Beloved enemies

by Pamela Kent (Pseudonym), Ida Pollock

Miss Caprice Vaughan could hardly wait to take possession of the lovely Tudor manor house she had been left by her great-uncle, so it was disconcerting, to say the least, to find a lodger already installed who showed no signs of wishing to leave. How was she to get rid of Mr. Richard D'Arcy Winterton?

Genres: Harlequin Romance

193 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

One of many pseudonyms used by Ida Julia Pollock, née Crowe.

Mrs. Pollack was a British writer of several short-stories and 125 romance novels that were published under her married name and under a number of different pseudonyms: Joan M. Allen; Susan Barrie, Pamela Kent, Averil Ives, Anita Charles, Barbara Rowan, Jane Beaufort, Rose Burghley, Mary Whistler and Marguerite Bell. She has sold millions of copies over her 90-year career. She has been referred to as the "world's oldest novelist" who was still active at 105 and continued writing until her death.

Ida and her husband, Lt Colonel Hugh Alexander Pollock, DSO (1888–1971), a veteran of war and Winston Churchill's collaborator and editor, had a daughter, Rosemary Pollock, who is also a romance writer.

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Aussie heroine with a backbone (and a great first name of "Caprice") inherits great-uncle's Elizabethan manor in England. To her shock, she finds an irritable, villainous, uncouth squatter in her house who has the gall to set his dogs on her. When he does not succeed in driving her off via his dogs, he uses a bitch, a human one that is, the proverbial Harlequin OW who is set on ripping out the heroine's throat for her master. And when that does not succeed, the "hero" of the piece finally resigns himself to woo the heroine and marry her as a last resort to get the precious manor that he has been coveting all his life. I liked the heroine very much but I wouldn't trust that golddigging hall of famer hero. It does not matter he has money on his own, he had an obsession with the manor, and he was all set to manipulate, lie, threaten and intimidate to kick out the rightful owner. Plus, he double-crossed his mistress to achieve his goal. I shudder to think the heroine might one day accidentally trip over one of the dogs on the staircase, breaking her neck in the fall, or the brakes on her car suddenly malfunction, and that way the hero inherits the lot. And if he doesn't get to heroine, the OW surely will at some point in the future. He gave me the feel of one of those charming psychopaths Hitchcock loved to showcase :(

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 Stars ~ Even though Caprice grew up in the Australian Outback, her widowed father self-sacrificed to see that she had the best of educations including a finishing school in Switzerland. He'd never forgotten his English roots and wanted very much to share them with Caprice. His death made Caprice the sole family heir to his uncle's estate in England, which included not only a genuine Elizabethan manor-house but a most impressive income for the rest of her life. Arriving in England, Caprice is surprised to discover that she has a tenant, Richard Winterton, and he's not in any hurry to vacate his wing of the house. Richard had lived in the house for the past several years, and he saw no reason to uproot himself now that the heiress had come to make her claim. Caprice rather resents Richard's insolent manner and is rather put out that he won't budge. She's well aware of his reputation for chasing the "skirts" and for drinking in excess, and yet some how he's earned the loyalty of the older couple who takes care of the manor. Both seem to have formed opinions of the other, and find themselves on opposite sides no matter the issue. Irritating though Richard is, Caprice can't help herself from thinking of him constantly.

This is a really silly romance about a young woman who is quite stubborn in her insistence to make her own decisions. Richard is quite right to resent her as he points out at their first meeting

"Tell me, little Aussie, why you arrived here thirsting for my blood, and why instead of asking me politely why I'm in residence in your house you ordered me out as if I was some kind of unexplained housebreaker. In your country do you never wait to find out? Do you go after everyone's scalp with a hatchet?"

There really isn't much of a romance until the last few chapters, and then it was a rush to the HEA and their declarations of undying love. I was rather confused about Richard and it seemed as if Ms. Kent must have edited out a few pages that would give us some of his background. Instead he's very much a dark horse at the end of the book as he was at the beginning. And yet for some reason, I rather enjoyed this story.

[LLC · Rating 4 out of 5]

The heroine unexpectedly inherits an estate from a great uncle she never knew. She travels from Australia, via Paris for a shopping spree, and finds the house occupied by a man who obviously thought he would inherit. There is a nervous housekeeper and gardener who indicate that no one can get the H to leave and that he’s lived there for quite some time. The h is very confident that she can get him to leave. As time goes by she realizes all is not as it seems and she is less inclined to evict him. Pretty good for 1970’s hqn but at times a little confusing

[Anuradha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonder where on earth do young girls find property bequeathed to them by unknown distant relatives ?? How come it happens so often in HP land ! The result being, the heroine is just a young rich woman of leisure.

And her only preoccupation is obsessing over the hero. In this case, the hero lives in the same house, god knows why. He is rich by himself but pretends to be poor, and refuses to leave the house to the girl.

She hates him first, tries to evict him, then suddenly decides all the resentment she felt towards him was actually love !?!?!?

[RomLibrary]

Miss Caprice Vaughan could hardly wait to take possession of the lovely Tudor manor house she had been left by her great-uncle, so it was disconcerting, to say the least, to find a lodger already installed who showed no signs of wishing to leave. How was she to get rid of Mr. Richard D'Arcy Winterton?

[More Books Than Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty obvious that the two will fall in love once our heroine gets her nose back on straight. Romance is low key.