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Elliott Family
Louisa Elliott
This classic romance, exquisitely told, is the sweeping chronicle of the life and loves of a remarkable woman-Louisa Elliott. Proud and determined, she battles to overcome the stigma of her illegitimate birth in the pitiless sums of York during the reign of Queen Victoria. An indomitable heroine, she is adored by her gentle, poetic cousin Edward, yet is irresistibly drawn into the passionate arms of Robert Duncannon-a handsome and dashing dragoon officer whose love could destroy forever Louisa's cherished dream of respectability. Breathtakingly sensual, sparkling and alive with sumptuous period detail, LOUISA ELLIOTT is a magnificent work-a moving and unforgettable reading experience that touches the heart and enriches the soul.
787 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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88 people want to read
About the author
Ann Victoria Roberts
14 books39 followersAnn Victoria Roberts is the author of six historical novels, set mainly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the wife of a sea-captain, her writing life has often been interrupted by voyages with her husband and children; she even received news of her first novel’s acceptance while on the bridge of an oil tanker entering port!
Her new book, ‘Housewife Writes Bestseller’, is a memoir, a light-hearted look back at the crazy days of the 1980s.
A keen reader and researcher, Ann enjoys painting pictures with words and regards historical fiction as an enjoyable way to discover the past. Born in York, Ann now lives in Southampton UK with her Master Mariner husband.
Her new book, ‘Housewife Writes Bestseller’, is a memoir, a light-hearted look back at the crazy days of the 1980s.
A keen reader and researcher, Ann enjoys painting pictures with words and regards historical fiction as an enjoyable way to discover the past. Born in York, Ann now lives in Southampton UK with her Master Mariner husband.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 28, 2008
Currently re-reading my all-time guilty indulgence, an unashamedly gorgeous romantic novel.
August 31, 2014
Ann Victoria Roberts weaves a very fascinating and believable romance around the bare bones of her own family history. She does so in a most compelling manner and demonstrates a superb ability to paint beautiful pictures with her prose.
The story of Louisa Elliott commences in 1892 when she is overcome by her emotions and becomes entangled in an ill-fated love affair. She displays a great spirit of independence which, despite there being a queen on the throne of Great Britain, was contrary to the mores of the Victorian era when a woman’s place in society was almost that of goods and chattel. The family saga is told in four books all within the same volume with the location moving from the city of York to Dublin and then back again to York.
It is easy to see that the author has a very tender spot for the Minster in York as it frequently features in her descriptions of that city. She has obviously researched the history of the old city of York and with her descriptive passages is able to transport the reader back to the Victorian era without need to timestamp the chapters. At the same time Ann Roberts has been able to use the thread of the history of Ireland, the Boer War and Sudan around which to embroider the story of her fictitious, yet very real, characters.
I found the accuracy of historical events, artistry of words used to paint scenarios and the author’s profound ability to describe the deepest of emotions to be the high points of this book. If I have any criticism it is that of the length of the book. However, on that score one is immediately reminded of the criticism levelled at Mozart when he was told that his music “had too many notes”.
The story of Louisa Elliott commences in 1892 when she is overcome by her emotions and becomes entangled in an ill-fated love affair. She displays a great spirit of independence which, despite there being a queen on the throne of Great Britain, was contrary to the mores of the Victorian era when a woman’s place in society was almost that of goods and chattel. The family saga is told in four books all within the same volume with the location moving from the city of York to Dublin and then back again to York.
It is easy to see that the author has a very tender spot for the Minster in York as it frequently features in her descriptions of that city. She has obviously researched the history of the old city of York and with her descriptive passages is able to transport the reader back to the Victorian era without need to timestamp the chapters. At the same time Ann Roberts has been able to use the thread of the history of Ireland, the Boer War and Sudan around which to embroider the story of her fictitious, yet very real, characters.
I found the accuracy of historical events, artistry of words used to paint scenarios and the author’s profound ability to describe the deepest of emotions to be the high points of this book. If I have any criticism it is that of the length of the book. However, on that score one is immediately reminded of the criticism levelled at Mozart when he was told that his music “had too many notes”.
November 17, 2008
This book was a combination of romance and a sad piece of historical fiction. If you’re big on historical fiction, you might not appreciate the focus on the romance. If you’re big on romance, you’ll be like, WTF?!?
Louisa Elliott comes from a poor, but gentle, family. She was born illegitimate and works as a ladies companion. She crosses paths with the handsome and dashing Robert Duncannon. He is also intrigued by her and the romance ensues.
Strict social codes of the time prevent the two of from forming any sort of meaningful liaison (no divorce, no inter-marriages across class boundaries, etc.) but she does become his mistress and they have some children together. But neither is happy, especially Louisa because she wants it all. She wants to be married. She wants to be accepted into the life of the man she loves. And she doesn’t want to feel shame for her family or her background.
Throughout all the ups and downs Louisa and Robert face in their tumultuous relationship, her cousin Edward is constantly lurking and not-so-secretly in love with Louisa. Oh, Edward. He is everything Robert is not. He is gentle and calm and not hot-blooded and sexy. But he is nothing, if not persistent, and is always a good friend to Louisa.
***spoilers past this point***
At the end, Louisa leaves Robert and hooks up with her cousin. I’m sorry, but that is gross. I don’t care if that was normal/acceptable at the time. It isn’t now and I think it’s disgusting. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, especially since it is almost 800 pages long. Ugh.
I gave it an extra star because it was fairly well-written.
Louisa Elliott comes from a poor, but gentle, family. She was born illegitimate and works as a ladies companion. She crosses paths with the handsome and dashing Robert Duncannon. He is also intrigued by her and the romance ensues.
Strict social codes of the time prevent the two of from forming any sort of meaningful liaison (no divorce, no inter-marriages across class boundaries, etc.) but she does become his mistress and they have some children together. But neither is happy, especially Louisa because she wants it all. She wants to be married. She wants to be accepted into the life of the man she loves. And she doesn’t want to feel shame for her family or her background.
Throughout all the ups and downs Louisa and Robert face in their tumultuous relationship, her cousin Edward is constantly lurking and not-so-secretly in love with Louisa. Oh, Edward. He is everything Robert is not. He is gentle and calm and not hot-blooded and sexy. But he is nothing, if not persistent, and is always a good friend to Louisa.
***spoilers past this point***
At the end, Louisa leaves Robert and hooks up with her cousin. I’m sorry, but that is gross. I don’t care if that was normal/acceptable at the time. It isn’t now and I think it’s disgusting. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, especially since it is almost 800 pages long. Ugh.
I gave it an extra star because it was fairly well-written.
December 11, 2015
This is a wonderful historical romance. I have to admit I started reading Liam's Story first and then was like, wait, this family saga is way too riveting, I have to go back and read it from the start, and then I couldn't put the book down. I will admit I am a historical fiction fan and I had the pleasure of interviewing the author a while back and she's awesome. I nearly read the book in one sitting though it is a hefty volume and I'm not so great at binge-reading e-books. Even with bleary eyes and wishing I had purchased the hardcover or paperback edition, I can't wait to read the sequel. Highly recommended for romance and historical fiction fans.
April 14, 2016
This is a rewrite of an earlier novel by Ann Victoria Roberts. Set in the 1890s in England, it has an interesting historical setting, leading up to the Boar War. The characters are very much entrenched in Victorian values. The main focus is on the romance between Louisa and Robert, the forbidden and inescapable passion between them. However, I found the character of Louisa's cousin, Edward, the most endearing. The story is threaded with many familial relationships and conflicts and though a little drawn out in parts, and somewhat confused with changing points of view, I enjoyed it.
June 15, 2025
The perfect mixture of Pride & Prejudice meets Bridgerton.
April 7, 2013
When I saw this sub-titled 'A Classic Love Story' my smile drooped, however, it's there, so get it read. Classic it is, only in the way that Catherine Cookson and Charlotte Bronte are, definitely NOT Jane Austen. This reads to me more like a social document, comparisons with the wealth and the poverty and the overbearing snobbery of the Victorians at their worst. The heroine of the title, however, is no normal heroine, indeed, someone who is so shamed by her background, and so rigid in her concept of Victorian morality that she lives, a tormented soul, caught between the lust for her 'gallant' trooper who uses her appalingly and the equally dangerous, if 'pure' love she has for her gentle cousin. Which of the two, if either, Louisa ends up with you'll have to read to find out. It's a very entertaining read, which, on the whole, barring one or two errors, paints a portrait of a quite amazing variety of characters as they move through the restrictive yet hypocritical later years of Victoria's reign. Very entertaining.
April 29, 2016
A well researched book that moves between York and Dublin at the end of the 19th century. The characters are well drawn and come alive on the page. The social conditions of the time, both in England and Ireland, are painted starkly but most of all, the status of women is explored in some depth. It is a long book and for me, at times, it was a little slow paced. Overall, it is a great read for anyone who likes a good romance.
September 18, 2016
Louisa Elliott, a novel by Ann Victoria Roberts, provides an eventful insight into 19th century mores shown through the events of the title character's life. Louisa give modern-day feminists the sense that, even at the turn of the 19th-20th century, many people were beginning to question the double standard of society's rules. Day-to-day life of the time is minutely described although I must admit to skimming those details to get on with the plot. An engrossing book.
July 26, 2009
I really enjoy this book. I find myself gravitating to it every summer. Nothing too deep, but the characters are likeable and I found myself caring about what happens to them (even though I know)and understanding how they got themselves in the messes their lives become and the final resolution is satisfying.
July 2, 2012
200 pages too long...big fat book, which I love and especially the time period 1890's York England, but would have been a better book had it been shorter. A good story with dashing characters and people being people but doing things that were frowned upon during Queen Victoria's time.
July 8, 2009
This book is what I was looking for to read on a lazy evening/weekend. Nothing revolutionary but a very good read.
June 9, 2012
I read this book after reading Liam's story which is about Louisa's children. I did enjoy it but may have enjoyed it more if read in the proper order. Liam's story was def my favourite.
November 2, 2012
Wonderful, epic, period romance along the lines of Jane Eyre. I remember poring over this book during long afternoons when my now 22-year-old daughter was taking her afternoon naps.
November 10, 2013
In my heart
October 29, 2021
What can I say… the beginning of the book was wonderful such a good plot and good characters, I think the story should have stopped there at some point. From the middle of the story or a bit, before my interest was a bit gone when I understood where it was going to go, the characters are slow, uninteresting, and not developed enough… until the last 5 pages of the book where the ending was sweet.
I would rate the beginning: 5/5
Middle of the book and rest of it: 2/5
I am not happy with the couple in the end either, they don’t belong together. It was a bit of a waste… so 3/5 it is.
2 books rather than one would have been much more appreciated.
I would rate the beginning: 5/5
Middle of the book and rest of it: 2/5
I am not happy with the couple in the end either, they don’t belong together. It was a bit of a waste… so 3/5 it is.
2 books rather than one would have been much more appreciated.
January 9, 2026
A good multi generational love story. Roberts did good research on the history and moral standards during this time period in England and Ireland, leading up to the Boar War involvement. Also, strong emphasis on the double standard between men and women during this time period.
I'm a sucker for what my son calls my "door stop books" (so thick and heavy they could hold a door open in gale force winds.) This one kept my attention throughout, and I've just started reading the American publication of the sequel, titled MORNING GATE. (The British version is titled LIAM'S STORY.)
I recommend for anyone who likes long, drawn-out historical romances.
I'm a sucker for what my son calls my "door stop books" (so thick and heavy they could hold a door open in gale force winds.) This one kept my attention throughout, and I've just started reading the American publication of the sequel, titled MORNING GATE. (The British version is titled LIAM'S STORY.)
I recommend for anyone who likes long, drawn-out historical romances.
February 1, 2019
Well written
This book is very well written, steeped in history and emotions. I read the 2nd book first but it increased the pleasure of this book because the characters were already well known
This book is very well written, steeped in history and emotions. I read the 2nd book first but it increased the pleasure of this book because the characters were already well known
August 13, 2016
Roberts, Ann Victoria. LOUISA ELLIOT (1989 list)
MORNING'S GATE (1992 list)
Zoe Clifford and Stephen Elliot, cousins who both descend from Louisa Elliott's children, meet while doing genealogical research on Louisa. They become obsessed with finding out the truth behind the mixed emotions and relationships which they discover in a diary kept by Louisa's son Robert while a soldier in World War I. As their research progresses, Zoe and Stephen become aware that they are falling in love, and also are painfully aware of the parallels which their own lives hold with Robert's. (Stephen is captain of a tanker which is transporting oil from the Middle East in the days just before the Persian Gulf War, and Robert had fought at Gallipoli.) MORNING'S GATE is the story of their discoveries about Louisa's life, which was unconventional, especially by the standards of the Victorian age in which she lived. I had read Louisa Elliott first, so I knew the "secret" of the children's births and Louisa's marriage, which took place in England and Ireland in the 1890's. Looking back, I wish I had read the sequel first. (You won't find out the whole of Louisa's story just by reading Morning's Gate, however.)
MORNING'S GATE (1992 list)
Zoe Clifford and Stephen Elliot, cousins who both descend from Louisa Elliott's children, meet while doing genealogical research on Louisa. They become obsessed with finding out the truth behind the mixed emotions and relationships which they discover in a diary kept by Louisa's son Robert while a soldier in World War I. As their research progresses, Zoe and Stephen become aware that they are falling in love, and also are painfully aware of the parallels which their own lives hold with Robert's. (Stephen is captain of a tanker which is transporting oil from the Middle East in the days just before the Persian Gulf War, and Robert had fought at Gallipoli.) MORNING'S GATE is the story of their discoveries about Louisa's life, which was unconventional, especially by the standards of the Victorian age in which she lived. I had read Louisa Elliott first, so I knew the "secret" of the children's births and Louisa's marriage, which took place in England and Ireland in the 1890's. Looking back, I wish I had read the sequel first. (You won't find out the whole of Louisa's story just by reading Morning's Gate, however.)
December 27, 2014
Author "trained as an artist .. was inspired by .. diary .. in York .. next novel will continue .. same family .. Great War and beyond". Four streetscapes are old. Ladies wear long coats and bonnets; narrow dirt road winds; flag, laundry hang.
York 1892 map. "More than thirty years had passed since two unmarried" sisters rented "in the name of an absent elder brother" p 14, opened "Elliott's Temperance Hotel" p 13 (not Elliotts'? for two in family?) Her father "jovial .. Loaded with presents like an unseasonal Father Christmas" p 15 died in her "eighth" year and cousin Edward's "twentieth" p 15, the "outrage of his childless but legal wife had known no bounds" p 15.
Got tediously boring. I gave up.
York 1892 map. "More than thirty years had passed since two unmarried" sisters rented "in the name of an absent elder brother" p 14, opened "Elliott's Temperance Hotel" p 13 (not Elliotts'? for two in family?) Her father "jovial .. Loaded with presents like an unseasonal Father Christmas" p 15 died in her "eighth" year and cousin Edward's "twentieth" p 15, the "outrage of his childless but legal wife had known no bounds" p 15.
Got tediously boring. I gave up.
February 19, 2011
A Victorian romance that my mom LOVED. I enjoyed the read but I did not like 2 of the 3 main characters very much. Perhaps I'm too judgmental of their fatal flaws. The cousins (Edward) ended up marrying after living together celibate for five years. This was not the ending I wanted. I wanted Louisa reunited with the father of her 3 children, Robert Duncannon. Oh well.
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September 17, 2008F Rob
February 16, 2013
This ebook version of the 1989 bestseller has been re-edited for a modern readership. Old fans will find it slightly crisper than the original.
August 19, 2014
This Anniversary Edition of 'Louisa Elliott' has been re-edited and is slightly crisper than the original, published in 1989, but similar to the ebook edition published in Dec 2012.
August 6, 2015
Depressing, I can't believe I even finished it!
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews