsome Leopard
Tasked by the Prime Minister himself with bringing to justice the smuggling gangs that are rife around the Kent and Sussex coast, esteemed Napoleonic war hero Lord Cheriton is surprised to find a beautiful young girl called Wivina living in his dead and deeply hated father’s supposedly vacant mansion. She has no idea who he is – and when he hears his reputation as a cold-hearted Lord who would turn her out without a qualm, he tells her he is just a passing friend... Nevertheless Wivina seems terrified by his presence – but why?
Realising the entire village is at the mercy of a cut-throat gang and Wivina’s prey to its murderous leader, Lord Cheriton endeavours to save the young beauty who’s stolen his heart while accomplishing his mission to stop the smugglers once and for all.
For the first time, he is fighting not for his country but for the love of his life – and the life of his love.
The Barbara Cartland Eternal Collection is the unique opportunity to collect as ebooks all five hundred of the timeless beautiful romantic novels written by the world’s most celebrated and enduring romantic author.
Named the Eternal Collection because Barbara’s inspiring stories of pure love are just the same as love itself, the books will be published on the Internet at the rate of four titles per month until all five hundred are available.
The Eternal Collection , classic pure romance available worldwide for all time .
Realising the entire village is at the mercy of a cut-throat gang and Wivina’s prey to its murderous leader, Lord Cheriton endeavours to save the young beauty who’s stolen his heart while accomplishing his mission to stop the smugglers once and for all.
For the first time, he is fighting not for his country but for the love of his life – and the life of his love.
The Barbara Cartland Eternal Collection is the unique opportunity to collect as ebooks all five hundred of the timeless beautiful romantic novels written by the world’s most celebrated and enduring romantic author.
Named the Eternal Collection because Barbara’s inspiring stories of pure love are just the same as love itself, the books will be published on the Internet at the rate of four titles per month until all five hundred are available.
The Eternal Collection , classic pure romance available worldwide for all time .
149 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published October 1, 1977
About the author
Barbara Cartland
1,318 books868 followersBorn in 1901, Barbara Cartland started her writing career in journalism and completed her first book, Jigsaw, when she was just 24. An immediate success, it was the start of her journey to becoming the world’s most famous and most read romantic novelist of all time. Inspiring a whole generation of readers around the globe with her exciting tales of adventure, love and intrigue, she became synonymous with the Romance genre. And she still is to this day, having written over 644 romantic fiction books.
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, plays, music, poetry and several advice books on life, love, health and cookery – totalling an incredible 723 books in all, with over 1 billion in sales.
Awarded the DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 in honour of her literary, political and social contributions, she was President of the Hertfordshire branch of the Royal College of Midwives as well as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Always a passionate advocate of woman’s health and beauty, she was dubbed ‘the true Queen of Romance’ by Vogue magazine in her lifetime. Her legend continues today through her wonderfully vivid romantic tales, stories that help you escape from the day to day into the dramatic adventures of strong, beautiful women who battle, often against the odds, eventually to find that love conquers all.
Find out more about the incredible life and works of Dame Barbara Cartland at www.barbaracartland.com
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, plays, music, poetry and several advice books on life, love, health and cookery – totalling an incredible 723 books in all, with over 1 billion in sales.
Awarded the DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 in honour of her literary, political and social contributions, she was President of the Hertfordshire branch of the Royal College of Midwives as well as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Always a passionate advocate of woman’s health and beauty, she was dubbed ‘the true Queen of Romance’ by Vogue magazine in her lifetime. Her legend continues today through her wonderfully vivid romantic tales, stories that help you escape from the day to day into the dramatic adventures of strong, beautiful women who battle, often against the odds, eventually to find that love conquers all.
Find out more about the incredible life and works of Dame Barbara Cartland at www.barbaracartland.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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December 31, 2016Rather than rating any Barbara Cartland novels (because they'd all be either five stars or none, depending on your tolerance for cheese), I have a watchlist for common tropes. Here is how Love and the Loathsome Leopard fares:
Orphaned heroine with unusual name: Wivina Compton
Who — speaks with — Shatner-esque pauses: Yes. "Who — told you it was — empty?"
Who lives with her titled uncle: No, her crippled brother.
And his unsympathetic wife: No, he's only a teenager and he's well-meaning, if something of a liability.
Absurdly named hero with aristocratic title: Lord Cheriton, whose real name is John Heywood, but who goes about in disguise as Stuart Bradleigh, neither of which are absurd names.
Female friends of heroine: None, although there are some female servants.
Male friends of hero who seem more pleasant than he does: He has a man-servant called Nickolls who might as well not be in the book, but Lord Cheriton is a decent enough chap, if slightly obsessed with leopards.
Hero and heroine united in shared love of a dog: No, it's the desire to defeat smugglers that brings them together.
Act of vengeance by a bitter former servant: No bitter former servants, just a smuggler who gets sick of Wivina turning down his marriage proposals and kidnaps her.
Heroine requires rescue from: Being kidnapped by the smuggler and taken to France to get married (although, to be fair, she did have a go at escaping before she was rescued).
Duels fought: None, unless you count the smuggler standing on the dock pointing a pistol at Lord Cheriton's warship's cannon.
Book ends with one of the pair recovering in bed: No, surprisingly.
What the heroine believes the hero's lips give her when they kiss at the end: Most of the book is from Lord Cheriton's point of view, including the end, which notes: "He kissed her until her eyes shone like stars."
Diamond-studded snuff boxes mentioned: None.
Heroine inwardly approves of the hero's champagne-coloured pantaloons: No, but before he goes down to dinner, Lord Cheriton looks in the mirror and notes to himself that "[h]is tight-fitting champagne-coloured pantaloons and cutaway coat became him well, as did the high white cravat contrasting with his sunburnt skin."
It's not her best work.
Orphaned heroine with unusual name: Wivina Compton
Who — speaks with — Shatner-esque pauses: Yes. "Who — told you it was — empty?"
Who lives with her titled uncle: No, her crippled brother.
And his unsympathetic wife: No, he's only a teenager and he's well-meaning, if something of a liability.
Absurdly named hero with aristocratic title: Lord Cheriton, whose real name is John Heywood, but who goes about in disguise as Stuart Bradleigh, neither of which are absurd names.
Female friends of heroine: None, although there are some female servants.
Male friends of hero who seem more pleasant than he does: He has a man-servant called Nickolls who might as well not be in the book, but Lord Cheriton is a decent enough chap, if slightly obsessed with leopards.
Hero and heroine united in shared love of a dog: No, it's the desire to defeat smugglers that brings them together.
Act of vengeance by a bitter former servant: No bitter former servants, just a smuggler who gets sick of Wivina turning down his marriage proposals and kidnaps her.
Heroine requires rescue from: Being kidnapped by the smuggler and taken to France to get married (although, to be fair, she did have a go at escaping before she was rescued).
Duels fought: None, unless you count the smuggler standing on the dock pointing a pistol at Lord Cheriton's warship's cannon.
Book ends with one of the pair recovering in bed: No, surprisingly.
What the heroine believes the hero's lips give her when they kiss at the end: Most of the book is from Lord Cheriton's point of view, including the end, which notes: "He kissed her until her eyes shone like stars."
Diamond-studded snuff boxes mentioned: None.
Heroine inwardly approves of the hero's champagne-coloured pantaloons: No, but before he goes down to dinner, Lord Cheriton looks in the mirror and notes to himself that "[h]is tight-fitting champagne-coloured pantaloons and cutaway coat became him well, as did the high white cravat contrasting with his sunburnt skin."
It's not her best work.
January 25, 2015
Barbara Cartland is a talented author in the romance genre. She knows how to convey a character's personality in less then 2 pages. The first chapter sets up the period and the political issues that will be the impetus in this romance about finding French/English smugglers on the English coast.
Lord Cheriton is helping the English government with this new mission to find the smugglers by going to his old childhood neighborhood so he is also confronting his own youthful demons because his father had abused him until at fifteen he had joined anonymously the Majesty's army.
Miss Wivina is living in Lord Cheriton's childhood mansion. She is a young orphaned daughter of the previous vicar of the small town. So needless to point out that this is the hero and heroine in this story, because Lord Cheriton needs someone innocent and kind to show him love.
This was a fun short read which reminds me of my youthful romance novels read under the covers and borrowed from the library because my allowance was too small to buy books...the good ole days!
No sexy scenes, but this is Barbara Cartland!
160 pages and kindle freebie
Lord Cheriton is helping the English government with this new mission to find the smugglers by going to his old childhood neighborhood so he is also confronting his own youthful demons because his father had abused him until at fifteen he had joined anonymously the Majesty's army.
Miss Wivina is living in Lord Cheriton's childhood mansion. She is a young orphaned daughter of the previous vicar of the small town. So needless to point out that this is the hero and heroine in this story, because Lord Cheriton needs someone innocent and kind to show him love.
This was a fun short read which reminds me of my youthful romance novels read under the covers and borrowed from the library because my allowance was too small to buy books...the good ole days!
No sexy scenes, but this is Barbara Cartland!
160 pages and kindle freebie
February 8, 2024
Update: i was too hard on Dame Barbs. She does not deserve 2 stars. Upgrading to 4.
Heehee... I couldn't resist. The title got me.
Check out these gems:
"You belong to me, Wivina, you have always belonged to me and now we have found each other."
"Go to bed, my perfect little love."
Lord Cheriton certainly has fallen hard for sweet, innocent Wivina (what a name!). In the context of how the story has evolved in the book, these quotes are endearing but totally over the top and suppose to convey a tough army commander's love for her. Sooooo unconvincing. But not creepy. The creep factor belongs to Mr Farlow the smuggler.
But to get to these literary gems it starts off when Lord Cheriton (the Loathsome Leopard) has been tasked to deal with a smuggler gang that so happens to reside in his birth town that he's been avoiding his entire life. Ooh, did I not mention he ran away from his Dad and joined the army and helped defeat Napoleon?!
Dame Barbs hasn't disappointed me with her flair for the dramatics, over-the-top characters (Mr Farlow is Mr Sleazy McSleazeface) and uncanny knack for highly improbably, action-packed plot points.
I cringed hard. So bloody hard.
Heehee... I couldn't resist. The title got me.
Check out these gems:
"You belong to me, Wivina, you have always belonged to me and now we have found each other."
"Go to bed, my perfect little love."
Lord Cheriton certainly has fallen hard for sweet, innocent Wivina (what a name!). In the context of how the story has evolved in the book, these quotes are endearing but totally over the top and suppose to convey a tough army commander's love for her. Sooooo unconvincing. But not creepy. The creep factor belongs to Mr Farlow the smuggler.
But to get to these literary gems it starts off when Lord Cheriton (the Loathsome Leopard) has been tasked to deal with a smuggler gang that so happens to reside in his birth town that he's been avoiding his entire life. Ooh, did I not mention he ran away from his Dad and joined the army and helped defeat Napoleon?!
Dame Barbs hasn't disappointed me with her flair for the dramatics, over-the-top characters (Mr Farlow is Mr Sleazy McSleazeface) and uncanny knack for highly improbably, action-packed plot points.
I cringed hard. So bloody hard.
February 21, 2015
I first read this book when I was in the 6th grade. I was curious about reading it now again.
It's a sweet book. There's surprisingly interesting background history in the book about smuggling and the Coast Guard. It's a very simple story however. Perhaps too simple to appeal much.
There's nothing wrong with simplicity. I just mean that basically boy meets girl. The entire story was predictable and not much happened. I'll read a few more of her books to make sure this book was a good representation of Barbara Cartland.
I know I loved her books as a child.
It's a sweet book. There's surprisingly interesting background history in the book about smuggling and the Coast Guard. It's a very simple story however. Perhaps too simple to appeal much.
There's nothing wrong with simplicity. I just mean that basically boy meets girl. The entire story was predictable and not much happened. I'll read a few more of her books to make sure this book was a good representation of Barbara Cartland.
I know I loved her books as a child.
June 16, 2013
Such a story can only be written by the Queen of Romance.
Read
October 23, 2013nice book
Want to Read
February 15, 2016255KB
November 1, 2023
This was possibly a 3.5 because its better than some of her books although its very very insta-love between the Hero and heroine.
I also liked it because the Hero is not the usual bored, aimless aristocrat. Although he is an Earl, he has been a soldier for many years and served under Wellington (some troops under him were really called leopards by Napoleon) thus the title of the book. The Hero was one of the leopards and known as the loathsome leopard.
The Hero's father was a tyrant and despot who used to beat him so badly, that at age 14 he ran away and joined the army. In fact, the solicitors had a hard time tracking him down upon the death of his father. Since he hated his father so much, he let the house and estate fall to rack and ruin. He has never had any intention of going back, but now he is on a mission to ferret out smugglers who have become a scourge after the war.
His assignment brings him to the town where his estate is and he, and his valet go there under different alias'. He decides to visit the estate, and though the house is very dilapidated, inside, the habitable areas, seem clean and well kept. This is where he encounters the heroine.
The heroine and her brother are orphans and when they had to leave the vicarage, they decided to stay at the abandoned hall. Also staying with them are a couple of old retainers who have nowhere else to go. And though they know they are trespassing, they have done all to make the hall livable. The Hero convinces her to have him for the night, but he sees that she is very apprehensive.
The Hero finds out that the heroine and her brother are being threatened by a neighbor, who she suspects also was responsible for the death of her father. The neighbor wants to force the heroine to marry him. The Hero also suspects that this neighbor is part of the smuggling trade that is happening in the area.
That night he spies some men and overhears them talking about their smuggling activitied. Then he overhears them plotting to smuggle Napoleon out of prison. He knows he needs to report to the authorities as soon as possible.
Meantime he gets back to the house and acts as a visitor who is just passing by. However the evil neighbor is suspicious of him. The Hero and heroine find that they are able to speak of their deepest feelings to each other and soon are declaring their love. (Yes, its super insta-love) Anyway the Hero tells the heroine he loves her and will protect her from the neighbor, but he needs to leave her for a day or two. The heroine doesn't mind, she trusts the Hero.
The Hero leaves, obviously to inform the authorities of his findings, but they both underestimate the evil neighbor. He is able to kidnap the heroine and her brother and he spirits them away to France where he will marry the heroine.
The heroine and her brother are quite desperate since she doesn't know how the Hero can possibly find them now, when they have been brought to another country. luckily, due to a lot of fortunate circumstances, the Hero is able to procure a fast ship and troops to storm the smugglers hideaway, kill the evil neighbor, and spirit the heroine and her brother to safety.
The Hero declares his love once more and tell the heroine they are going to her home and his, then he reveals that he is the absent Earl and it was through her love that he can now banish the nightmares and horror he had of his former home. Then they vow to make it a happy home for all their children.
The end.♥️♥️♥️
I also liked it because the Hero is not the usual bored, aimless aristocrat. Although he is an Earl, he has been a soldier for many years and served under Wellington (some troops under him were really called leopards by Napoleon) thus the title of the book. The Hero was one of the leopards and known as the loathsome leopard.
The Hero's father was a tyrant and despot who used to beat him so badly, that at age 14 he ran away and joined the army. In fact, the solicitors had a hard time tracking him down upon the death of his father. Since he hated his father so much, he let the house and estate fall to rack and ruin. He has never had any intention of going back, but now he is on a mission to ferret out smugglers who have become a scourge after the war.
His assignment brings him to the town where his estate is and he, and his valet go there under different alias'. He decides to visit the estate, and though the house is very dilapidated, inside, the habitable areas, seem clean and well kept. This is where he encounters the heroine.
The heroine and her brother are orphans and when they had to leave the vicarage, they decided to stay at the abandoned hall. Also staying with them are a couple of old retainers who have nowhere else to go. And though they know they are trespassing, they have done all to make the hall livable. The Hero convinces her to have him for the night, but he sees that she is very apprehensive.
The Hero finds out that the heroine and her brother are being threatened by a neighbor, who she suspects also was responsible for the death of her father. The neighbor wants to force the heroine to marry him. The Hero also suspects that this neighbor is part of the smuggling trade that is happening in the area.
That night he spies some men and overhears them talking about their smuggling activitied. Then he overhears them plotting to smuggle Napoleon out of prison. He knows he needs to report to the authorities as soon as possible.
Meantime he gets back to the house and acts as a visitor who is just passing by. However the evil neighbor is suspicious of him. The Hero and heroine find that they are able to speak of their deepest feelings to each other and soon are declaring their love. (Yes, its super insta-love) Anyway the Hero tells the heroine he loves her and will protect her from the neighbor, but he needs to leave her for a day or two. The heroine doesn't mind, she trusts the Hero.
The Hero leaves, obviously to inform the authorities of his findings, but they both underestimate the evil neighbor. He is able to kidnap the heroine and her brother and he spirits them away to France where he will marry the heroine.
The heroine and her brother are quite desperate since she doesn't know how the Hero can possibly find them now, when they have been brought to another country. luckily, due to a lot of fortunate circumstances, the Hero is able to procure a fast ship and troops to storm the smugglers hideaway, kill the evil neighbor, and spirit the heroine and her brother to safety.
The Hero declares his love once more and tell the heroine they are going to her home and his, then he reveals that he is the absent Earl and it was through her love that he can now banish the nightmares and horror he had of his former home. Then they vow to make it a happy home for all their children.
The end.♥️♥️♥️
August 10, 2026
This is the one romance where the romantic dialogue really got in the way of a good story. It was just for lack of a better word - goofy. Damsel-in-distress action was interesting, the villain was quite discustingly smarmy as expected, and a bit more so. The young woman - the tragedies she and her brother endured - were sad and well-described and it was easy to feel their sympathies. The Lord of the manor, that no one knew to be, was rather well flushed out and I was captivated, wanting to know how he'd overcome his horrible past after having to return home. (I still can't gather if the maid remembered him [gotta go back to see].) Cartland, for all of the softness expected in her stories, offers great lessons of history along with the gore and anxiety that shamelessly come with its dark parts. It's the contrast and the insights of the events that makes a good read for me.
Now, why for the life of me did she keep calling him "Leopard"? Yes, they realized that centuries had brought them and their souls together, but the numerous "I love yous" in this story wore me down. They felt forced. I mean a just a few would've been enough, even for this short tale, but they was well over my perceived maximum and dragged it down. I realize now too I wanted more of a showdown between the Lord and villain actually.
Now, why for the life of me did she keep calling him "Leopard"? Yes, they realized that centuries had brought them and their souls together, but the numerous "I love yous" in this story wore me down. They felt forced. I mean a just a few would've been enough, even for this short tale, but they was well over my perceived maximum and dragged it down. I realize now too I wanted more of a showdown between the Lord and villain actually.
August 16, 2017
I've gone in blind here - all I knew about Cartland and her writing is that she was incredibly prolific (500+ novels), that her primary genre was romance, and that she gave some pretty weird answers in the one and only interview with her I've ever read*. Oh, and that she was British.
On picking up the book, the first thing I noticed is how lightweight it is - lighter than many current paperbacks, despite being hardbound. The publishers blurb is terrible, inspiring some level of negative reaction, but I tried not to let that influence the way I read the book.
And I tried, I really did, but I hated it. I can't even point at any one thing - I hated the writing style, the characters, the setting.
On picking up the book, the first thing I noticed is how lightweight it is - lighter than many current paperbacks, despite being hardbound. The publishers blurb is terrible, inspiring some level of negative reaction, but I tried not to let that influence the way I read the book.
And I tried, I really did, but I hated it. I can't even point at any one thing - I hated the writing style, the characters, the setting.
July 23, 2019
The heroine is the standard angelic Cartland girl, but I did like the addition of a backstory for the hero of traumatic memories of his abusive father—it’s a touch more vulnerability than such historical romance leads generally get.
August 13, 2017
This one is more on action than love story but it's so lovely nevertheless ... I love that the hero isn't a manwhore ... for some few days now since I started am reading Barbara Cartland 's books; I can say that the temptation to curse her heros is too much to bear arghhhhhh I hate them with passion except the hero of this book and "Call of the Heart"... and I am glad that this hero isn't because the heroine had already been into a lot of heart aching experience to be hurt more....
Waaaa goodreads won't let me delete the other date... awwwww now my record is ruin... I just want to say I only read it once....
Waaaa goodreads won't let me delete the other date... awwwww now my record is ruin... I just want to say I only read it once....
April 8, 2023
Life had become a nightmare of terror and despair for lovely Wivina Compton.
Jeffrey Farlow, leader of the village gang of smugglers, was determined to make her his wife. Wivina despised him. His crude advances repulsed her, and she was certain he had ordered her father's murder.
No one in the village would dare stand in Farlow's way. He would marry Wivina by force.
There was only one man who could save her -- the man known throughout England as "The Loathsome Leopard."
Jeffrey Farlow, leader of the village gang of smugglers, was determined to make her his wife. Wivina despised him. His crude advances repulsed her, and she was certain he had ordered her father's murder.
No one in the village would dare stand in Farlow's way. He would marry Wivina by force.
There was only one man who could save her -- the man known throughout England as "The Loathsome Leopard."
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews