Take Me with You

by Mary Burchell

Leoni had spent her life in an orphanage. A well-run, kindly orphanage, true; but she wanted acutely to have a home of her own, to "belong" somewhere. Her first attempt - at the age of nine - to bring this about was not wholly successful; later she was luckier, and this is the story of how she found friendship, a career, and, finally, romance.

Genres: Harlequin Romance, Romance

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 1965

About the author

Ida Cook was born on 1904 at 37 Croft Avenue, Sunderland, England. With her eldest sister Mary Louise Cook (1901), she attending the Duchess' School in Alnwick. Later the sisters took civil service jobs in London, and developed a passionate interest in opera. The sisters helped 29 jews to escape from the Nazis, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honored as Righteous Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel.

As Mary Burchell, she published more than 125 romance novels by Mills & Boon since 1936. She also wrote some western novels as James Keene in collaboration with the author Will Cook (aka Frank Peace). In 1950, Ida Cook wrote her autobiography: "We followed our stars". She helped to found the Romantic Novelists' Association, and was its president from 1966 to her death on December 22, 1986.

Reviews

[Noël Cades · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glorious. Absolutely glorious, vintage romance with a spirited and smart teenage heroine and a wonderful, slightly older (~10 years) hero). Orphan Leoni meets rich businessman Lucas, who happens to be a man she once met as a child at the orphanage gate.

This book is just sheer enjoyment. It's so nice, but in a really nice way, with those amazing moments of sexual tension that Mary Burchell manages despite 100% chasteness.

You do have to get over several increasingly huge coincidences with this book, but by the time you get there you won't care, as the characters are so lovely. Even though the last one is absurdly implausible and could easily have been written around.

1. The man at the gate is her best friend's cousin. OK, we can cope with this one.
2. On her first day working in London, who does she bump into at the Tube station? That's right, the hero. If you've been in the commuting rush hour in London, you'll know how unlikely this is. Why is he even in the Tube station? He has a car he drives everywhere.
3. When the hero and heroine are stranded at a remote unknown cottage in the middle of nowhere in the fog, who should be the adulterous couple turning up there, but the hero's wife and her boyfriend? Come on!
4. The other woman turns out to be the heroine's step-mother (not that either of them knew this). The other woman was originally married to the heroine's father, who was still alive when she bigamously "married" Lucas. This really pushes the reader's allowance-making to the limit.

As a bonus coincidence which is totally irrelevant and unnecessary to the plot, unlike the four previous coincidences, Matron's sister's aunt-in-law is the Other Woman's dresser.

The surnames are rather odd in this book. I listened to it as an audiobook, and was struck by how "un-English" they sounded, at least as a group, or at least how unusual they all are. Morrion, Vandeem, Dagram, Coran, Rayter, Conby, Frendall, Burnby, Saleedon. I've never met anyone with any of these surnames, and in fact I can't recall ever even reading of most/all of them before.

I suppose if there's anything to regret, it's the reminder that women in this era had so few opportunities. Despite being such a brilliant student that she wins a scholarship and impresses her friend's rich father, such that he sponsors her education, the only career option considered for her is as a secretary. This rather reminds me of my grandmother, who went to Oxford in the 1930s - it was an exceptional thing in that era for a girl to go to university, let alone Oxford - but became merely a secretary who ended up marrying her boss. There were female doctors and scientists in the 1930s, but really vanishingly few, and most young women were blocked from such careers by a range of factors.

So brilliant, beautiful Leoni presumably ends up becoming a corporate wife.

[Leona · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely not one of my favorite books by this author which is a shame since it started out so strong. The description of her reaching through the bars (as a child in the orphanage) and asking him to take her with him, was just heartbreaking.

But after that it went down hill with an abrupt ending that had too many loose strings. And to top it off evil, manipulative OW got to walk away after extorting the hero for years. :(

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another vintage genre romance from Mary Burchell, who saved Jews from the Nazis using the proceeds from her writing in World War II.

Burchell is known for her unusual romance plots and strong characters, and this book is a typical example. The orphaned heroine, while a child, asks a young man who stops outside the orphanage gates to be her "taking out to tea" uncle. He kindly declines, and years later she meets him at the home of a schoolfriend. Now unhappily married, she falls for him all the same. There are obstacles, but of course all ends well.

Not one of Burchell's best, but an interesting romance all the same.

[Anuradha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absurd non-sense, passed off as a quixotic romance. One of the author's rare uninspired works.

The story stands on half a dozen preposterous coincidences. Ones that are too far fetched even for fiction. So they rob the story of any credibility. Its just a weird bit of story telling that just doesn't wash with the reader.

The heroine is an orphan, growing up at an orphanage. At the age of 9, she catches a sweet, innocent conversation from her orphanage gates with the young teenager hero. And that camaraderie lingers in her mind for years.

As she turns 18, gets a job and leaves to London to make a living, she bumps in to the hero again. All in chance circumstances. They recollect the past meeting, and hit it off right away. The hero has a roguish reputation, with the secret talk of some scandal behind his name.

Somewhere mid way through the story, the hero coolly drops the bombshell that he is married. To an absolute terror, of course. A stage actress much older than himself. He married in haste and is repenting in leisure.

Now our orphan is thrown into pathos because she cant imagine doing anything adulterous. So they have to part ways with a heavy heart. About 4-5 crazy coincidences mark that part of the story.

Finally, in yet another coincidence, it is revealed that the hero's marriage was a bogus after all. Why? Because the slimy OW was married to the heroine's father in yesteryears !!

By the time I reached this stage of the story, I was so flabbergasted, that I just wanted to be done with the whole mess. Good riddance, to a silly, preposterous story.

Mary Burchell, after turning out such gems, how did you manage this one, I wonder !@:!@:!"@:!

[Nenya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down to 3. Seems like I just read a brighter, chipper, fluffier, more fun version ( Accompanied by his wife)... I have to say, for most romance authors, usually the better version is the earlier one. For the better authors, apparently the opposite is true. And Mary Burchell is good.

I do prefer the bland and solid OM Norman though :(

[Reading with Cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll admit...I was a bit worried about the slightly squicky age difference here. I should’ve known Mary Burchell was better than that. She took poor, orphaned waif Leoni from frightened of an escalator (!) to meeting Lucas on his own level (and quite possibly slightly above it). I loved both of these characters and their journey. This book is my happy place!

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

My top favourite Harlequin romance of all time. I kept it and last night decided to reread it and love it still.

[Lika · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pure contrived insanity …. 😭💀 like the way everyone knew each other . This was the level of contrivance of Jane eyre mixed in with these old chases and Venetia

The Romance angle was crazy . Forced myself to finish

Despite the Toryness of burchell, her remarks on interpersonal relationships and people’s inner thoughts/motives have this sage like quality . She’s knows her stuff

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about any romance novel that has an 18-year-old heroine, much less one that matches her with a 30-year-old hero. Even looking past that—and how much the beginning reminded me of Daddy-Long-Legs (which I hated)—I was still managing to enjoy the book for its emotional impact and resilient heroine. Until we get to the end and the highly implausible coincidence (not to say, deus ex machina) that resolves all their difficulties, frees the hero and vanquishes the evil other woman. Even the characters themselves seem a little embarrassed at being saddled with such a silly conclusion. Oh well. Last chapter aside, it was fairly entertaining.

[RomLibrary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leoni had spent her life in an orphanage. A well-run, kindly orphanage, true; but she wanted acutely to have a home of her own, to "belong" somewhere. Her first attempt - at the age of nine - to bring this about was not wholly successful; later she was luckier, and this is the story of how she found friendship, a career, and, finally, romance.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems that I read a different story than the other readers are talking about. I read "Take Me With You" by Mary Burchell, published in 1945.

The story was well-written, as always, but it had too many coincidences.

I enjoyed the characters. Lucas and Leoni meet in a unique, delightful way.

Worth reading.

Grey-eyed characters: Matron

[Rongbu]

First meeting of H&h was sweet. But the story Ended abruptly.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many co-incidences for the tale to ring true.

[Ellyn (Mrs. Darcy in my Dreams) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Mary Burchell book. I didn’t like how H kept referring to h as “child” that was so annoying. There was not enough real angst in this. The ending was wrapped up a little too simply.

[S Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual story!