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The Tea Planter's Bride
An exotic flower from a faraway land, Celia came to London to become a proper English rose -- a wide-eyed innocent, newly awakened by womanhood's kiss...yet burning with a sensuous heat inflamed by gypsy blood. To one she is promised -- a man of wealth and power and property. Yet another will own her heart.
He is Grant Hamilton, a daring and unpredictable American rogue who senses a kindred spirit in the stunning, copper-eyed beauty whom he has agreed to escort through London's social whirl. Yet Grant is determined to resist his own secret yearnings for the exuisite enchantress. For there isdanger in a love that can know no bounds -- and in a passion that could only lead to shattering ruin...or ecstasy.
He is Grant Hamilton, a daring and unpredictable American rogue who senses a kindred spirit in the stunning, copper-eyed beauty whom he has agreed to escort through London's social whirl. Yet Grant is determined to resist his own secret yearnings for the exuisite enchantress. For there isdanger in a love that can know no bounds -- and in a passion that could only lead to shattering ruin...or ecstasy.
407 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
8 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Rogers
111 books423 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Rosemary Jansz Navaratnam Rogers Kadison
Rosemary Jansz was born on 7 December 1932 in Panadura, British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), she was the oldest child of Dutch-Portuguese settlers, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz. Her father was a wealthy educator who owned three posh private schools. She was raised in colonial splendor: dozens of servants, no work, summers at European spas, a chaperone everywhere she went. A dreamy child, she wrote her first novel at eight, and all through her teens scribbled madly romantic epics in imitation of her favorite writers: Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas and Rafael Sabatini.
At 17, Rosemary rebelled against a feudal upbringing and went to the University of Ceylon, where she studied three years. She horrified her family by taking a job as a reporter, and two years later marrying with Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese track star known as "the fastest man in Asia." The marriage had two daughters. Unhappily, he often sprinted after other women. Disappointed with her husband, in 1960, she moved with her two daughters and took off for London.
In Europe she met her future second husband, Leroy Rogers, an african-american. "He was the first man," she recalls, "who made me feel like a real woman." After getting a divorce from her first husband, she married Rogers in his home town, St. Louis, Missouri. They moved with her family to California, where she had two sons. Six years later, when that marriage broke up, Rosemary was left with four children to support on her $4,200 salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, in the face of a socialist takeover of Ceylon, her parents fled the island with only ?100, giving Rosemary two more dependents. At 37, the rich girl from Ceylon was on her uppers in Fairfield.
Every night for a year, Rogers worked to perfect a manuscript that she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When she was satisfied with her work, she sent the manuscript to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, ''Sweet Savage Love'', skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists, and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, ''Dark Fires'', sold two million copies in its first three months of release. Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, ''Wicked Loving Lies'' sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication. Rosemary Rogers became one of the legendaries "Avon Queens of Historical Romance". The difference between she and most of others romance writers is not the violence of her stories, it is the intensity. She says: "My heroines are me", and certainly her life could be one of her novels.
In September of 1984, Rosemary married a third time with Christopher Kadison, but it was a very brief marriage and they soon began to live apart. "I'd like to live with a man," she admits, "but I find men in real life don't come up to my fantasies. I want culture, spirit and sex all rolled up together."
Today single, Rosemary lives quietly in a small dramatic villa perched on a crag above the Pacific near Carmel. Her four children are now away from home and she continues to write.
Rosemary passed away at the age of 87 on November 12, 2019 in Carmel, California where she called home since the early 1970s.
Rosemary Jansz Navaratnam Rogers Kadison
Rosemary Jansz was born on 7 December 1932 in Panadura, British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), she was the oldest child of Dutch-Portuguese settlers, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz. Her father was a wealthy educator who owned three posh private schools. She was raised in colonial splendor: dozens of servants, no work, summers at European spas, a chaperone everywhere she went. A dreamy child, she wrote her first novel at eight, and all through her teens scribbled madly romantic epics in imitation of her favorite writers: Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas and Rafael Sabatini.
At 17, Rosemary rebelled against a feudal upbringing and went to the University of Ceylon, where she studied three years. She horrified her family by taking a job as a reporter, and two years later marrying with Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese track star known as "the fastest man in Asia." The marriage had two daughters. Unhappily, he often sprinted after other women. Disappointed with her husband, in 1960, she moved with her two daughters and took off for London.
In Europe she met her future second husband, Leroy Rogers, an african-american. "He was the first man," she recalls, "who made me feel like a real woman." After getting a divorce from her first husband, she married Rogers in his home town, St. Louis, Missouri. They moved with her family to California, where she had two sons. Six years later, when that marriage broke up, Rosemary was left with four children to support on her $4,200 salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, in the face of a socialist takeover of Ceylon, her parents fled the island with only ?100, giving Rosemary two more dependents. At 37, the rich girl from Ceylon was on her uppers in Fairfield.
Every night for a year, Rogers worked to perfect a manuscript that she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When she was satisfied with her work, she sent the manuscript to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, ''Sweet Savage Love'', skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists, and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, ''Dark Fires'', sold two million copies in its first three months of release. Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, ''Wicked Loving Lies'' sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication. Rosemary Rogers became one of the legendaries "Avon Queens of Historical Romance". The difference between she and most of others romance writers is not the violence of her stories, it is the intensity. She says: "My heroines are me", and certainly her life could be one of her novels.
In September of 1984, Rosemary married a third time with Christopher Kadison, but it was a very brief marriage and they soon began to live apart. "I'd like to live with a man," she admits, "but I find men in real life don't come up to my fantasies. I want culture, spirit and sex all rolled up together."
Today single, Rosemary lives quietly in a small dramatic villa perched on a crag above the Pacific near Carmel. Her four children are now away from home and she continues to write.
Rosemary passed away at the age of 87 on November 12, 2019 in Carmel, California where she called home since the early 1970s.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
March 22, 2013
This story makes no sense. None. And I don't mean that it suffers from certain romance-genre cliches involving improbable rakes and the virgins who reform them. I mean I don't get it. These characters aren't shallow stereotypes. They aren't that well drawn!
They're angry at one another. I don't know why. I don't even get that sense of chemistry in which two people want each other, know they can't have one another, and are therefore upset about it. Aside from the fact that there's no real chemistry, the anger came from no where ... practically before they met. It lost me from the start.
The heroine is ridiculous. A sheltered gypsy raised by a holier-than-thou aunt who is whisked away to London by another relative. Suddenly, she finds some wild inner gypsy. Except the inner gypsy isn't all that wild. It's kind of lame. And there's no particular reason for the sudden change.
There's some random gypsy mysticism going on, too. Thin. Very thin. I'm really not getting a sense of conflict here.
I quit about halfway.
They're angry at one another. I don't know why. I don't even get that sense of chemistry in which two people want each other, know they can't have one another, and are therefore upset about it. Aside from the fact that there's no real chemistry, the anger came from no where ... practically before they met. It lost me from the start.
The heroine is ridiculous. A sheltered gypsy raised by a holier-than-thou aunt who is whisked away to London by another relative. Suddenly, she finds some wild inner gypsy. Except the inner gypsy isn't all that wild. It's kind of lame. And there's no particular reason for the sudden change.
There's some random gypsy mysticism going on, too. Thin. Very thin. I'm really not getting a sense of conflict here.
I quit about halfway.
December 21, 2017
This book is listed as a historical romance but never did I find any historical references amongst these pages. Isn't that how they become "historical"? It was even hard for me to list this as a romance being that there were no real romantic situations either. It seemed more erotica than anything else.
Celia, a gypsy, lives with her hateful Aunt Gertrude until her Aunt Willie takes her to the city to show her how to be a socialite. Celia captures the eyes of many, including the Prince of Wales, but has been promised to a man in Ceylon who is a tea planter.
It's your typical storyline from there; girl meets guy, love/hate relationship brews until she runs to Ceylon to be with her admired tea planter and realizes that she doesn't have any feelings for him and is in love with Grant, the love/hate relationship guy.
If these romance stories are the kind you can devour in a sitting, this one might be an entertaining book for you. For me, I have read many romance books and have found they all pretty much have the same formula and are predictable. I don't like a story that I know what the outcome will be before I turn the first page. Another thing that turned me off about this book is the treatment of women by the men. Is this why women seek out abusive relationships? No thank you!
Celia, a gypsy, lives with her hateful Aunt Gertrude until her Aunt Willie takes her to the city to show her how to be a socialite. Celia captures the eyes of many, including the Prince of Wales, but has been promised to a man in Ceylon who is a tea planter.
It's your typical storyline from there; girl meets guy, love/hate relationship brews until she runs to Ceylon to be with her admired tea planter and realizes that she doesn't have any feelings for him and is in love with Grant, the love/hate relationship guy.
If these romance stories are the kind you can devour in a sitting, this one might be an entertaining book for you. For me, I have read many romance books and have found they all pretty much have the same formula and are predictable. I don't like a story that I know what the outcome will be before I turn the first page. Another thing that turned me off about this book is the treatment of women by the men. Is this why women seek out abusive relationships? No thank you!
March 4, 2023
Don’t quite know what to say about this book… Tea Planter’s Bride by Rosemary Rogers (1995), except I do need to share a few thoughts. I had high hopes for this book because of its exotic title. Alas, no. Most of the story is set in England.
The heroine, Celia, who grew up in Ceylon on her father’s tea plantation, is sent to England after her Gypsy mother’s death. She is raised by a strict mean aunt and an uncle who’s a bishop. After her father dies she becomes the ward of her father’s rich sister who enlists the help of her American step grandson, Grant, to give Celia a London season. Celia and Grant despise each other naturally. However, her season’s a great success. This is the first half of the book with a few kisses from Grant when he grabs her unawares. Boring.
Second half of the book is a convoluted tale of Celia who discovers her Gypsy roots, travels back to Ceylon to confront the man she was promised to as a child (she’s unaware that he’s a sex pervert opium addict who just wants the tea plantation she inherited), and tagging along are her mean aunt, the bishop and a mean friend. The hero Grant, has followed her to Ceylon because he can’t keep his hands off her and knows she’s facing trouble. Naturally, in the end he rescues her and they agree to marry.
The storyline goes from slow and boring to a creepy mess. Gypsy fortune telling, her mother’s sad past and death, nude photos of Celia taken when she was a child and was being molested by her betrothed, Celia’s strange and horrifying dreams, a rogue elephant, and way too many dreadful characters made this book a real downer. And, two very brief sex scenes in the last 50 pages are underwhelming. Don’t waste your time, read another Rogers instead.
The heroine, Celia, who grew up in Ceylon on her father’s tea plantation, is sent to England after her Gypsy mother’s death. She is raised by a strict mean aunt and an uncle who’s a bishop. After her father dies she becomes the ward of her father’s rich sister who enlists the help of her American step grandson, Grant, to give Celia a London season. Celia and Grant despise each other naturally. However, her season’s a great success. This is the first half of the book with a few kisses from Grant when he grabs her unawares. Boring.
Second half of the book is a convoluted tale of Celia who discovers her Gypsy roots, travels back to Ceylon to confront the man she was promised to as a child (she’s unaware that he’s a sex pervert opium addict who just wants the tea plantation she inherited), and tagging along are her mean aunt, the bishop and a mean friend. The hero Grant, has followed her to Ceylon because he can’t keep his hands off her and knows she’s facing trouble. Naturally, in the end he rescues her and they agree to marry.
The storyline goes from slow and boring to a creepy mess. Gypsy fortune telling, her mother’s sad past and death, nude photos of Celia taken when she was a child and was being molested by her betrothed, Celia’s strange and horrifying dreams, a rogue elephant, and way too many dreadful characters made this book a real downer. And, two very brief sex scenes in the last 50 pages are underwhelming. Don’t waste your time, read another Rogers instead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2018
After her mother’s death when she was about 8, Celia Penmaris was removed from her father in Ceylon to be raised in her uncle’s home in England. Uncle Theo is a kind, but distracted Bishop in the Church of England; his wife, Aunt Gertrude, is a vindictive woman who constantly demeans Celia, her mother Marianna, and their gypsy blood. Celia has never understood her aunt’s animosity or why Marianna was so unworthy. Celia was betrothed to Ronald Winwood in Ceylon. He manages her estate, and, according to Aunt Gertrude, is the only man who would be willing to marry someone of Celia’s blood and scandalous background.
Fortunately for Celia, her father’s sister Wilhelmina (Willie) is given custody of Celia for her come out to society, pulled from the country, and given an aristocrat’s birthright. Willie’s stepson Grant is enlisted to escort Celia/Willie to the season’s balls and entertainments. Celia is immediately antagonistic to Grant’s role in her life – why does she need to answer to him or follow his rules for her life? Grant is way too attracted to young, virginal, exotic Celia and fights that attraction to an extreme.
This is where the story breaks down: Celia/Grant’s physical attraction and antipathy are unconvincing. Celia is part-time angry and assertive, then a timid, fluttering debutante. Her bristling and passivity are also unreal. Grant needs to control his passions and his role as Celia’s escort. Only Willie and Aunt Gertrude are consistently supportive on the one hand and denigrating/superior on the other. Now add in the gypsy blood, the gypsy relatives, Celia’s odd behavior, Ronald’s sadomasochism, his kinky partners, his greed for Celia’s plantation, her trip to Ceylon to tell Ronald to his face that she can’t marry him, and, oh, the rogue elephant, and the story way too fragmented to be believable. Disappointing.
Readalikes:
Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly – The Husband List; Jude Deveraux – Days of Gold; Joanna Lindsey – Marry Me by Sundown; Lisa Kleypas – Scandal in Spring; Amanda Quick – Second Sight; Julia Quinn – The Duke and I; Georgette Heyer – The Unknown Ajax; Stephanie Laurens - All About Passion; Lynn Kurland – The Stardust of Yesterday.
Pace: Moderate
Characters: Underdeveloped; inconsistent; unconvincing
Story: Plot-driven
Writing style: Engaging
Tone: Unconvincing
Frame: England; Ceylon; 1892
Fortunately for Celia, her father’s sister Wilhelmina (Willie) is given custody of Celia for her come out to society, pulled from the country, and given an aristocrat’s birthright. Willie’s stepson Grant is enlisted to escort Celia/Willie to the season’s balls and entertainments. Celia is immediately antagonistic to Grant’s role in her life – why does she need to answer to him or follow his rules for her life? Grant is way too attracted to young, virginal, exotic Celia and fights that attraction to an extreme.
This is where the story breaks down: Celia/Grant’s physical attraction and antipathy are unconvincing. Celia is part-time angry and assertive, then a timid, fluttering debutante. Her bristling and passivity are also unreal. Grant needs to control his passions and his role as Celia’s escort. Only Willie and Aunt Gertrude are consistently supportive on the one hand and denigrating/superior on the other. Now add in the gypsy blood, the gypsy relatives, Celia’s odd behavior, Ronald’s sadomasochism, his kinky partners, his greed for Celia’s plantation, her trip to Ceylon to tell Ronald to his face that she can’t marry him, and, oh, the rogue elephant, and the story way too fragmented to be believable. Disappointing.
Readalikes:
Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly – The Husband List; Jude Deveraux – Days of Gold; Joanna Lindsey – Marry Me by Sundown; Lisa Kleypas – Scandal in Spring; Amanda Quick – Second Sight; Julia Quinn – The Duke and I; Georgette Heyer – The Unknown Ajax; Stephanie Laurens - All About Passion; Lynn Kurland – The Stardust of Yesterday.
Pace: Moderate
Characters: Underdeveloped; inconsistent; unconvincing
Story: Plot-driven
Writing style: Engaging
Tone: Unconvincing
Frame: England; Ceylon; 1892
April 14, 2019
I'm actually reviewing the abridged audiobook, but I can't find it in Goodreads.
It is a quick listen. I wonder if it is any better with out parts cut out. Somehow, I doubt it. I found the main characters rather irritating. They were very 1-dimensional. I couldn't help but think of La Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame when listening about Celia. If you read my review of the Hunchback, you'll know I did not care for the story or the expression of women. Exactly so for this story as well.
Many of the plot devices did not fit well together. This is the late 1800s, yet there is a character who has a camera to take photographs with. I did not think cameras, and therefore photographs, let alone copies of photographs were easy to come by during that time period. The addictions that occurred for a character later in the book seemed to pop out of nowhere, and did not seem entirely appropriate for the time frame. The author does not appeared to have done any research to write this story. I felt deceived that the reader was entirely misled about all but 2 of the characters from the outset. All this contributes to why the Romance genre gets such a poor name.
I did enjoy the narration by Alexandra Thomas. I would listen to something read by her again, provided it was worth listening to.
It is a quick listen. I wonder if it is any better with out parts cut out. Somehow, I doubt it. I found the main characters rather irritating. They were very 1-dimensional. I couldn't help but think of La Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame when listening about Celia. If you read my review of the Hunchback, you'll know I did not care for the story or the expression of women. Exactly so for this story as well.
Many of the plot devices did not fit well together. This is the late 1800s, yet there is a character who has a camera to take photographs with. I did not think cameras, and therefore photographs, let alone copies of photographs were easy to come by during that time period. The addictions that occurred for a character later in the book seemed to pop out of nowhere, and did not seem entirely appropriate for the time frame. The author does not appeared to have done any research to write this story. I felt deceived that the reader was entirely misled about all but 2 of the characters from the outset. All this contributes to why the Romance genre gets such a poor name.
I did enjoy the narration by Alexandra Thomas. I would listen to something read by her again, provided it was worth listening to.
July 20, 2020
Well I would have liked more romance between Grant and Celia. I felt Celia was very immature. Neither wanted to like each other so they both acted as if they couldn't stand each other - Very immature behavior from both.
I did like the fact that Grant was indeed protective of Celia and was watching out for her the entire time. That is a Hero.
I could not stand the Aunt Gertrude. Horrible, hypocrite and her husband should have put her in her place long ago. Especially being a minister, he should have ministered more to her about her hypocritical ways and set her straight on her behavior.
There wasn't much chemistry. There wasn't any sexual intimacy.
The ending was quick.
I did like the fact that Grant was indeed protective of Celia and was watching out for her the entire time. That is a Hero.
I could not stand the Aunt Gertrude. Horrible, hypocrite and her husband should have put her in her place long ago. Especially being a minister, he should have ministered more to her about her hypocritical ways and set her straight on her behavior.
There wasn't much chemistry. There wasn't any sexual intimacy.
The ending was quick.
January 24, 2024
Umm. Wth happened?
I thrifted this book, and it's been sitting on my shelf for a long time and finally decided to read it. I was enjoying it until she decided to leave and break off her engagement. It went downhill after that. It started off slow and ended at a very fast pace. Awful events were remembered and uncovered. After being kidnapped, seeing someone die, remembering awful things that happened to her, the author decided to end it on a smut scene?! By the end of the book, it felt like a completely different book. Amongst other reasons, I hope to forget that I read this.
I thrifted this book, and it's been sitting on my shelf for a long time and finally decided to read it. I was enjoying it until she decided to leave and break off her engagement. It went downhill after that. It started off slow and ended at a very fast pace. Awful events were remembered and uncovered. After being kidnapped, seeing someone die, remembering awful things that happened to her, the author decided to end it on a smut scene?! By the end of the book, it felt like a completely different book. Amongst other reasons, I hope to forget that I read this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2021
Nothing special about this one to be honest...I skimmed a lot. Typical bla romance novel 1🤷♀️
August 24, 2021
A bit too "Mills and Boon" for my liking.
April 5, 2023
Could have been shorter with the same impact. Love the enemies to lovers and the ending. My favourite quote was "She felt dangerous, as only a beutiful woman can".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2023
Held interest all the way through. Toward the end I felt I may have read this years ago but still enjoyed.
September 26, 2024
Awful. Writing was a struggle to build plot, conflict, romance. Even imagery. Did not finish. I have no idea what happened. Just parties and talking.
July 13, 2015
This is a well written, albeit, laborious book. I found this for a quarter at a used bookstore, and I've been dreading it because of all the terrible reviews. I almost threw it out, but I pulled this out of a stack of unread historical romance I got tired of staring at, and decided to hunker down and read it.
I would have liked it a lot more it hadn't been so low and muddy. I kinda get the sense that Mrs Rogers was half asleep while writing this.
Something about the way this book was written is like saltines and peanut butter or wet cardboard. Dry and uninspired.
So much useless meandering that I often found myself skimming.
If I hadn't been interested in seeing how the story would turn out, I would have put it down.
I'm glad I stuck it out because as slow as the plot was, it came together in a haunting and beautiful way.
It was just so fucking bland.
I would have liked it a lot more it hadn't been so low and muddy. I kinda get the sense that Mrs Rogers was half asleep while writing this.
Something about the way this book was written is like saltines and peanut butter or wet cardboard. Dry and uninspired.
So much useless meandering that I often found myself skimming.
If I hadn't been interested in seeing how the story would turn out, I would have put it down.
I'm glad I stuck it out because as slow as the plot was, it came together in a haunting and beautiful way.
It was just so fucking bland.
August 26, 2019
A young woman from Ceylon, Celia, is sent to England where she meets the dashing rogue from America. Read this historical romance over 25 years ago, when I enjoyed a good romance story. This romance was not good. The story made no sense, there was very little history involved, and for no reason the two protagonists were always mad at each other. Don't bother with this romance.
January 15, 2013
I have to say I was rather disappointed in this book and didn't even finish it. For one, there was entirely too much backstory at the beginning before I even had a chance to connect with the heroine and we didn't even meet the hero until chapter four. By then, what was mentioned of the hero was not all that impressive, in my opinion.
June 26, 2011
I thought that this story had a lot of potential, but it got so bogged down in unnecessary details and tangents that the plot only trudged forward. Ultimately I was unsatisfied by the lack of interaction between the hero and heroine.
February 27, 2013
OMG, what a waste of time & money. My own fault because when I bought it I didn't realize it was originally published in 1995. So, 407 pages of nauseating drivel. Never again. I will be much more cautious in the future.
August 11, 2014
This is a long novel about Celia- a daughter of a gypsy and an Englishman. It revolves about the way she was raised by an aunt and uncle, her betrothed and the sudden uprooting of her life. It's an interesting tale with lots of twists and turns- not really sure it was worth the time spent.
November 19, 2014
I liked her older stuff from the 1980's especially the Morgan - Challenger Series. I picked up The Tea Planter's Bride hoping to find another sexy, entertaining book. Instead I found myself bored. I nearly didn't finish it. Stick to the older books is my best advice.
June 25, 2015
UGH -_- i would not recommend this book to anyone. not only was it incredibly dull and dry for the first 3/4, it was very dark with some pretty disturbing scenes near the end that eclipsed the supposed happy ending. it just wasn't a good book at all.
December 16, 2013
I wish there were more scenes between Grant and Celia. And the romantic scenes were anti-climatic; it could have been more intense. The child sexual abuse was too much.
August 15, 2015
ONE OF THE TWO OF MY LEAST FAVORITE OF HER BOOKS.
August 11, 2016
I barely got through it. The story didn't flow well and the characters were annoying. There was not a good distinction between dreams and reality
July 8, 2025
Should anyone read this book?
NO!!
NO!!
Currently reading
May 24, 2011page 10 out of 407
February 18, 2013
Not exactly a pretty story. A ghastly childhood and greed is prevalant. It does end well though.
Read
March 2, 2019I have the german edition.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews