Dear Dragon

by Sara Seale

He was a feudal lord, both loved and feared.

Stranded in a remote part of Cornwall with no money and no job, Alice Brown reluctantly took a post as governess in the Pendragon household.

She found them a wild and quarrelsome family, with Keir Pendragon, their head, more arrogant and overbearing than any of them.

Common sense told her to leave before she was caught up in their secrets and intrigues. But Alice stayed for the love of a dragon.

Genres: Hqn, Harlequin, Harlequin Romance

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Sara Seale was the pseudonym used by Mary Jane MacPherson (d. 11 March 1974) and/or A.D.L. MacPherson (d. 30 October 1978), a British writing team who published over 45 romance novels from 1932 to 1971. Seale was one of the first Mills & Boon's authors published in Germany and the Netherlands, and reached the pinnacle of her career in the 1940s and 1950s, when they earning over £3,000/year. Many of Seale's novels revisited a theme of an orphaned heroine who finds happiness, and also employed blind or disfigured (but still handsome) heroes as standard characters.

Mary Jane MacPherson began writing at an early age while still in her convent school. Besides being a writer, MacPherson was also a leading authority on Alsatian dogs, and was a judge at Crufts.

Reviews

[Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this one started out so slow I almost fell asleep reading it.



However, somewhere around page 45 the story took off and I was absolutely enchanted by the whole thing.

This is about a seriously dysfunctional family and a younger spoiled sibling who is in need of a nurse/nanny to take care of her. Frankly, I thought all she needed was some good old fashioned parenting to get her back into shape, but then we wouldn't have a story.

The only decent one in the family happens to be the hero and you learn that little tidbit very early on. The poor man is diligently working to keep up the family business while at the same time tying to keep his siblings employed and out of jail. Both the hero and heroine were delightful and I so wanted them to find their HEA. There is a delicious evil OW who loves to wreak havoc wherever she goes and subscribes to the "take no prisoners" philosophy. She absolutely can't wait to sink her hooks into the hero AND his business, and makes no bones about it.

This is very vintage (1959) so it's the plot versus the romance that makes everything work. There is absolutely nothing passionate or sizzling sexy between the H/h, but the author does build great chemistry and that always seems to work for me. (Maybe because i'm vintage too)

If you enjoy the older HPs, you might want to give this a try. It was delightfully entertaining.

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts out slowly but definitely picks up. It's much more about family drama but the H and the h have definite intellectual chemistry, although since he's literally twice her age and she is very idealistic/pragmatic, he's reluctant to pursue it.

There's a scene where the H kisses the OW -- it's before he's decided it's realistic to pursue the h, but he basically kisses her passionately but without any tenderness to see how she reacts. She's fine with it, but he isn't. It was a test of sorts -- of whether he could accept her offer of a marriage with a lot of sex but no tenderness or concern for each other. I don't even get the impression he was attracted to her.

[Emmalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book for a long time. I have given it 5 stars because it keeps me entertained and because I have reread it many times (which for me means it has this little extra that keeps my attention captured).

The subject is common enough, especially for the time in which this book was written (poor girl looking for a job, older man, plenty of complications). However I enjoy both the story line as well as the characters. Reading this book always makes me smile and I like the hero and heroine. Taking into account the time this book was written in, they are believable and, despite appearances, well-matched.

This is just a simple love story, but with just the right mix of ingredients which makes it a keeper for me.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars ~ With the recent death of her Aunt, 19 yr old Alice was left alone in the world. With no training for work, Alice's choices were limited, so she answered an advertisement for a live in nanny in a remote Cornish village. But when she arrived, it was to discover that the family had closed up house and moved on to winter in warmer climes, which left Alice with no where to stay and little money to return to London. Dragging herself to a nearby pub inn, she's again turned away, but a patron of the inn insists that he knows where there's a child in need of a companion, his sister. So Alice goes in the dark rainy night to the ancient home on the Cornish cliffs, and finds the head of the house unsure whether to welcome her. In the light of day, Alice meets the 13 yr old who needs care while she recovers from a bout of rheumatic fever. The girl, Doone, is spoiled and pampered but she takes an instant liking to Alice who doesn't put up with her tantrums. Alice finds the Pendragon family to be disturbing with their bitter arguments and petty grudges; except for Keir Pendragon. As a young man, Keir took on the responsibility of raising his half-siblings, but as the eldest male, he became the traditional family figurehead, the Pendragon. Alice wonders why Doone has such a dislike for her brother when it's clear that he's quite fond of her and her rejection hurts him. As the days pass into weeks, Alice brings a peacefulness to the Pendragon home, and she finds herself falling in love with Keir. And when Keir's beautiful cousin, Trelawny, returns making it clear she intends to marry Keir, all the pieces of the mysterious past seem to fall into place.

This is rather a gothic tale with a gloomy house on a bitter wind ridden cliffside and a family that barely resembles one. Alice is a misfit in her new surroundings, with her sensitive gentle personality but she's not a push over and fights back when she's teased into corners. Keir holds himself aloof but it's obvious he's the one with the tender soul that can be hurt. As Alice works her magic with the child, she works it with Keir as well. In Sara Seale style, the innocent young woman tames the bitter cynical older man, and there is a lovely HEA.

[Megzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two overly proud main character, a poisonous environment, miscommunication and misunderstandings is what this story is about.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

First published in 1959 it was this edition reissued in the 1970s that I read. I loved this story, it was a personal favourite of mine. It is still an enjoyable read today.

SYNOPSIS:
He was a feudal lord, both loved and feared.
Stranded in a remote part of Cornwall with no money and no job, Alice Brown reluctantly took a post as governess in the Pendragon household.
She found them a wild and quarrelsome family, with Keir Pendragon, their head, more arrogant and overbearing than any of them.
Common sense told her to leave before she was caught up in their secrets and intrigues. But Alice stayed for the love of a dragon.

[Olnega · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one, I normally don’t like slow burn but this books was strangely engrossing; it had almost gothic, Jane Eyre ish feel to it.

[KSHG · Rating 4 out of 5]

9/10 I really enjoyed this one. Heroine is adorable. Lively without being mean. Hero had a hard external layer but was softie on the inside. The writing is sublime with the setting evocatively described and the interestingly portrayed character dynamics. I don't like the 18 year age gap but I guess that was common in the era. To me, this was a fast-paced entertaining read. I didn't find it slow to begin with.

[Bookaddict · Rating 3 out of 5]

This family had some problems! They were horrible to each other. I would have run far away from them!

[Safa · Rating 1 out of 5]

أن البيت مافيه كهرباء والقصة ايام الخمسينيات 😅

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was a feudal lord, both loved and feared.

Stranded in a remote part of Cornwall with no money and no job, Alice Brown reluctantly took a post as governess in the Pendragon household.

She found them a wild and quarrelsome family, with Keir Pendragon, their head, more arrogant and overbearing than any of them.

Common sense told her to leave before she was caught up in their secrets and intrigues. But Alice stayed for the love of a dragon.

[Rongbu · Rating 2 out of 5]

More about the family relationships than romance between the H/h.

[Bookgyrl]

I read this book a long long time ago and still remember the story of Alice of Keir Pendragon. It would not be fair to rate it because it was written in another time with other romantic standards.