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As Eagles Fly
The handsome and aristocratic, thirty-five year old diplomat Lord Athelstan knows that he is heading for trouble on his mission to the Caucasus to investigate how long the legendary Shamyl, the Imam of Daghestan, can hold out against the invading Russians.
But little does he expect to be faced with another kind of conflict – with a beautiful young hostage imprisoned in the Imam’s stronghold.
The lovely Natasha is only nineteen and she was seized along with a Royal party by the Imam’s followers and held to ransom against the release of the Imam’s only son by the Russians. Orphaned, she has no hope of raising a ransom and instead has reluctantly agreed to be given to the Sultan of Turkey as a ‘wife’ for his vast harem in return for the release of her nine-year-old brother.
The Imam implores Lord Athelstan to escort Natasha safely to Constantinople – a favour he cannot grant lest it anger the Russians and compromise Great Britain.
But then he meets her – undoubtedly the most glorious woman he has ever seen, with fire in her eyes, when he informs her that he cannot agree to Shamyl’s request.
Ultimately Natasha gives him no choice and, when she appears among his party in disguise, Lord Athelstan is furious.
Soon their mutual hatred turns to all-consuming love – a love surely doomed by Natasha’s pledge to sacrifice herself to the Sultan’s harem for the sake of her brother –
But little does he expect to be faced with another kind of conflict – with a beautiful young hostage imprisoned in the Imam’s stronghold.
The lovely Natasha is only nineteen and she was seized along with a Royal party by the Imam’s followers and held to ransom against the release of the Imam’s only son by the Russians. Orphaned, she has no hope of raising a ransom and instead has reluctantly agreed to be given to the Sultan of Turkey as a ‘wife’ for his vast harem in return for the release of her nine-year-old brother.
The Imam implores Lord Athelstan to escort Natasha safely to Constantinople – a favour he cannot grant lest it anger the Russians and compromise Great Britain.
But then he meets her – undoubtedly the most glorious woman he has ever seen, with fire in her eyes, when he informs her that he cannot agree to Shamyl’s request.
Ultimately Natasha gives him no choice and, when she appears among his party in disguise, Lord Athelstan is furious.
Soon their mutual hatred turns to all-consuming love – a love surely doomed by Natasha’s pledge to sacrifice herself to the Sultan’s harem for the sake of her brother –
- GenresRomanceFictionHistorical
180 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 25, 2013
3 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Cartland
1,063 books846 followersBorn in 1901, Barbara Cartland started her writing career in journalism and completed her first book, Jigsaw, when she was just 24. An immediate success, it was the start of her journey to becoming the world’s most famous and most read romantic novelist of all time. Inspiring a whole generation of readers around the globe with her exciting tales of adventure, love and intrigue, she became synonymous with the Romance genre. And she still is to this day, having written over 644 romantic fiction books.
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, plays, music, poetry and several advice books on life, love, health and cookery – totalling an incredible 723 books in all, with over 1 billion in sales.
Awarded the DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 in honour of her literary, political and social contributions, she was President of the Hertfordshire branch of the Royal College of Midwives as well as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Always a passionate advocate of woman’s health and beauty, she was dubbed ‘the true Queen of Romance’ by Vogue magazine in her lifetime. Her legend continues today through her wonderfully vivid romantic tales, stories that help you escape from the day to day into the dramatic adventures of strong, beautiful women who battle, often against the odds, eventually to find that love conquers all.
Find out more about the incredible life and works of Dame Barbara Cartland at www.barbaracartland.com
As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, plays, music, poetry and several advice books on life, love, health and cookery – totalling an incredible 723 books in all, with over 1 billion in sales.
Awarded the DBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 in honour of her literary, political and social contributions, she was President of the Hertfordshire branch of the Royal College of Midwives as well as a Dame of Grace of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and Deputy President of the St John Ambulance Brigade.
Always a passionate advocate of woman’s health and beauty, she was dubbed ‘the true Queen of Romance’ by Vogue magazine in her lifetime. Her legend continues today through her wonderfully vivid romantic tales, stories that help you escape from the day to day into the dramatic adventures of strong, beautiful women who battle, often against the odds, eventually to find that love conquers all.
Find out more about the incredible life and works of Dame Barbara Cartland at www.barbaracartland.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 18, 2013
As Cartland's go it's not a bad one being an earlier it is less formulaic than her later romances.
The heroine is less vapid than many of her usual ones and the hero as usual cold, aloof, arrogant etc.
With them named Natasha and D'Arcy at least they don't have some of the absurd names that Cartland uses later.
The pace of the book is a little slow but picks up as they approach Constantinople. Natasha is sacrificing herself for the release of her brother she is going to the Sultan's palace to join the harem in return her brother will go free.(She intends to kill herself once he is). A tad melodramatic but that's the plot. Diplomat D'arcy is asked to escort her but declines, he doesn't want to get involved.
Natasha disguised as an Indian Prince joins his party and of course she is quickly discovered and the pair fall in love.
I've only found 3 Cartland's to be exceptional enough to keep and though I read this all the way through I won't be keeping it. It will be joining the others I don't like on ebay
The heroine is less vapid than many of her usual ones and the hero as usual cold, aloof, arrogant etc.
With them named Natasha and D'Arcy at least they don't have some of the absurd names that Cartland uses later.
The pace of the book is a little slow but picks up as they approach Constantinople. Natasha is sacrificing herself for the release of her brother she is going to the Sultan's palace to join the harem in return her brother will go free.(She intends to kill herself once he is). A tad melodramatic but that's the plot. Diplomat D'arcy is asked to escort her but declines, he doesn't want to get involved.
Natasha disguised as an Indian Prince joins his party and of course she is quickly discovered and the pair fall in love.
I've only found 3 Cartland's to be exceptional enough to keep and though I read this all the way through I won't be keeping it. It will be joining the others I don't like on ebay
June 20, 2023
3 stars just for Natasha
When I were in my teens I thought that BC's heroes are noble, honorable and a great heroes. Now when I rereading some of her books, I changed my mind. Some of them are despicable womanizers and manwhores without honor. Where is the honor when you slept around with married woman?
He didn't want to help the heroine and didn't care about her at the beginning. If she were the OW that he enjoyed so much and that he put in the pedestal he would move heaven and earth to help her.
Natasha was a strong and selfless heroine that loved her brother very much and risked her life to save him. If she did not take the things on her hands the H would never see her again and probably forget her very soon while his mind is occupied for the harlot OW of this story. In his thoughts he described that the pleasure he had with the OW are almost near to heaven or something similar, he measured each woman to this adulteress harlot, in other worlds she is perfection for him. The hussy didn't take pity or have compassion for the hostages taken by the rebels, instead the slut thought that was exciting to be in the arms of them. She has nothing in her brains and have no heart besides sex, she should get kidnapped and raped to see if she would still feel exciting but like I said she is a shameless hussy probably she would love to be raped and have an orgy with them. Natasha gave a piece of her mind to her and the dishonourable H try to excuse his lover.
Even if later he was developing feelings for the heroine and he didn't feel in having sex with the OW he still had with her even if he didn't feel the same he still thinking of their history and had feelings for the slut while the poor Natash is suffering. He did not deserve the heroine of this book he should get a clone of the OW in this book or wait until her husband die. Even if he didn't love the OW, the feelings that he had for the OW are pretty close in my view.
He almost let the heroine go to her fate in danger until he remembered that she could be saved and I bet would NEVER let the OW in this story to be sent in danger. Then tell me if he did prefer the slut more than the heroine?
Most of BC's heroes that I thought are soulmates with the heroines they aren't. Many of them still sleep with OWs after meeting the heroine and many times they just start to develop the love for the heroine later. Soulmates in my view always love at first sight and would never be disloyal or unfaithfull after meeting his other half. I guess more than 90% of her Hs are not soulmate to the heroines.
When I were in my teens I thought that BC's heroes are noble, honorable and a great heroes. Now when I rereading some of her books, I changed my mind. Some of them are despicable womanizers and manwhores without honor. Where is the honor when you slept around with married woman?
He didn't want to help the heroine and didn't care about her at the beginning. If she were the OW that he enjoyed so much and that he put in the pedestal he would move heaven and earth to help her.
Natasha was a strong and selfless heroine that loved her brother very much and risked her life to save him. If she did not take the things on her hands the H would never see her again and probably forget her very soon while his mind is occupied for the harlot OW of this story. In his thoughts he described that the pleasure he had with the OW are almost near to heaven or something similar, he measured each woman to this adulteress harlot, in other worlds she is perfection for him. The hussy didn't take pity or have compassion for the hostages taken by the rebels, instead the slut thought that was exciting to be in the arms of them. She has nothing in her brains and have no heart besides sex, she should get kidnapped and raped to see if she would still feel exciting but like I said she is a shameless hussy probably she would love to be raped and have an orgy with them. Natasha gave a piece of her mind to her and the dishonourable H try to excuse his lover.
Even if later he was developing feelings for the heroine and he didn't feel in having sex with the OW he still had with her even if he didn't feel the same he still thinking of their history and had feelings for the slut while the poor Natash is suffering. He did not deserve the heroine of this book he should get a clone of the OW in this book or wait until her husband die. Even if he didn't love the OW, the feelings that he had for the OW are pretty close in my view.
He almost let the heroine go to her fate in danger until he remembered that she could be saved and I bet would NEVER let the OW in this story to be sent in danger. Then tell me if he did prefer the slut more than the heroine?
Most of BC's heroes that I thought are soulmates with the heroines they aren't. Many of them still sleep with OWs after meeting the heroine and many times they just start to develop the love for the heroine later. Soulmates in my view always love at first sight and would never be disloyal or unfaithfull after meeting his other half. I guess more than 90% of her Hs are not soulmate to the heroines.
August 20, 2021
Picked this up for fun in the pub we spent last night in, and it was hilarious...possibly that was worth more than one star. But short staccato sentences (she dictated, right?) and one sentence paragraphs, exclamation points (he was the handsomest man she had ever seen!), hilarious generalisations about gender, Russians, Caucasians and not-so hilarious generalisations about Turks and Black eunuchs. Maybe to be fair none of them are hilarious. There are some cracking sentences once they fall in love and have their days of bliss before she has to enter the harem (ha), but somehow this is my fav: 'a bluff Englishman in appearance, Hawkins was, in fact, an extremely clever and astute man'.
September 1, 2022
I love Barbara Cartland's books and this one was more political and with more hitorical details than usual. She is definitely very underestimate nowdays as a historical author, there are very rich details about the place and time the book set place, I definitely learnt one thing pr two about them.
April 27, 2023
The handsome and aristocratic, thirty-five year old diplomat Lord Athelstan knows that he is heading for trouble on his mission to the Caucasus to investigate how long the legendary Shamyl, the Imam of Daghestan, can hold out against the invading Russians.
But little does he expect to be faced with another kind of conflict – with a beautiful young hostage imprisoned in the Imam’s stronghold.
The lovely Natasha is only nineteen and she was seized along with a Royal party by the Imam’s followers and held to ransom against the release of the Imam’s only son by the Russians. Orphaned, she has no hope of raising a ransom and instead has reluctantly agreed to be given to the Sultan of Turkey as a ‘wife’ for his vast harem in return for the release of her nine-year-old brother.
The Imam implores Lord Athelstan to escort Natasha safely to Constantinople – a favour he cannot grant lest it anger the Russians and compromise Great Britain.
But then he meets her – undoubtedly the most glorious woman he has ever seen, with fire in her eyes, when he informs her that he cannot agree to Shamyl’s request.
Ultimately Natasha gives him no choice and, when she appears among his party in disguise, Lord Athelstan is furious.
Soon their mutual hatred turns to all-consuming love – a love surely doomed by Natasha’s pledge to sacrifice herself to the Sultan’s harem for the sake of her brother –
Natasha Melikov was a Countess and a hostage. Kidnapped from her home in Tzarist Russia by Moslem rebels, she and her young brother were being held captive high in the Caucasian mountains.
Overcome with fear, Natasha made an otherwise unthinkable bargain: her brother would go free and she would give herself in marriage to a rebel ally, the Sultan of Turkey.
Knowing Natasha needed an escort out of the mountains to guarantee her safe delivery to the Sultan, her captors turned to the handsome, irreproachable Lord Athelstan--already in the Caucasians on a diplomatic mission. But Athelstan refused to lend either his name or his country's to such an unprincipled exchange.
His cool rejection of her impassioned pleas for her brother's life was transforming the Countess's fear into frenzied desperation . . .
But little does he expect to be faced with another kind of conflict – with a beautiful young hostage imprisoned in the Imam’s stronghold.
The lovely Natasha is only nineteen and she was seized along with a Royal party by the Imam’s followers and held to ransom against the release of the Imam’s only son by the Russians. Orphaned, she has no hope of raising a ransom and instead has reluctantly agreed to be given to the Sultan of Turkey as a ‘wife’ for his vast harem in return for the release of her nine-year-old brother.
The Imam implores Lord Athelstan to escort Natasha safely to Constantinople – a favour he cannot grant lest it anger the Russians and compromise Great Britain.
But then he meets her – undoubtedly the most glorious woman he has ever seen, with fire in her eyes, when he informs her that he cannot agree to Shamyl’s request.
Ultimately Natasha gives him no choice and, when she appears among his party in disguise, Lord Athelstan is furious.
Soon their mutual hatred turns to all-consuming love – a love surely doomed by Natasha’s pledge to sacrifice herself to the Sultan’s harem for the sake of her brother –
Natasha Melikov was a Countess and a hostage. Kidnapped from her home in Tzarist Russia by Moslem rebels, she and her young brother were being held captive high in the Caucasian mountains.
Overcome with fear, Natasha made an otherwise unthinkable bargain: her brother would go free and she would give herself in marriage to a rebel ally, the Sultan of Turkey.
Knowing Natasha needed an escort out of the mountains to guarantee her safe delivery to the Sultan, her captors turned to the handsome, irreproachable Lord Athelstan--already in the Caucasians on a diplomatic mission. But Athelstan refused to lend either his name or his country's to such an unprincipled exchange.
His cool rejection of her impassioned pleas for her brother's life was transforming the Countess's fear into frenzied desperation . . .
October 23, 2017
Finally, a Cartland heroine who has some gumption, but she still can't speak in one breath longer than half the book! And what is wrong with having a hero who HASN'T slept with all ladies he's met?
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews