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Cloud Castle
Judy Ware was angry. Hired by correspondence, she had traveled to Ireland to be the secretary at Slyne Castle guest house, only to have its owner, the aloof Michael O'Rafferty, refuse to let her start. And for the ridiculous reason that Judy's red hair and temper reminded him of his long-dead love, Kathy! Fortunately, cooler heads persuaded him to give her a chance.
360 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1960
18 people want to read
About the author
Sara Seale
71 books23 followersSara Seale was the pseudonym used by Mary Jane MacPherson (d. 11 March 1974) and/or A.D.L. MacPherson (d. 30 October 1978), a British writing team who published over 45 romance novels from 1932 to 1971. Seale was one of the first Mills & Boon's authors published in Germany and the Netherlands, and reached the pinnacle of her career in the 1940s and 1950s, when they earning over £3,000/year. Many of Seale's novels revisited a theme of an orphaned heroine who finds happiness, and also employed blind or disfigured (but still handsome) heroes as standard characters.
Mary Jane MacPherson began writing at an early age while still in her convent school. Besides being a writer, MacPherson was also a leading authority on Alsatian dogs, and was a judge at Crufts.
Mary Jane MacPherson began writing at an early age while still in her convent school. Besides being a writer, MacPherson was also a leading authority on Alsatian dogs, and was a judge at Crufts.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 29, 2016
4 1/2 Stars ~ The last thing Raff wanted was to open his Irish castle home to paying guests, but financial strains of running the estate that had been a O'Rafferty birthright for centuries couldn't be ignored. Prompted by a friend from the air force, Noel and his sister Marcia, they made some renovations and advertised the estate's assets to wealthy tourists in the States. As business picked up, Marcia insisted that Raff hire a secretary to do all the mundane paperwork, and they advertised for one from England. Judy had just completed her secretarial course and took pride in her skills; the advertisement appealed to her simple love of country and so in her reply, because seven was her lucky number, added seven years to her age and claimed to be 27. When she arrives at Castle Slyne, it's not her age that has her employer ready to send her packing but her brilliant red hair; it seems Judy reminds him of Kathy, his love who died before they could marry. But Judy's temper matches her red hair and Raff finds himself inviting her to stay a week as a guest, which Judy insists will be on her terms to include helping him in the office. One week passes into two, and soon Raff is admitting that Judy has a good sense for business and finds her simple honest outlook endearing. Judy is indeed sharp, as Noel and Marcia soon discover. She questions the discrepancies in the books and catches antiques being switched for reproductions. But neither Noel or Marcia are willing to put up with her interference and with Marcia pushing Raff towards marriage, Judy can only hope that the king of the castle comes to his senses and soon.
I'm a huge Sara Seale fan. Her books are so wonderfully crafted with characters that are rich and well developed. Judy is young but she has a mature outlook and a knack for seeing beneath the surface. She charms and confuses Raff and shows him how to hang onto his roots something he's been fighting to preserve. Raff gives off the impression that he's easily fooled and rather lax when it comes to Noel and Marcia. He has a habit of rubbing the bridge of his nose when he's deeply troubled, a habit Judy finds endearing. Together they are perfectly matched. This was a compelling love story that gripped my heart from the first pages to the last. I'm sure I'll be reading this one again and again.
I'm a huge Sara Seale fan. Her books are so wonderfully crafted with characters that are rich and well developed. Judy is young but she has a mature outlook and a knack for seeing beneath the surface. She charms and confuses Raff and shows him how to hang onto his roots something he's been fighting to preserve. Raff gives off the impression that he's easily fooled and rather lax when it comes to Noel and Marcia. He has a habit of rubbing the bridge of his nose when he's deeply troubled, a habit Judy finds endearing. Together they are perfectly matched. This was a compelling love story that gripped my heart from the first pages to the last. I'm sure I'll be reading this one again and again.
April 9, 2018
A young girl lies about her age to get a job as secretary in a guest house somewhere in Ireland, and falls in love with the owner and proprietor. Judy is 20, Raff is 35, and the other woman is the glamorous Marcia.
Cloud Castle isn’t the most satisfying of Seale’s novels. There are several problems. Raff is continually, thoroughly blind and resistant to be told about the way Marcia and her brother Noël are ripping him off. A stupid, clueless, gullible hero is not a sexy prospect. He’s also involved with Marcia until nearly the end of the book: there’s a time when they passionately kiss (right in front of Judy – Raff later berates her for not “knocking over her glass” – this happens on page 93, well over half way through the book), even though Raff later claims to have been long over Marcia.
Really? Because Marcia and Raff have had an explicit conversation about matrimony only a couple of chapters earlier, where he questions whether she is ready to “settle down” and “raise children”, and they both discuss getting rid of Judy. Raff ends the conversation thus:
How is that not giving Marcia grounds for hope?!
But that’s not really the biggest problem. The biggest problem is Raff’s Long Lost Love. Kathy, who got polio and died, which was apparently a “mercy” because she wouldn’t have liked to have lived as a cripple. (A greater “mercy” might have been not getting polio in the first place.
Anyway, they never stop going on about Kathy, even though she seems to have died well over a decade ago. She is constantly mentioned, even in the final love-declaration scene. If Rebecca was titled Rebecca due to the ongoing obsession with an already long-dead character, Cloud Castle would be better titled KathyKathyKathy.
Cloud Castle isn’t the most satisfying of Seale’s novels. There are several problems. Raff is continually, thoroughly blind and resistant to be told about the way Marcia and her brother Noël are ripping him off. A stupid, clueless, gullible hero is not a sexy prospect. He’s also involved with Marcia until nearly the end of the book: there’s a time when they passionately kiss (right in front of Judy – Raff later berates her for not “knocking over her glass” – this happens on page 93, well over half way through the book), even though Raff later claims to have been long over Marcia.
“The time had come to marry and raise children, I thought, and Marcia was beautiful and seemed a fitting châtelaine for my home – I had never, you see, had a great deal to do with women. It would seem ungallant to say that she made the running if she hadn’t already admitted it herself, but I never, believe me, gave her grounds for such a supposition once you were here.”
Really? Because Marcia and Raff have had an explicit conversation about matrimony only a couple of chapters earlier, where he questions whether she is ready to “settle down” and “raise children”, and they both discuss getting rid of Judy. Raff ends the conversation thus:
“Will you bear with me a little longer?” he said [to Marcia] “I’d not ask a woman to marry me unless I was sure.”
How is that not giving Marcia grounds for hope?!
But that’s not really the biggest problem. The biggest problem is Raff’s Long Lost Love. Kathy, who got polio and died, which was apparently a “mercy” because she wouldn’t have liked to have lived as a cripple. (A greater “mercy” might have been not getting polio in the first place.
Anyway, they never stop going on about Kathy, even though she seems to have died well over a decade ago. She is constantly mentioned, even in the final love-declaration scene. If Rebecca was titled Rebecca due to the ongoing obsession with an already long-dead character, Cloud Castle would be better titled KathyKathyKathy.
May 29, 2023
Sara Seale’s heroines seem to follow a pattern of being naive, very young ( 18-20), plain, and having a thin immature body.
This type of heroine doesn’t appeal to me and throws a wrench in my enjoyment of the story. I keep picturing them as childlike in my head, paired with a mature hero (30-35ish) it gives me the ick.
This type of heroine doesn’t appeal to me and throws a wrench in my enjoyment of the story. I keep picturing them as childlike in my head, paired with a mature hero (30-35ish) it gives me the ick.
March 9, 2025
Judy Ware was angry. Hired by correspondence, she had traveled to Ireland to be the secretary at Slyne Castle guest house, only to have its owner, the aloof Michael O'Rafferty, refuse to let her start. And for the ridiculous reason that Judy's red hair and temper reminded him of his long-dead love, Kathy! Fortunately, cooler heads persuaded him to give her a chance.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews