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Beloved Enemies
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?
- GenresHarlequin Romance
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
14 people want to read
About the author
Ida Pollock
99 books7 followersIda Crowe was born on 12 April 1908 in Lewisham, Kent, England, UK, the daughter of a single mother and a unknown father, who rumoured to be a Russian duke, who her mother met at a ball in Greenwich. Ida narrowly escaped being smothered with a pillow by the nurse who attended her birth. As a teenager, she travelled alone to Morocco, after suffering a mental breakdown. From the age of ten, she knew she wanted to write. She began to write while still at school encouraged by her mother, with whom she lived in Hastings.
Writing fiction since her very early teens, setting her first publication, Palanquins and coloured lanterns, in 1920's Shanghai and she had several stories in major magazines and short novels in print. When at 20, she visited the George Newnes's office in London, to sold her her first full-length manuscript. Three months later, she discovered that they had lost her manuscript. After they found it, she returned to London to met one of its editors, the 39 year old Hugh Alexander Pollock (1888–1971), a distinguished veteran of World War I. Hugh had been married since 1924 to his second wife, the popular children's writer Enid Blyton, with whom he had two daughters Gillian Mary (1931–2007) and Imogen Mary (born 1935). Hugh was divorced from his first wife, Marion Atkinson, with whom he had two sons; William Cecil Alexander (1914–1916) and Edward Alistair (1915–1969). George Newnes bougth her manuscript, and contract her to wrote two other novels.
In the dark days at the beginning of World War II, Ida worked at hostel for girls in London through the Blitz. Hugh, who had left publishing to join the army, was Commandant of a school for Home Guard officers, and his second marriage was in difficulties. They has a chance encounter after a long time, and feeling Ida should be out of London, he offered her a post as civilian secretary at the army training centre in the Surrey Hills. She accepted, and as the months went by their relationship intensified. During a bungled firearms training session Hugh was hit by shrapnel on a firing range, and Ida had contact with Enid, but she declined go to visit her husband in Dorking, because she was so busy and hated the hospitals. On May 1942, during a visit to her mother's home in Hastings, a bomb destroyed the house. Ida escaped unhurt, but her mother was in hospital for two weeks. Hugh, who was sent overseas, paid for Ida to stay in smart London hotel Claridges, and decided to divorce his wife, who in 1941 met Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters and had begun a relationship with him. To get a quick divorce, Hugh blamed himself for adultery at divorce petition. On 26 October 1943, Ida married with Hught at London's Guildhall register office, six days after Enid's marriage with Darrell Waters. In 1944, they had a daughter Rosemary Pollock, also a romance writer. Enid changed the name of their daughters, and Hugh did not see them again, although Enid had promised access as part of his taking the blame for the divorce.
After the World War II, George Newnes, Hugh's old firm, decided not to work with him anymore. They also represented Enid Blyton and were not willing to let her go. After this the marriage experienced financial problems and, in 1950, Hugh had to declare bankruptcy while he struggled with alcoholism. A determined Ida plunged back into her literary work, and decided to write popular contemporary romances, she sold her first novel to Mills & Boon in 1952. Being in print with several major international publishers at the same time, she decided to use multiple pseudonyms. At that time, the pseudonyms were registered by the publishers and not by the writers. In the 1950s she wrote as Susan Barrie, Pamela Kent, Rose Burghley, and Mary Whistler to Mills & Boon, as Averil Ives and Barbara Rowan to Ward Lock, as Anita Charles to Wright & Brown, as Jane Beaufort to Collins. With the production of ten or twelve titles in every year, it was not long before she becoming hugely popular r
Writing fiction since her very early teens, setting her first publication, Palanquins and coloured lanterns, in 1920's Shanghai and she had several stories in major magazines and short novels in print. When at 20, she visited the George Newnes's office in London, to sold her her first full-length manuscript. Three months later, she discovered that they had lost her manuscript. After they found it, she returned to London to met one of its editors, the 39 year old Hugh Alexander Pollock (1888–1971), a distinguished veteran of World War I. Hugh had been married since 1924 to his second wife, the popular children's writer Enid Blyton, with whom he had two daughters Gillian Mary (1931–2007) and Imogen Mary (born 1935). Hugh was divorced from his first wife, Marion Atkinson, with whom he had two sons; William Cecil Alexander (1914–1916) and Edward Alistair (1915–1969). George Newnes bougth her manuscript, and contract her to wrote two other novels.
In the dark days at the beginning of World War II, Ida worked at hostel for girls in London through the Blitz. Hugh, who had left publishing to join the army, was Commandant of a school for Home Guard officers, and his second marriage was in difficulties. They has a chance encounter after a long time, and feeling Ida should be out of London, he offered her a post as civilian secretary at the army training centre in the Surrey Hills. She accepted, and as the months went by their relationship intensified. During a bungled firearms training session Hugh was hit by shrapnel on a firing range, and Ida had contact with Enid, but she declined go to visit her husband in Dorking, because she was so busy and hated the hospitals. On May 1942, during a visit to her mother's home in Hastings, a bomb destroyed the house. Ida escaped unhurt, but her mother was in hospital for two weeks. Hugh, who was sent overseas, paid for Ida to stay in smart London hotel Claridges, and decided to divorce his wife, who in 1941 met Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters and had begun a relationship with him. To get a quick divorce, Hugh blamed himself for adultery at divorce petition. On 26 October 1943, Ida married with Hught at London's Guildhall register office, six days after Enid's marriage with Darrell Waters. In 1944, they had a daughter Rosemary Pollock, also a romance writer. Enid changed the name of their daughters, and Hugh did not see them again, although Enid had promised access as part of his taking the blame for the divorce.
After the World War II, George Newnes, Hugh's old firm, decided not to work with him anymore. They also represented Enid Blyton and were not willing to let her go. After this the marriage experienced financial problems and, in 1950, Hugh had to declare bankruptcy while he struggled with alcoholism. A determined Ida plunged back into her literary work, and decided to write popular contemporary romances, she sold her first novel to Mills & Boon in 1952. Being in print with several major international publishers at the same time, she decided to use multiple pseudonyms. At that time, the pseudonyms were registered by the publishers and not by the writers. In the 1950s she wrote as Susan Barrie, Pamela Kent, Rose Burghley, and Mary Whistler to Mills & Boon, as Averil Ives and Barbara Rowan to Ward Lock, as Anita Charles to Wright & Brown, as Jane Beaufort to Collins. With the production of ten or twelve titles in every year, it was not long before she becoming hugely popular r
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 7 reviews
June 25, 2024
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 :(
September 23, 2014
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
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.
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.
May 30, 2012
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
March 9, 2018
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 !?!?!?
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 !?!?!?
abrierto-to-read-hr-other
May 12, 2022Miss 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?
October 26, 2020
It's pretty obvious that the two will fall in love once our heroine gets her nose back on straight. Romance is low key.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 7 reviews