The Affectionate Adversary

Miss Pickworth #1

by Catherine Palmer

She’s a woman of great consequence. He’s a man of little importance. But when fate throws them together, the only thing that matters is what their hearts are telling them.

Charles Locke is determined to rise above his family’s meager station by building a successful tea trading business with the inheritance his father has entrusted to him. Success is his only option. But when his ship is attacked by pirates on a voyage to India, he barely escapes with his life, and all seems lost.

A well-respected lady, Miss Sarah Carlyle wants nothing to do with the ill-gotten money her late father left her and her sisters. She’s determined to give it all away, devoting her life to helping those less fortunate instead of marrying for wealth only to lounge all day in grand estate or attend extravagant balls.

But when Charles’s calamity lands him onboard Sarah’s ship to England, their hearts become intertwined, Charles never suspecting the largesse of Sarah's wealth and Sarah never learning of Charles’s ambitions. But one surprising revelation will test the bounds of their relationship . . . and reveal whether either of them can be trusted.

Fans of historical romance and readers of Jane Austen or Bridgeton will be swooning over this clean and wholesome, opposites-attract love story.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Christian, Historical Fiction, Historical, Historical Romance, Fiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 21, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Catherine Palmer lives in Atlanta with her husband, Tim, where they serve as missionaries in a refugee community. They have two grown sons. Cathy is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University and holds a master's degree in English from Baylor University. Her first book was published in 1988. Since then she has published over 50 novels, many of them national best sellers. Catherine has won numerous awards for her writing, including the Christy Award, the highest honor in Christian fiction. In 2004, she was given the Career Achievement Award for Inspirational Romance by "Romantic Times" magazine. More than 2 million copies of Catherine's novels are currently in print. The Author's Work With her compelling characters and strong message of Christian faith, Catherine is known for writing fiction that "touches the hearts and souls of readers." Her many collections include A Town Called Hope, Treasures of the Heart, Finders Keepers, English Ivy, and the Miss Pickworth series. Catherine also recently coauthored the Four Seasons fiction series with Gary Chapman, the "New York Times" best-selling author of "The Five Love Languages."

Reviews

[Stacia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this a better rating but the last 1/3 of the book began to become tedious and repetitive. Sarah and Charles fall in love while she nurses him back to health aboard a ship bound for London. He proposes and she refuses because she wishes to follow Christ give away the entirety of her fortune and the trappings that come with it and become poor. Charles is ambitious and wishes to establish a tea trade business and Sarah is appalled by this. The book somewhat deals with the questions of wealth as a Christian, and yet I don't think the author really put things right in Sarah's mind until possibly the very end.

Sarah becomes an irrational, tedious character who's decisions are changed like the tossing of a sea. She needed a backbone to stand up to her sisters instead of running from them. I also wish there had been one rational conversation about the Bible and money within the story, but there were only bits and pieces.

I read the book quickly and it was fun for a while, but I almost didn't finish it because of the continuous back and forth, on again off again, proposal/refusal relationship that Sarah and Charles had just got old.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Am I ever glad to be done. I actually thought about DNFING it. At one point I was going to post this:


and say so long, then I noticed I had less the hundred pages left and said, fine I'll finish it I've already spent my night reading it and it's getting too late to start something new, might as well not have my book reading night be a total loss.

I could not stand these characters. Sarah is too stubborn and set, I wanted to say enough already. Charles, I just wanted to shake and say just walk way, please you fool. The sisters *cringe* I know they are members of society and well they are "above" people, but these people were very snob like. There were to many things that I found annoying, I enjoy Christian romance/fiction but this book was just coming on too strong for me, too in your face.

I won't be recommending this book. I didn't enjoy this book someone might and I see people have. It wasn't for me. What drew me in was the cover, I thought it was very pretty. The blurb was also interesting. I think it could have been much more enjoyable with some tweaking.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free Kindle download. Not bad, except the heroine made me want to grip her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Once she gets an idea into her, she lives her life by that ideal and sticks strictly to it, and she has SUCH conviction in that idea that anything else is unacceptable to her. At the same time, there doesn't seem to be anything real behind it, just her flimsy, narrow interpretation of the Bible, which could easily be refuted by another interpretation if she would just open her mind to it.

The hero, I liked. He had good common sense and a great work ethic, solid wisdom and an inexplicable love and loyalty for the most frustrating heroine ever. Honestly, how many times can you expect a man to ask for a woman's hand in marriage? He should have left at the first no, given her a hard lesson in life, and good riddance.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but mostly for the hero. He was a genuinely good person and I wanted him to get his happy ending.

The heroine though, was painfully naive. She has good intentions (because, like the hero, she really is a good person too), she just carries them out poorly. Even though there's a point behind it and she grows beyond it, it's just such a big point in the book (and such a big thing to be naive about) that it made the book painful at times.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book. I thought I knew what I was getting into it but ugh. It is not your typical romance. You think it's gonna be that way but it's really annoying because they keep going back and forth. The book opens with Charles on a trip to get his tea business started but his ship gets taken over by pirates. A few of them are rescued and Charles is nursed back to health by Lady Sarah Delacroix. It's really sweet how they get to know each other and fall in love. But after they leave the ship the book goes downhill fast. Lady Sarah is rich and wants to give away her money this puts her opposing to Charles because he wants to start a business and make lots of money to support his family. It is too much. They go back and forth so many times. I got to page 280 and I couldn't even be happy when young Danny was revealed to be alive because I knew it would divide them and they had finally come to an agreement. Not worth it. I knew they would get together but it was too much back and forthing. Sarah was annoying in her stubbornness and Charles was a glutton for punishment.

Quote:
“She thought of her late father, Mr. Gerald Watson, an ambitious and ruthless opium merchant, who had taught his three daughters that while money might buy power, it could purchase neither respect nor honor. Position and esteem belonged to those born of aristocratic lineage, Mr. Watson had insisted-men such as George Carlyle, Lord Delacroix”(p. 5).

[Sian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved the writing of this book. It did have a Jane Austen-esque quality to it (along with Jane Austen references). Even when plot developments frustrated me I still enjoyed the prose. It was redundant at times and felt longer than a 313 page book but those things did not get in the way of my enjoyment of reading this, but want to share.

This is truly a Christian Regency Romance. Scripture and wanting to do God’s will are at the center of this book. It revolves around the parable of the rich young ruler and the biblical application of that teaching. I thoroughly enjoyed the debates between the main couple and the side characters about that point and appreciated the conclusions. There is also some honest commentary about society at this time, which I found refreshing to read and agreed with in general.

I enjoyed both Charles and Sarah’s characters. The humor was subtle. You do get both the FMC and MMC perspectives in a 3rd person limited POV. I loved the ending! I did cry haha. If you love regency romance and Christian fiction, this one’s for you! 🤎 It’s a more summery read as well!

in this book: he falls first, off-limits, will they or won't they, groveling, full circle, quoting scripture, high angst, it's complicated, meddling family

content guide: clean for romance, language, and violence with heavy amount of faith content

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in Palmer's Miss Pickworth series. I found it somewhat tedious and repetitive. Sarah the main female character of the book, changes her mind as well as her plans frequently bouncing between two British men, one of the middle class and one of the upper class. Repeated proposals and refusals happened with both men. I have to say my favorite character was Charles as he grew in his faith, became more set in what he wanted in life, and never lost his love and caring for Sarah.

I didn't find the series interesting enough to continue it although I have enjoyed other series by Catherine Palmer.

[Read With Delanie ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Christian romance book since I read Redeeming Love years ago!

Honestly, this was very refreshing. I loved the characters' struggle throughout. It was passionate, realistic, and faith-based while still maintaining the romance novel feeling.

My only gripe was that I'm pretty sure the entire book was 99% dialogue. With historical fiction, especially Regency era ones, I expect and want detailed descriptions. The author even mentioned Jane Austen, and I wish it read just a bit more like one of her novels. Still, it was lots of fun and just what I needed. ❤️

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars

What a delightful book this! The romance is far from predictable in its progression although the end result is happily as expected. The author weaves deep questions about money and the Christian without ever plunging into sermonizing. I found myself anxiously rooting for the happiness of these characters.

[Carol Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good. I was very frustrated throughout the novel though because I found the characters very contrivertial. I could relate to some extent, but I found it strange the way the main heroine character acted. She has some interesting views on love and money. Good novel. Opened my eyes to the way we should use money.

[Adams Hub · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story hooked me right from the summary. I could practically feel the salt air and the unspoken tension between Charles and Sarah. Their opposing beliefs about money make the romance unpredictable and emotionally rich. It’s not just a love story, it’s about discovering what truly matters when love and wealth collide.

[Audry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but it dragged out just a little. This series is Regency christian fiction. Not much preaching, but the book club type questions at the end of the books are like a sermon. Too much for me. No swearing, no sex.

[Natalie Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweeet, easy read

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just wanted to shake the main character and knock some sense into her!

[Ashley Emich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sarah was doing too much. I got annoyed and took a break.

[Paula-O · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catherine Palmer has written "The Affecionate Adversary",

Charles has grown up with his father whom lived his life as a servent, wanting more for his son. Charles was educated well and groomed to be more....
A young man was sent on a journey by ship with a trunk of gold to invest in tea, making he and his father the fashionable Locke and son LTD.

Sarah Carlyle was never allowed to live at home, she was raised by a wet-nurse then sent off to school, she never knew the love of family until late in life when she became acquainted with two sisters whom she grew to care for completely. Her father saw that she was married to an older man with a title and again there was not love or children to be had making a lonely life for a young girl. When her husband died she became a wealthy young woman and many desired her hand, she was never certain did they want her or the wealth she brought to the marriage.
Somehow midst growing up she became a true child of God and after studying scriptures she felt she should give her wealth away.
Thus she found herself on a ship that had to help another ship when they spied it in trouble upon the seas, Charles was saved from the murky waters and thought to be dead..when they went to sew him into a shroud for burial they detected life and Sarah was the one who helped him as he healed. They became quite good friends seeing one another everyday and as he listened to her singing on the ship he fell hopelessly in Love.
Now these two had no hopes of a future together - he a poor young man having lost everything when he was thrown from the ship he had been on. She a titled young woman that was supposed to only marry a man of her station in life.
God has set these two together at a time in their lives when both were making choices - you will want to read this and see how Charles and Sarah overcome so much as their story unfolds...
A treasure lost....A treasure found

[BlueJeansAndTeacups · Rating 2 out of 5]

•°o•:*:•. AN ESCAPE, BUT NOT MY FAVORITE .•:*:• o°•

Warning, this review will contain a few spoilers.
This book has pros and cons for me. I suppose it reminds me a bit of a Jane Austen novel in that there is a lot of fickleness happening with these characters, making it practically impossible to believe. However, the story is filled with scripture and appropriate regency era details, which I do enjoy. The leading man falls in love with the leading lady in chapter one, and peruses her from there. Kind of rushed. As his relationship and understanding of God develop into something substantial, he prayerfully decides to follow a different path of employment. But, when something happens to suddenly change his circumstances, apparently those prayers did not matter, because that is thrown out the window and now the holy spirit has told him to redirect his path again. The sisters are annoying at best, but again, they remind me more of the sisters from Pride and Prejudice, which the book references from time to time as the characters are fond of reading Austen.

The new character, Miss Pickworth, is “London society’s witty tattler”, or gossip columnist of the day. She is a lower character in this book, bur apparently will make appearances in the series. I have the series, so I will probably read it and see if I like them any better, but I may read some other books first.

Overall, I would say this book is ok. Not bad. Not wow-great!

2 out of 5 stars (means it was ok per this website)
Things that ARE included:

*Several Discussion Questions at the end, along with supporting scriptures (a nice touch).

325 Pages
April 12, 2013

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a historical novel which opens with high drama: a young Englishman called Charles is on his way to China with a chest of gold when the ship is attacked by pirates. Meanwhile, Sarah is on her way back to the UK on a different ship; they come across the wreck of the first boat, and rescue the few survivors.

Charles is gradually nursed back to life by Sarah. He has no idea that she is a very wealthy woman, whose former husband was a member of the aristocracy.

The rest of the book features their rather stormy growing relationship, fuelled by misunderstandings and Sarah’s various hangups due to an unhappy childhood. The characters aren’t really three-dimensional although Charles is quite likeable, and Sarah’s sisters are so caricatured that they provide a bit of light relief. The author had evidently done a great deal of research into Regency England, and drops in various historical references; unfortunately there are a few errors that stand out in an annoying way. For instance, the sisters are very snobbish, but their father was a merchant, as is Charles’ father. Sarah marrying into the aristocracy would not have turned her into an aristocrat according to society rules.

There’s an unlikely (albeit happy) coincidence towards the end of the book, and too much introspecting on the behalf of both the main characters, who began to get irritating after a while. The Christian aspect isn't too overdone, if it's assumed that Sarah's obsession with getting rid of all her wealth is due to her terrible upbringing.

I downloaded it free for my Kindle so perhaps three and a half stars would be fairer, but I have no intention of reading the other books in this series.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tension in this book comes from certain understandings of the main character named Sarah. She has inherited a great deal of money, enough to keep her and her three sisters and her family for many years and probably many generations if handled correctly. The way that she wishes to handle it is to travel to the Orient and dispense it to worthy charities. On her way back to England, her ship goes to the rescue of another ship which has been attacked by pirates. It is then that she helps with the recovery of Charles Locke, a man who was trying to start a tea trade in the Orient. They fall in love, but Sarah has a secret that she keeps from Charles until he finds out when trying to get more investors for his tea expedition. Charles continues to plead his case in order to marry Sarah. One of Sarah's sisters contacts Miss Pickworth, a gossip columnist who helps by dispensing advice. Both Sarah and Charles are changed by each other, and by understanding certain circumstances in which they believe God wants them to do. This book was enjoyable, and gave great insight into what people with riches could do as well as how social uplift ties into converting to Christianity.

[Sara ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Okay... As a fan of both regency and Christian romances, this one was not my favorite by a long shot.

I liked the hero quite a lot--he was kind, understanding, loving, and ambitious in a good way. The heroine, however... She drove me crazy with her narrow-minded interpretation of scripture and over-zealousness... First she was too pious, then she swung too far the other way... Charles was steady, but Sarah was a freaking pendulum! Plus Sarah's sisters and nephew! Mary was mean, narrow-minded, and all-around awful, Prudence was a flirtatious ditz (though I secretly think she's faking and is Miss Pickworth), and Henry was a selfish prick... So I liked ONE of the main 5 characters... Not a good ratio...

No one really cared about Sarah's happiness except Charles... And he wasn't "good enough" for Sarah? B-freaking-S. Did I mention that the whole plot was nonsensical and frustrating? Because it was...

That being said, the next book sounds a lot better, so I'm going to keep reading the series...

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually think this might be the nicest of the Regency period romances that I have read. I grow weary reading of a perfect woman falling for a perfect man. I rather enjoyed seeing the very warped attitudes of Sarah and her sisters. I liked the Jane Austen type of writing where the attitudes of both Sarah and Charles were evolving and changed by all God allowed into their lives. I was pleased that Sarah loved her quirky sisters without trying to change them. This was a free kindle book but it will cause me to purchase the other two in this series. So free was a wise move for this author. I liked the humor that was there. I liked the surprises in the story and I thought the ending was just right. I appreciated the author's inclusion of insight into the pitfalls of wealth Well done Catherine Palmer.
Barbara Anne Waite- author of memoir: "Elsie- Adventures of an Arizona Teacher 1913-1916

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm undecided about this book. I really didn't get Sarah's devotion to the idea of being poor as the only way to achieve happiness even though I understood how she was pushed in that direction. A lot of the characters were somewhat annoying, like her sisters and Delacroix. It was a tad bit convoluted towards the end with Sarah changing her mind back and forth. Also, Ms. Pickworth or Pickwick or whoever doesn't really play a huge role in this so I'm not sure why the series is named after her. I was certain I wasn't going to read the next book but it involves a character I did like, Sarah's maid Anne, so I might.

[Stephany · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not a good sign when you are actually WISHING the male will come to his senses and not try to get back with the female. The female character in this novel annoyed me to no end and while the author tried to make her very religious and tied to her faith and it just turned into her being very flighty and lacking intelligence. And she kept changing her mind on a whim and fleeing whenever there was trouble that I was finally like "JUST LEAVE HER! FIND SOMEONE BETTER!" And that, my friends, is the testament to a story that doesn't quite add up.

[April Suter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1814 Charles Locke's ship is captured and he is left for dead by pirates and he loses his father's lifelong money to start a tea trading business. A caring woman on the boat tends to his wounds and grabs his heart. He finds Sarah later in England and discovers she is even more wealthy than she said she was. So in the spirit of Mark 10:21-23 she wants Charles to give up on his path to becoming wealthy and she wants give up her wealth but she has such obligations. Love is patient or is it?

336 pages

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I agree with some of the criticisms, I still found this story very good, mainly b/c the internal conflict was not an easy thing for the hero & heroine to overcome. They were really at an impasse even though each stance was quite understandable and justifiable. I wasn't sure how they would resolve it, and I liked seeing how C. Palmer did it. I also thought she wove the spiritual dilemma quite deftly. I also liked the very regency feel of the dialogue and some laugh out loud moments. I do want to read the others in the series.

[Kristyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really surprised that this book didn't receive higher ratings. I thought it was a great Christian romance novel, and I loved the regency setting. Very reminiscent of Jane-Austen. To some it may seem to preachy, but I thought that it raised reasonable questions as to the good vs. evil of wealth, and I didn't mind reading as the characters tried to figure it out. It was very romantic, clean, and fun to read, and I look forward to reading more of her books, especially the sequel.

[Kati]

I rarely do this, but I'm putting this one down. I've made it to page 68 and it just isn't grabbing me. In fact so far the story line has pretty much bored me and seemed too contrived. I enjoyed the one other book by this author that I've read -- perhaps someday I'll pick this one up and try it again, but right now I have too many other things I really want to read to waste time reading this one that isn't holding my attention.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a new to me author. I purchased the book when it was offered as a freebie for the Kindle reader. I wanted something that was considered Christian fiction.

I enjoyed the book but it was a little preachy in places. There was very little romance. I did find that Ms. Palmer was able to keep my attention without the gratuitous sex and violence that I read in other novels.

If you want a really good romance without sex, violence, and bad language this book would be the answer.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on this book. I really enjoyed the story in of itself but the main character, Sarah, irritated me most of the book. She was very pious and took one Bible verse (out of contents) to base her adult life on. Not only did she choose to live her life by that verse, she also judged others by that same verse, no matter their intentions. To her money equals evil with no exceptions. While she does get things figured out, I was frustrated most of the book right along with Charles.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a hard book to rate. It took me several tries to get past the first chapter, but after that I couldn't stop coming back to it, and finished very quickly. I loved the characters and yet at times wanted to slap them, but throughout they seemed very real. I liked how the theological issues between them were well handled. So, in the end, I'm going with four stars....loved the story to death, but got irritated a few times!