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Louisiana #1
Gypsy Lady
Catherine Tremayne's aristocratic loveliness was a flower no man had yet dared to pluck.. But when Jason Savage first beheld the violet-eyed beauty, she was disguised as a Gypsy -- a maiden long ago stolen from her father's Cornish estate.
Only after he had carried her off to Paris on a dangerous mission for President Jefferson did Jason bare Catherine's secret.
Yet Catherine's destiny drew her on, into a world of intrigue and danger, and she fled from Jason to the city of New Orleans -- through an odyssey of peril and sexual captivity -- to ecstatic reunion with the fearless adventurer who at last would quench the fire in her burning Gypsy soul!
Only after he had carried her off to Paris on a dangerous mission for President Jefferson did Jason bare Catherine's secret.
Yet Catherine's destiny drew her on, into a world of intrigue and danger, and she fled from Jason to the city of New Orleans -- through an odyssey of peril and sexual captivity -- to ecstatic reunion with the fearless adventurer who at last would quench the fire in her burning Gypsy soul!
504 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published December 28, 1977
94 people are currently reading
1269 people want to read
About the author
Shirlee Busbee
51 books272 followersShirlee Elaine was born 9 August 1941 in San Jose, California, USA. She was the first daughter of a career naval officer, later she had two sisters and three brothers, they raised traveling the world. She went to the institute in Kentri, Morocco, after which she returned to California and she went to Burbank Bussines College of Santa Rosa, where she received a certificate in 1962.
Shirlee married with Howard Busbee in June 22, 1963. Now, they live in hills of California, where they raise for pleasure Standard Schnauzers, Standardbred horses, and other many animals.
She has worked as a receptionist for the Marin County Title and Abstract Co., as plant supervisor for Fairfield Title Co., and as secretary and drafting technician for the County Parks Department of Fairfield, California, where she met her life-long friend and mentor Rosemary Rogers. Published since 1977, Shirlee Busbee is the proud author of over 18 novels, including seven New York Times bestsellers. With over nine million copies of her books in print, she is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in writing, including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and Affaire de Coeur's Silver and Bronze Pen Awards.
You may write to Shirlee Busbee care of C/O Warner Books, Inc., Time and Life Building, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
Shirlee married with Howard Busbee in June 22, 1963. Now, they live in hills of California, where they raise for pleasure Standard Schnauzers, Standardbred horses, and other many animals.
She has worked as a receptionist for the Marin County Title and Abstract Co., as plant supervisor for Fairfield Title Co., and as secretary and drafting technician for the County Parks Department of Fairfield, California, where she met her life-long friend and mentor Rosemary Rogers. Published since 1977, Shirlee Busbee is the proud author of over 18 novels, including seven New York Times bestsellers. With over nine million copies of her books in print, she is the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in writing, including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and Affaire de Coeur's Silver and Bronze Pen Awards.
You may write to Shirlee Busbee care of C/O Warner Books, Inc., Time and Life Building, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
December 13, 2018
Absorbing Bodice Ripper But With Some Improbable Elements
This was Busbee’s first novel, and was followed by LADY VIXEN (to which I gave 5 stars). Busbee is, in my opinion, a brilliant writer of romance. She weaves intricate, historically accurate and absorbing stories that you do not want to put down. However, in both this one and the related WHILE PASSION SLEEPS, there were some improbable events at critical points that had me tearing out my hair and kept me from giving Busbee the 5 stars she otherwise deserves.
GYPSY LADY is set in an interesting time in history and Busbee integrates the history well, weaving in real historic figures. America is forced to seek an alliance with England to thwart Napoleon’s influence in America, and Napoleon, needing money for his planned war with England, is willing to sell America the Louisiana Territory. And our hero is in the middle of it all.
This story begins in England in the late 1700’s as Catherine Tremayne, who Gypsies kidnapped a young girl along with her half brother Adam, is returned to her father, the Earl of Mount. But she never lost her Gypsy beginnings. Years later, Lady Catherine Tremayne, now an 18-year-old noblewoman, still sometimes dresses as a Gypsy and dances at their camp. It is there American Jason Savage, who is in England on a secret assignment for President Thomas Jefferson, sees her and thinks to make the beautiful Gypsy his mistress.
Here’s where the improbable events come in: First, Jason assumes Catherine is another man’s mistress just because he saw them talking. Then, when he makes a degrading offer to Catherine to buy her favors, she, a British earl’s daughter, takes it lightly allowing Jason to think she is entertaining the idea. Please. Though she speaks like a noblewoman, Jason thinks she’s just a common whore. Don’t think that flies either. When he kidnaps and brutally rapes her, she finds him attractive and even enjoys a dinner with him “smiling at one of his amusing tales.” Right. He brutally rapes her a second time. Still she does not tell him who she is. (I could see him not believing her but not tell him? Can’t quite see that, can you?) Half the time she acts like a zombie (“accepting her fate”), making her look weak and stupid. The other half she is daydreaming he is her suitor (major Stockholm syndrome here). She never tells him who she is. And Jason was just mean and cruel, treating her like a slave and keeping her prisoner. After he forces her to go with him to Paris (still on the mission for President Jefferson), he goes out whoring every night. (At this point I thought he was nonredeemable; I couldn’t even see honor in his political dealings. Know what I mean?) He pretty much remains a bastard for most of the book; and Catherine never does seem to successfully defy him, but of course, in the end they come together. If the improbable elements don’t bother you, you’ll enjoy it.
Here’s the whole list in Busbee’s Louisiana Series (stand alone novels with some overlapping characters):
• Gypsy Lady, 1977
• Lady Vixen, 1980
• While Passion Sleeps, 1983
• Deceive Not My Heart, 1984
• The Tiger Lily, 1985
• Midnight Masquerade, 1988
• Whisper to Me of Love, 1991 (re-released 2012)
• Each Time We Love, 1993
This was Busbee’s first novel, and was followed by LADY VIXEN (to which I gave 5 stars). Busbee is, in my opinion, a brilliant writer of romance. She weaves intricate, historically accurate and absorbing stories that you do not want to put down. However, in both this one and the related WHILE PASSION SLEEPS, there were some improbable events at critical points that had me tearing out my hair and kept me from giving Busbee the 5 stars she otherwise deserves.
GYPSY LADY is set in an interesting time in history and Busbee integrates the history well, weaving in real historic figures. America is forced to seek an alliance with England to thwart Napoleon’s influence in America, and Napoleon, needing money for his planned war with England, is willing to sell America the Louisiana Territory. And our hero is in the middle of it all.
This story begins in England in the late 1700’s as Catherine Tremayne, who Gypsies kidnapped a young girl along with her half brother Adam, is returned to her father, the Earl of Mount. But she never lost her Gypsy beginnings. Years later, Lady Catherine Tremayne, now an 18-year-old noblewoman, still sometimes dresses as a Gypsy and dances at their camp. It is there American Jason Savage, who is in England on a secret assignment for President Thomas Jefferson, sees her and thinks to make the beautiful Gypsy his mistress.
Here’s where the improbable events come in: First, Jason assumes Catherine is another man’s mistress just because he saw them talking. Then, when he makes a degrading offer to Catherine to buy her favors, she, a British earl’s daughter, takes it lightly allowing Jason to think she is entertaining the idea. Please. Though she speaks like a noblewoman, Jason thinks she’s just a common whore. Don’t think that flies either. When he kidnaps and brutally rapes her, she finds him attractive and even enjoys a dinner with him “smiling at one of his amusing tales.” Right. He brutally rapes her a second time. Still she does not tell him who she is. (I could see him not believing her but not tell him? Can’t quite see that, can you?) Half the time she acts like a zombie (“accepting her fate”), making her look weak and stupid. The other half she is daydreaming he is her suitor (major Stockholm syndrome here). She never tells him who she is. And Jason was just mean and cruel, treating her like a slave and keeping her prisoner. After he forces her to go with him to Paris (still on the mission for President Jefferson), he goes out whoring every night. (At this point I thought he was nonredeemable; I couldn’t even see honor in his political dealings. Know what I mean?) He pretty much remains a bastard for most of the book; and Catherine never does seem to successfully defy him, but of course, in the end they come together. If the improbable elements don’t bother you, you’ll enjoy it.
Here’s the whole list in Busbee’s Louisiana Series (stand alone novels with some overlapping characters):
• Gypsy Lady, 1977
• Lady Vixen, 1980
• While Passion Sleeps, 1983
• Deceive Not My Heart, 1984
• The Tiger Lily, 1985
• Midnight Masquerade, 1988
• Whisper to Me of Love, 1991 (re-released 2012)
• Each Time We Love, 1993
July 18, 2021
2.5 stars
This book was definitely a BR! The book was so different from the author's newer books. Only fans of old fashioned BR would like this book.
Problems:
1. The MC don't even meet till 105pgs. I ended up skipping pages.
2. The H rapes the h and I don't mean the statutory rape , which is found in most old books. He forces her. Then he ties her up and kidnaps her. He even brings her to Paris against her will.
3. The h was immature and was prideful over stupid things. She never tells the H who she is or that her baby is his child.
4. There was never any peace between the MC. They fought over the stupidest things. If the author had more loving moments the book would have been so much better.
I gave the book extra stars bc the book improved near the end.
Though I enjoy a good BR, this one just wasn't for me.
This book was definitely a BR! The book was so different from the author's newer books. Only fans of old fashioned BR would like this book.
Problems:
1. The MC don't even meet till 105pgs. I ended up skipping pages.
2. The H rapes the h and I don't mean the statutory rape , which is found in most old books. He forces her. Then he ties her up and kidnaps her. He even brings her to Paris against her will.
3. The h was immature and was prideful over stupid things. She never tells the H who she is or that her baby is his child.
4. There was never any peace between the MC. They fought over the stupidest things. If the author had more loving moments the book would have been so much better.
I gave the book extra stars bc the book improved near the end.
Though I enjoy a good BR, this one just wasn't for me.
July 12, 2014
Loved this one!
It's a long one, almost 600 pages and it does take awhile for the H and h to actually meet but I never found myself bored at any point.
Tamara/ Lady Catherine (h) was kidnapped bands small child by a band of gypsy' s along with her older half brother. The person who set this up wanted them killed and out of the way but the gypsies decided to keep and care for them as their own. Years later when the children are nearly grown they are thrown back into the lives that were stolen from them. Learning to be a lady is suffocating for Catherine and he father makes arrangements with the gypsies and sets aside a plot of land close by for them to live so that Catherine can return to them and the freedom that the gypsy life entails. It is turning one of these times that our hero sees her for the first time, thinking her just a simple but beautiful gypsy wench, he also decides that he will have her.
Jason Savage (H) while in England on political business from Louisiana spies a beautiful gypsy girl and decides that she will be his. He makes plans to make her his next mistress and though she rebukes him time and again he will not be put off. After one of her shenanigans leaves him boiling mad, he forces himself on her. When it is revealed that the little gypsy wench that he has made his mistress (against her will) is actually a Lady , he has no other recourse than to marry her and take her home to America.
This has all of the elements of the old school bodice rippers from the H rapping the h and hitting her hard enough to bruise and split her lip to all of the huge misunderstandings and angst.
It's a long one, almost 600 pages and it does take awhile for the H and h to actually meet but I never found myself bored at any point.
Tamara/ Lady Catherine (h) was kidnapped bands small child by a band of gypsy' s along with her older half brother. The person who set this up wanted them killed and out of the way but the gypsies decided to keep and care for them as their own. Years later when the children are nearly grown they are thrown back into the lives that were stolen from them. Learning to be a lady is suffocating for Catherine and he father makes arrangements with the gypsies and sets aside a plot of land close by for them to live so that Catherine can return to them and the freedom that the gypsy life entails. It is turning one of these times that our hero sees her for the first time, thinking her just a simple but beautiful gypsy wench, he also decides that he will have her.
Jason Savage (H) while in England on political business from Louisiana spies a beautiful gypsy girl and decides that she will be his. He makes plans to make her his next mistress and though she rebukes him time and again he will not be put off. After one of her shenanigans leaves him boiling mad, he forces himself on her. When it is revealed that the little gypsy wench that he has made his mistress (against her will) is actually a Lady , he has no other recourse than to marry her and take her home to America.
This has all of the elements of the old school bodice rippers from the H rapping the h and hitting her hard enough to bruise and split her lip to all of the huge misunderstandings and angst.
September 4, 2011
This was my first ever romance novel.
I was ten.
This is the story of my childhood trauma.
I was ten years old. I was practically born with a hunger and passion for reading. Other parents would be trying to get their kid to read. My mother was trying to stop my reading- she suceeded that year too. I got first in class that year, and being in the best class... Well, that was an accomplishment.
But my mother didn't understand that I loved reading so badly, if she took my books away, I would simply just read HER books instead.
And this is how I read my first ever sex scene.
It was rape.
Dear adults, please take care of this novel if you have it. Dot traumatise any of your children. I cried after reading this book. I did.
And this is the tale of how I was thrust into the world of adult novels since young, and I haven't looked back since.
Good thing I was never that innocent. If not, I think I may have been scarred for life.
I was ten.
This is the story of my childhood trauma.
I was ten years old. I was practically born with a hunger and passion for reading. Other parents would be trying to get their kid to read. My mother was trying to stop my reading- she suceeded that year too. I got first in class that year, and being in the best class... Well, that was an accomplishment.
But my mother didn't understand that I loved reading so badly, if she took my books away, I would simply just read HER books instead.
And this is how I read my first ever sex scene.
It was rape.
Dear adults, please take care of this novel if you have it. Dot traumatise any of your children. I cried after reading this book. I did.
And this is the tale of how I was thrust into the world of adult novels since young, and I haven't looked back since.
Good thing I was never that innocent. If not, I think I may have been scarred for life.
September 9, 2012
When love and Stockholm Syndrome were one and the same!
I'd say it's a guilty pleasure but I felt no guilt.
I'd say it's a guilty pleasure but I felt no guilt.
April 8, 2011
Why do I pick up books like this? And then, why do I read them almost halfway through before throwing them down in disgust? I admit that a part of me was fascinated by this story. I didn't enjoy it and it wasn't romantic, I was just fascinated, in much the same way a person might pay attention to a sex scandal while saying how horrible it is that the media is fixated on such things. And at first, Jason didn't seem so bad. A bit oversexed, but what romantic hero isn't? (I could actually name a few, and I appreciate them, but it is a cliche I am resigned to.) And when he mistakes a lady for a gypsy (because she sort of is...she was raised by them, and still spends time with them) and arrogantly demands that she become his mistress, I had all the right responses. But when he rapes her and kidnaps her and blames the whole thing on her....well, I kept reading even after that, even though I know from experience that a rape is and should always be a put-down moment. I read until they are forced into marriage, all the while Jason is still blaming her for being a tease and provoking him. Ugh. Maybe I was hoping he would feel remorse for what he had done? I don't know why, because even if she were the experienced woman he originally thought her to be, his actions were deplorable and beyond forgiveness. Or maybe I was just curious, because there are a fair number of these types of books out there, whether there was something appealing that I missed because I threw it down too soon. Perhaps there is, closer to the end, but I don't really want to find out.
If you like arrogant men who rape and kidnap women, yell at them a lot, and sometimes physically abuse them....
If you like arrogant men who rape and kidnap women, yell at them a lot, and sometimes physically abuse them....
August 22, 2016
A true bodiceripper!!!
October 12, 2014
This was Busbee's first book, and I read it after Lady Vixen, which is in my mind as a sort of special book because it was my first adult book, first bodice ripper. I ready it probably like 30 years ago.
I must admit that whilst I did finish it and I love Shirlee Busbee, this was a toughy. I actually thought the hero was quite a bastard, and treated the heroine appallingly. I notice a few years ago I gave it four stars, but I'm kind of not sure I should have as the hero raped the heroine, and it was quite nasty, and he did it numerous times after he kidnapped her. I never liked the hero and by today's standards I certainly wouldn't really call him a hero. She did fall in love with him, but quite honestly I'm not sure why. He was good looking, but since he was a rapist bastard, it's all he had.
I'm writing this review simply because I hadn't done one, and it is a memorable book, but for not nice reasons. I have absolutely loved other Busbee books, but this wasn't one of them. I felt pretty bad whilst I was reading it, and after it.
I must admit that whilst I did finish it and I love Shirlee Busbee, this was a toughy. I actually thought the hero was quite a bastard, and treated the heroine appallingly. I notice a few years ago I gave it four stars, but I'm kind of not sure I should have as the hero raped the heroine, and it was quite nasty, and he did it numerous times after he kidnapped her. I never liked the hero and by today's standards I certainly wouldn't really call him a hero. She did fall in love with him, but quite honestly I'm not sure why. He was good looking, but since he was a rapist bastard, it's all he had.
I'm writing this review simply because I hadn't done one, and it is a memorable book, but for not nice reasons. I have absolutely loved other Busbee books, but this wasn't one of them. I felt pretty bad whilst I was reading it, and after it.
August 18, 2023
This book is such a train wreck. But unlike 50 Shades of Grey it is better written. I enjoyed the historical elements and kept reading because I wanted to see how it ended. I finished the 50 shades trilogy- so I guess I felt I needed to finish this. I need a list entitled "awful books that I think were sprinkled with hallucinogens because I kept reading."
May 10, 2010
this was a great story it had a little of everything in it love hate sex history. surprize twists it is worth the read like the read of her work.
November 20, 2014
Good bodiceripper, full of misunderstandings and viciousness on the hero's part. Flawed but highly entertaining. If you don't like bodicerippers don't read it and complain. If you do, ENJOY!
December 27, 2021
Хубавото е, че авторката поне има малко по-разнообразен в географско отношение сюжет. Това да намеси Франция си е велико разнообразие на фона на досадните до втръсване английски имения, но добрата стара Бъзби все пак е от ерата преди политкоректността, която ��деално се съчетава и с ограниченост, която направо може да разболее човек, и по-конкретно читателката от женски пол.
Същата тази читателка обаче ще и иде да завие при изключително иди��тски написаната героиня. Е, няма такава липса на елементарна логика! Дори в зората на 19-ти век не може да е съществувала чак толкова глупава жена! И за по-красиво - инат. Този начин на построяване на сюжет на база изцяло несекващи недоразумения, нелогични заключения, нелепи и опасни постъпки явно е бил доста популярен, сега също се прилага в изчистен вариант в сериали и романчета, но глупостта никога не е била и няма да бъде секси.
Същата тази читателка обаче ще и иде да завие при изключително иди��тски написаната героиня. Е, няма такава липса на елементарна логика! Дори в зората на 19-ти век не може да е съществувала чак толкова глупава жена! И за по-красиво - инат. Този начин на построяване на сюжет на база изцяло несекващи недоразумения, нелогични заключения, нелепи и опасни постъпки явно е бил доста популярен, сега също се прилага в изчистен вариант в сериали и романчета, но глупостта никога не е била и няма да бъде секси.
August 13, 2016
The hero starts out sexy, forceful, good looking and highly sexed and deteriorates into a revengeful philandering rapist and woman batterer who blames her for everything. The problem isnt as much the violation and beating itself, which given the times may have been historically accurate, its the fact that his transformation into love does not include remorse or promise to never do it again - on the contrary, he explains it away blithely as part of his volatile character and if she doesnt continue to drive him to it it will not happen, blah blah, thus not taking any reponsibility for it. He is one sick hero! Despite being distinctly repulsed by him over and over again, there is a lot of action in the plot that kept me from dropping the book altogether. There is also lots of Louisiana history which was brought to life vividly... native americans, creoles, slave markets, etc.
January 9, 2012
Typical bodice ripper, heroine is kidnapped and raped by hero, they both have a million misunderstandings about each other and there's a lot of anger between them. I still enjoyed the story though, and the setting which took place during the sale and purchase of Louisiana.
June 2, 2015
Ugh. I am so glad that I am finished with this awful book. Everyone is stupid, including myself for wasting my time with this novel.
Want to read
November 26, 2021THE! COVER!
September 13, 2025
Before I read this book, I was surfing for info on Shirlee Busbee's novels, and discovered that some people hated "Gypsy Lady", others loved it. Some gave it one star, others four or even five. I decided to check it out for myself and discovered, as I suspected, that it was somewhere in between.
To me, this book had too much going for it for anyone to hate, yet too many flaws for anyone to love. It's a book to be liked, with reservations. It had flaws (which I'll get into first), good points, and things that could have been better.
One of the flaws was the rather silly beginning story of the h, Catherine and her half-brother, Adam being kidnapped as little children by gypsies, due to the machinations of their evil, greedy cousin, Clive (who really wanted them dead), and some years later, (and even sillier) having their adopted gypsy parents return them to their family, simply to do the right thing. All this was to give the brother and sister an excuse to be a bit wild and unconventional. It could have been done without that nonsense, just by having gypsies in the neighborhood that captured their attention, especially since their gypsy "family" disappears from the story, (after still being involved in their lives years after their return, without paying any price for the kidnapping, UNBELIEVABLE) and are then apparently forgotten, as if they never existed.
Another flaw was using the gypsies to get Catherine and the H, Jason Savage, together, since it could have worked well, if it had been done properly. Jason was in England, ostensibly to buy horses but really on a diplomatic mission for Pres. Jefferson, involving the Louisiana Purchase. Catherine divided her time between her proper British home and the wild gypsy camp, where she goes by her gypsy name, Tamara. Jason mistakenly thinks she's Clive's mistress, pursues her, (rather rudely), she comes up with a funny scheme to meet him in his suite, but has an elderly gypsy woman take her place! That should have given him a laugh, despite the blow to his pride, he should have told her, "Well played, you won this round, but my turn next". Instead, he retaliates by kidnapping her, stripping her, raping her (he had a moment of remorse when he discovered she was the virgin she claimed to be, but then raped her again) and making crude comments about what her relationship to Clive must have been. Prince Charming he sure ain't!!
Not to go into every detail, they have a rocky relationship, and when he later discovers her real identity, he feels compelled to make an honest woman of her, much to the protest of Catherine's cousin Elizabeth, whom Jason had been sleeping with. Overhearing Jason tell Elizabeth he only wants a wife so he'll have legitimate heirs, Catherine, who's now in love with Jason, does what most h's do in a difficult situation, runs away. (All the way to Mississippi, in fact, where her brother Adam lives.) While I usually get a bit annoyed with the wife who flees rather than stays and fights, in this case, I see her point. Who wants to be thought of as a brood mare?
More flaws follow. Naturally, they meet again, when he spots her in New Orleans, obviously pregnant, and with her brother, whom he assumes is her lover. (Considering the timing, it never occurred to him that the baby was his? He just assumed she found another man ASAP and got knocked up quick. Brilliant!) Meanwhile, before he settled down to running a plantation, he had turned into a wild man, drinking, gambling, partying, dueling and especially whoring. He lost count of the women he slept with, which made it a wonder he was still functioning, he should have been a walking STD! While I can understand him having a mistress or a couple of short-term relationships, (Catherine left him so he didn't owe her any fidelity) he didn't have to make a spig of himself. (That's my word for a sex pig: a woman who can't keep her legs closed, or a man who, to quote John Adams, dips his pen in too many inkwells.)
Anyway, Ms. Busbee goes on to waste time with silliness, as Jason finds Catherine at Adam's, assumes they're lovers, she gets stubborn and doesn't deny it, he thinks their son, Nicholas, is Adam's child, again, she lets him believe that (one good look at the baby who resembled him so much would have put him wise, but naturally that doesn't happen) and he insists she accompany him back to his plantation and resume being his wife. There's a long stretch of typical one step forward two steps back, as they both get more and more STUPID and keep hiding their true feelings. He realizes Nicholas is his son, is furious that she didn't tell him at once, they have a violent (literally) argument, where she foolishly states she'll get back at him by sleeping with other men and making him raise a bunch of bastards and he hits her so hard she gets a bruised face and swollen lip! Ironically, right after this, Catherine decides they should try to work things out! WTF!!! Plenty of times she should have given that a try but instead she got stubborn and acted bitchy, now, after he gets abusive, she wants to work on their marriage! Sheer lunacy!!
Another mistake was a really sappy romantic subplot between Jason's father and Catherine's mother (it turns out Adam is Jason's brother, too), that kind of gives things an incest vibe, YUCK!!
Also, the parents wanted things to work out for the couple and were concerned about all their troubles and wanted to help, but then did absolutely nothing but take up space. Boring!! (And so was their pathetic love story.)
Then, with all the things keeping them apart, you would think another pregnancy would help bring them together. No such luck, as Jason, with a lot on his mind, didn't show the enthusiasm he should have, so Catherine assumed he didn't want the baby as more than a spare to the heir, and started feeling like a brood mare, (yes, the rhymes are intentional) so she got snarky, he got angry, they drifted apart yet again, and once again they go from nightly lust fests to staying in their separate bedrooms.
Another big mistake is Catherine getting kidnapped toward the end of the book, by Jason's former friend and now worst enemy, Devalos, who rapes Catherine. Was that really necessary??? All it did was serve as another obstacle to getting the couple back on track. (Catherine lost the baby, and neither she nor Jason seemed to care all that much.) Also, in order to escape she had to kill one of Devalos's men, and she was traumatized by that, but then it was just brushed off as if it never happened. It was also ridiculous for Catherine to show bravado by constantly saying nasty things to Devalos, since every time she did, he'd react by hitting or kicking her, so either she's a closet masochist or else incredibly dumb, since you would think she'd try to avoid more violence, because she was pregnant. But then again, she wasn't all that interested in the baby, any more than Jason was.
Later, while he's caring for her, Catherine starts to talk about the rape and mistakes Jason's anger at Devalos and thinks he blames her, leading to more angry words and foolish stubbornness from them both. Finally, after a couple of months of separate beds and a phony act around others of being a happy couple, to help get her through the trauma, Jason makes love to her, but the abrupt way he handled it made it seem like another rape. He should have gotten them closer in stages, just held her one night, the next the same thing but with their clothes off, then touching each other, then having sex (I should have been a therapist, not to mention an author!)
As with a lot of early HR novels, the couple spends more time apart than together, then when they are together, misunderstandings always get in the way.
Okay, what I liked about the story was the historical detail, which was a good background as well as informative. You learn about the climate in both America and England during the Peace of Amiens, details of the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans history, and both Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe have some scenes with Jason. There's also an adventure story in the beginning, with Jason, his Native friend Blood Drinker, and the late Philip Nolan (killed by Devalos), a discovered treasure and legend of a lost city. (That story ties in with both Devalos and Clive, who also meets his end, thanks to the vengeful Spaniard.) There was potential here for the story to go another way. For instance, right before Clive was killed, he had a fight with Jason (whom he also dueled with) so it could have been written that Jason was accused of killing Clive, was imprisoned, and Catherine had to help discover the truth. There was also talk of Jason's political involvement in New Orleans, acting as spy for the new government, and Catherine could have figured in there, too. So much wasted potential.
BTW: for anyone who might be thinking why Catherine would fall in love with Jason, with all his flaws, they have to remember that she was hardly your typical society woman. Part wild gypsy, feisty, independent, nonconformist, as well as intelligent, fun loving, and caring (when she lets herself), she would hardly be satisfied with a typical man of that time, one who was either a stickler for society's rules, or one who played the adoring suitor, showering her with respectful attention, like that goofy friend of Adam's, Godfrey, whom Jason scared away. No betas for this lady, she needs an alpha to fight with, and she sure got one!
All things considered, this novel should have been a rough draft, and polished up later.
To me, this book had too much going for it for anyone to hate, yet too many flaws for anyone to love. It's a book to be liked, with reservations. It had flaws (which I'll get into first), good points, and things that could have been better.
One of the flaws was the rather silly beginning story of the h, Catherine and her half-brother, Adam being kidnapped as little children by gypsies, due to the machinations of their evil, greedy cousin, Clive (who really wanted them dead), and some years later, (and even sillier) having their adopted gypsy parents return them to their family, simply to do the right thing. All this was to give the brother and sister an excuse to be a bit wild and unconventional. It could have been done without that nonsense, just by having gypsies in the neighborhood that captured their attention, especially since their gypsy "family" disappears from the story, (after still being involved in their lives years after their return, without paying any price for the kidnapping, UNBELIEVABLE) and are then apparently forgotten, as if they never existed.
Another flaw was using the gypsies to get Catherine and the H, Jason Savage, together, since it could have worked well, if it had been done properly. Jason was in England, ostensibly to buy horses but really on a diplomatic mission for Pres. Jefferson, involving the Louisiana Purchase. Catherine divided her time between her proper British home and the wild gypsy camp, where she goes by her gypsy name, Tamara. Jason mistakenly thinks she's Clive's mistress, pursues her, (rather rudely), she comes up with a funny scheme to meet him in his suite, but has an elderly gypsy woman take her place! That should have given him a laugh, despite the blow to his pride, he should have told her, "Well played, you won this round, but my turn next". Instead, he retaliates by kidnapping her, stripping her, raping her (he had a moment of remorse when he discovered she was the virgin she claimed to be, but then raped her again) and making crude comments about what her relationship to Clive must have been. Prince Charming he sure ain't!!
Not to go into every detail, they have a rocky relationship, and when he later discovers her real identity, he feels compelled to make an honest woman of her, much to the protest of Catherine's cousin Elizabeth, whom Jason had been sleeping with. Overhearing Jason tell Elizabeth he only wants a wife so he'll have legitimate heirs, Catherine, who's now in love with Jason, does what most h's do in a difficult situation, runs away. (All the way to Mississippi, in fact, where her brother Adam lives.) While I usually get a bit annoyed with the wife who flees rather than stays and fights, in this case, I see her point. Who wants to be thought of as a brood mare?
More flaws follow. Naturally, they meet again, when he spots her in New Orleans, obviously pregnant, and with her brother, whom he assumes is her lover. (Considering the timing, it never occurred to him that the baby was his? He just assumed she found another man ASAP and got knocked up quick. Brilliant!) Meanwhile, before he settled down to running a plantation, he had turned into a wild man, drinking, gambling, partying, dueling and especially whoring. He lost count of the women he slept with, which made it a wonder he was still functioning, he should have been a walking STD! While I can understand him having a mistress or a couple of short-term relationships, (Catherine left him so he didn't owe her any fidelity) he didn't have to make a spig of himself. (That's my word for a sex pig: a woman who can't keep her legs closed, or a man who, to quote John Adams, dips his pen in too many inkwells.)
Anyway, Ms. Busbee goes on to waste time with silliness, as Jason finds Catherine at Adam's, assumes they're lovers, she gets stubborn and doesn't deny it, he thinks their son, Nicholas, is Adam's child, again, she lets him believe that (one good look at the baby who resembled him so much would have put him wise, but naturally that doesn't happen) and he insists she accompany him back to his plantation and resume being his wife. There's a long stretch of typical one step forward two steps back, as they both get more and more STUPID and keep hiding their true feelings. He realizes Nicholas is his son, is furious that she didn't tell him at once, they have a violent (literally) argument, where she foolishly states she'll get back at him by sleeping with other men and making him raise a bunch of bastards and he hits her so hard she gets a bruised face and swollen lip! Ironically, right after this, Catherine decides they should try to work things out! WTF!!! Plenty of times she should have given that a try but instead she got stubborn and acted bitchy, now, after he gets abusive, she wants to work on their marriage! Sheer lunacy!!
Another mistake was a really sappy romantic subplot between Jason's father and Catherine's mother (it turns out Adam is Jason's brother, too), that kind of gives things an incest vibe, YUCK!!
Also, the parents wanted things to work out for the couple and were concerned about all their troubles and wanted to help, but then did absolutely nothing but take up space. Boring!! (And so was their pathetic love story.)
Then, with all the things keeping them apart, you would think another pregnancy would help bring them together. No such luck, as Jason, with a lot on his mind, didn't show the enthusiasm he should have, so Catherine assumed he didn't want the baby as more than a spare to the heir, and started feeling like a brood mare, (yes, the rhymes are intentional) so she got snarky, he got angry, they drifted apart yet again, and once again they go from nightly lust fests to staying in their separate bedrooms.
Another big mistake is Catherine getting kidnapped toward the end of the book, by Jason's former friend and now worst enemy, Devalos, who rapes Catherine. Was that really necessary??? All it did was serve as another obstacle to getting the couple back on track. (Catherine lost the baby, and neither she nor Jason seemed to care all that much.) Also, in order to escape she had to kill one of Devalos's men, and she was traumatized by that, but then it was just brushed off as if it never happened. It was also ridiculous for Catherine to show bravado by constantly saying nasty things to Devalos, since every time she did, he'd react by hitting or kicking her, so either she's a closet masochist or else incredibly dumb, since you would think she'd try to avoid more violence, because she was pregnant. But then again, she wasn't all that interested in the baby, any more than Jason was.
Later, while he's caring for her, Catherine starts to talk about the rape and mistakes Jason's anger at Devalos and thinks he blames her, leading to more angry words and foolish stubbornness from them both. Finally, after a couple of months of separate beds and a phony act around others of being a happy couple, to help get her through the trauma, Jason makes love to her, but the abrupt way he handled it made it seem like another rape. He should have gotten them closer in stages, just held her one night, the next the same thing but with their clothes off, then touching each other, then having sex (I should have been a therapist, not to mention an author!)
As with a lot of early HR novels, the couple spends more time apart than together, then when they are together, misunderstandings always get in the way.
Okay, what I liked about the story was the historical detail, which was a good background as well as informative. You learn about the climate in both America and England during the Peace of Amiens, details of the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans history, and both Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe have some scenes with Jason. There's also an adventure story in the beginning, with Jason, his Native friend Blood Drinker, and the late Philip Nolan (killed by Devalos), a discovered treasure and legend of a lost city. (That story ties in with both Devalos and Clive, who also meets his end, thanks to the vengeful Spaniard.) There was potential here for the story to go another way. For instance, right before Clive was killed, he had a fight with Jason (whom he also dueled with) so it could have been written that Jason was accused of killing Clive, was imprisoned, and Catherine had to help discover the truth. There was also talk of Jason's political involvement in New Orleans, acting as spy for the new government, and Catherine could have figured in there, too. So much wasted potential.
BTW: for anyone who might be thinking why Catherine would fall in love with Jason, with all his flaws, they have to remember that she was hardly your typical society woman. Part wild gypsy, feisty, independent, nonconformist, as well as intelligent, fun loving, and caring (when she lets herself), she would hardly be satisfied with a typical man of that time, one who was either a stickler for society's rules, or one who played the adoring suitor, showering her with respectful attention, like that goofy friend of Adam's, Godfrey, whom Jason scared away. No betas for this lady, she needs an alpha to fight with, and she sure got one!
All things considered, this novel should have been a rough draft, and polished up later.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2010
One of the first romances I ever read (I think someone lent it to me when I was about 12). Therefore, I haz a soft spot. I don't think it would hold up so well now though!
April 22, 2016
Old-fashioned and very enjoyable.
March 10, 2023
Shirlee Busbee burst upon the historical romance scene with "Gypsy Lady." So much is going on in this novel that the term "rollicking" seems appropriate. The story opens with the discovery of an abandoned Aztec site in what becomes Texas, segues to Napoleonic Britain and France and ends in Natchitoches in the Louisiana Territory in the year after Purchase. Along the way, half Creole/half American planter and covert government agent Jason Savage and British Lady Catherine Tremayne (initially raised by Gypsies) misunderstand, fight each other and fall in love in most of those locations. The novel shouldn't work, stuffed as it is with side plots and with characters who disappear from the canvas (not just one, but two competing villains; as well as an amoral, shrewish widow who promises to be a great antagonist for Catherine but whose promise isn't realized). Our star-crossed lovers don't even meet for nearly the first third of the novel. Readers who dislike reading about rape or initially nonconsensual sex should give this novel a wide berth. And yet, the vivid personalities of both characters--particularly Catherine's--and the palpable way Busbee describes their attraction, holds the reader's attention throughout. Refreshingly for the time period, both Jason and Catherine frequently realize when they're acting like idiots, even if they can't bring themselves to change their behavior yet. Furthermore, unlike some of her contemporaries, then and now, Busbee actually knows her history and finds a way to weave it into the plot. "Gypsy Lady" isn't perfect, but it's so very much fun and is a great example of what makes a classic bodice ripper a truly memorable one.
April 28, 2022
This is the first in a series and I have read #2, #3 and #4 before this. In the fourth book, they refer back to the events from this first book, so I was always interested in reading this. I did like this one, though the romance and situations were definitely dated. However, the story itself was well-written, especially for a debut novel.
When Jason Savage met Lady Catherine Tremayne she was disguised as a gypsy named Tamara. The backstory is this: Catherine and her half-brother Adam were supposed to be kidnapped by the gypsies (when they were children) and killed. This was because they were heirs to the earl's money and someone wanted them gone. However, the gypsies felt sorry for them and instead raised them. At some point, they became too much to handle and were then given back to the earl's family. But Catherine felt most comfortable as a gypsy without the constraints so she still hung around with them.
So Jason Savage believes that Catherine/Tamara is a loose gypsy girl up for grabs and kidnaps her to be his mistress. He basically forces her, but as this is a bodice ripper, she ends up enjoying it. However, they fight like hell, have tons of miscommunication and ignore their feelings for each other.
Also, there is a bad guy (who comes back later in the series) searching for a map that he believes that Jason possesses that will lead him to a hidden city of gold. There is a bunch of globe-trotting, family secrets, kidnappings, and killings. Lots of fun!
When Jason Savage met Lady Catherine Tremayne she was disguised as a gypsy named Tamara. The backstory is this: Catherine and her half-brother Adam were supposed to be kidnapped by the gypsies (when they were children) and killed. This was because they were heirs to the earl's money and someone wanted them gone. However, the gypsies felt sorry for them and instead raised them. At some point, they became too much to handle and were then given back to the earl's family. But Catherine felt most comfortable as a gypsy without the constraints so she still hung around with them.
So Jason Savage believes that Catherine/Tamara is a loose gypsy girl up for grabs and kidnaps her to be his mistress. He basically forces her, but as this is a bodice ripper, she ends up enjoying it. However, they fight like hell, have tons of miscommunication and ignore their feelings for each other.
Also, there is a bad guy (who comes back later in the series) searching for a map that he believes that Jason possesses that will lead him to a hidden city of gold. There is a bunch of globe-trotting, family secrets, kidnappings, and killings. Lots of fun!
March 28, 2020
Este libro estuvo bien en su momento, aunq ya desde entonces no me fascinó, si bien tiene una trama interesante. Catherine no es una niña de sociedad al uso, xq se crió entre gitanos y le cuesta por tanto someterse a las estrictas normas de la sociedad elegante. Jason Savage en un clásico aristócrata de época, y en cuanto a él no hay grandes sorpresas. No recuerdo bien xq "tuvieron" q casarse pero sí recuerdo q la trama es una interminable seguidilla de malentendidos entre ambos protagonistas, demasiado arrogantes, orgullosos y soberbios para ceder ante el otro.
Pasan entre ambos muchas cosas q hoy no serían toleradas o por lo menos, serían sumamente criticadas, pero justo es decirlo, sigue una línea específica q marca esta autora en sus novelas, mucha intensidad de sentimientos, sean éstos positivos y negativos. Podrás no compartir muchas cosas, pero encontrarás mucha intensidad. Para lo q sirva, si alguien se quiere animar.
Pasan entre ambos muchas cosas q hoy no serían toleradas o por lo menos, serían sumamente criticadas, pero justo es decirlo, sigue una línea específica q marca esta autora en sus novelas, mucha intensidad de sentimientos, sean éstos positivos y negativos. Podrás no compartir muchas cosas, pero encontrarás mucha intensidad. Para lo q sirva, si alguien se quiere animar.
May 30, 2021
If you are a romantic at heart, then don’t read this.
The hero is a disgusting and despicable alpha-male, who disregards the heroine’s “basic being “ (meaning her right to say no to him) and her feelings, is very busy seeking his own pleasure. He is with countless women and has indiscriminately sex with everything in skirts (so it seemed). Even with the heroine’s shallow first grade cousin.
Awful! Nauseating! Disgusting!
The heroine is too young to know better and falls in love with him. She does the best she could do to remove herself from this abusive relationship - she leaves the hero. Unfortunately one year later he finds her, and the abuse continues.
I did not like the hero even right after the incredibly shaky HEA.
The novel was written in 1977 at a time when female readers enjoyed reading about cruel and oversexed alpha males.
Well, today’s readers of historical romance don’t!!!
The hero is a disgusting and despicable alpha-male, who disregards the heroine’s “basic being “ (meaning her right to say no to him) and her feelings, is very busy seeking his own pleasure. He is with countless women and has indiscriminately sex with everything in skirts (so it seemed). Even with the heroine’s shallow first grade cousin.
Awful! Nauseating! Disgusting!
The heroine is too young to know better and falls in love with him. She does the best she could do to remove herself from this abusive relationship - she leaves the hero. Unfortunately one year later he finds her, and the abuse continues.
I did not like the hero even right after the incredibly shaky HEA.
The novel was written in 1977 at a time when female readers enjoyed reading about cruel and oversexed alpha males.
Well, today’s readers of historical romance don’t!!!
January 10, 2018
To start with I would've given this a three star. The rape and kidnap kind of turned me off but as I got more into the story I really started to enjoy it although more often then not I felt like reaching into the pages and knocking the main characters heads together but for what is and something I don't usually read I did enjoy it
May 10, 2023
I really enjoyed this book! I never thought I would like these bodice-ripper trashy historical romances but here we are. It almost seems the worse the characters are the more I'm going to like the book. This one is such an example (see: Jason. HATED HIM).
The story was kinda hard to get into at first, and I'm glad I hung in there. The biggest lesson in this book was Stockholm Syndrome = true love and the more awful they are to you it must mean they truly love you.
Ah, romance.
The story was kinda hard to get into at first, and I'm glad I hung in there. The biggest lesson in this book was Stockholm Syndrome = true love and the more awful they are to you it must mean they truly love you.
Ah, romance.
July 16, 2025
3.5⭐️ A true bodice ripper, very well written, but unfortunately the plot relies heavily on misunderstandings and miscommunications. The hero and heroine are constantly at odds, and by the end, I found myself exhausted by their relentless animosity and inability to have a single conversation without it escalating into a major argument.
April 16, 2018
I really wanted to rate the book higher but couldn't do it . Really the hero was callus and barbaric and i didn't feel any emotional softening in his character.Heroine was stupid and half the book a misunderstanding that could have been resolved easily.
January 7, 2022
Great adventure & love story
I love your books! But I feel you could have added more to the ending because I felt it was left hanging in the air unless, of course, you intend to write a sequel.
I love your books! But I feel you could have added more to the ending because I felt it was left hanging in the air unless, of course, you intend to write a sequel.
April 29, 2024
I loved Busbees other book the Spanish Rose so I figured I’d give this one a try. I liked this book but there are a lot of r@pes that occur which is distasteful to me. Overall good book but took to long to confess their love
May 23, 2025
I loved this book. It was long, but there was so much to it with the mystery and intrigue, that it completely held my attention. I can't wait to read the next book in the series and I hope it is as good as this one.
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