Взбалмошная герцогиня

by Barbara Cartland

Герцог Уорминстер всегда сторонился женщин. Многие считали его сухарем. Однажды, оказавшись в Шотландии, он согласился подвезти в своем экипаже пожилую даму. Но во время поездки выяснилось, что его попутчица — юная очаровательная девушка. Герцог вынужден прийти ей на помощь. Если бы он только знал, к каким опасным приключениям приведет эта нечаянная встреча… 

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction

158 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 11, 2014

About the author

Born 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

Reviews

[Azet · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Impetuous Duchess" is one of many historical romances by the iconic author Barbara Cartland where we get to follow a unlikely couple in the reserved and nerdy hero Drue, Duke of Warminster, who mistakes the young heroine Jabina for a old lady when he picks her up in Scotland. And does he get surprised when he knows its actually a young lady who has escaped from a arranged engagement to a older man. There is such a natural and historic element in the story of Drue and Jabina, first disliking each other but then learning to appreciate each other. Its also set during the time Napoleon declared war on England.In mids of this crazy journey they unwillingly fall in love with each other. Jabina surfaced like a flower in a desert in Drue`s eyes. Her insults on how she thought him boring really seemed to hurt him. Love how he still choose to care and protect her in the whole journey. Even killing a man for her. Jabina for all her impulsive behaviour and having a imagination and energy that never seemed to run out was a lovely creature. Brave and stubborn in every obstacle she had to go through with Drue. I do believe that Cartland created a beautiful couple in Jabina & Drue.

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is how I remember Barbara Cartland!! Not the ones I have been reading. This was perfect. The Duke inadvertently had picked up a runaway on his trip and she was fleeing a forced marriage. He ends up helping her get to France to live with her Aunt. The hero was wounded and she told the people that saved them He was her husband. And so on Scotland that means you are married. The Duke is not happy but He still helps her go to France. But wait Bonaparte has declared war and all English tourists must be arrested. They have to flee Paris! And actually it was a great story. With no kissing until the very end, but still very cute. Sometimes the heroine annoyed me because she was so impetuous and naive that she almost led them into more danger. The Duke was a bit starchy but by the end he was a wonderful hero. These are the type of stories I remember. And I loved it!!!

[Eva García Carrión · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[MissKitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing. I was intrigued by the description of the Parisian ladies fashions as practically transparent, I had not realized it was the thing for the period. And, although Dame Cartland writes fluff, she’s quite historically accurate.

Anyway, cute read.

[LadyAileen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Matrimonio a sorpresa è uno dei romanzi rosa storici di Barbara Cartland, autrice considerata la Regina del romanzo rosa ai suoi tempi.
Si tratta di romanzo un po’ datato quindi non ci sono scene spinte (l’autrice difendeva i valori tradizionali e credeva nella verginità prima del matrimonio e questo traspare tanto nelle sue opere).
Tutto inizia in una locanda dove Jabina fingendosi un’anziana donna riesce a farsi dare un passaggio dal duca di Warminister. Jabina sta fuggendo da un matrimonio combinato e sta cercando di raggiungere una sua parente a Parigi. Il duca, invece, grande studioso vorrebbe solo tornare alla sua vita tranquilla ma quando scopre i piani della sua passeggera capisce che non può abbandonarla a se stessa…
Per ora, è quello che mi è piaciuto di meno di quest’autrice. Probabilmente perché la parte avventurosa ha preso il sopravvento sulla storia d’amore. I due protagonisti hanno sì interazioni ma alla fine è davvero difficile comprendere come si siano innamorati.
Inoltre, a causa della brevità tutto è trattato in maniera troppo veloce e poco approfondita. Non c’è alcun incontro con la zia, né si sa qualcosa del suo destino né Jabina se lo chiede, non si sa se ci sarà un incontro tra il padre di Jabina e il duca, come prenderà il matrimonio e tanti piccoli dettagli che avrebbero potuto rendere la storia meno superficiale. Le descrizioni di ambienti e vestiario non sono troppo dettagliate e non appesantiscono la lettura che resta sempre molto scorrevole.
La trama in sé non è particolarmente originale ma l’idea di partenza era interessante visto che l’autrice ha usato un’antica usanza scozzese per legare i protagonisti.
I romanzi (forse sarebbe il caso di chiamarli racconti lunghi) di Barbara Cartland sono storie adatte a chi ha voglia di iniziare a leggere romanzi rosa storici.

[RomLibrary]

When the austere, reserved Drue, the Duke of Warminster, is asked by a servant at a Scottish posting inn if he will give a lift to a little old lady whose carriage has broken down, he reluctantly agrees. But then he is outraged to discover that the frail old lady is a young red-haired beauty called Jabina, who has run away from home and a marriage forced on her by her father. When their own carriage overturns, severely injuring the Duke, the pair are taken in by aristocratic friends of Jabina's father - and Jabina, terrified of being sent home, tells their hosts that she and Drue are married. The Duke is then appalled to find that through an obscure Scottish law he is now actually and legally married to this unruly and impulsive young girl. But, as they travel together to France and fall into mortal danger as Napoleon Bonaparte declares war on England, their mutual dislike blossoms into a burgeoning passion - the question now is whether they will ever to able to escape from France and return to England to fulfil their unspoken love

[Vesna Elizabeth Radoicich · Rating 3 out of 5]

For being such an older book I was shocked how interesting the plot was, there are some twists and turns that keep it exciting, even though the writing style is very dated and sometimes drags. it was fun to imagine it as an episode of Bridgerton, especially with the naiveness of the FMC. I might just pick up a few more Barbara Cartland books for fun, easy quick silly little reads. plus the author is extremely interesting and hold a world record!

[Hasselhh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved that it had some action and historical elements to it. And unlike the typical Cartland story, it actually had some twists to the plot.

I'm glad that I got this in the book version, because reading it by my self made it just that bit better, than with the narrator.

[Zelah Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, would read again.

[Michelle’s Vintage Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a romance reader. This is the first romance I have ever read. I found a collection of Barbara Cartland books (about 40 or so) at a Goodwill and was drawn to their vintage covers. The covers are adorable and I love the colorful sprayed edges. I’m kind of a sucker for anything vintage.

Negatives:

Mostly one-dimensional hero/heroine.

Syrupy sweet ending.

Positives:

Cartland definitely researched the time period (Napoleon was in charge of France), and the details were pretty interesting.

It was quaint and sort of cute in an old fashioned way.

A surprising amount of action and suspense.

The writing wasn’t bad.

Overall, it was an interesting book that had enough plot twists to keep me engaged and entertained throughout.

A quick, short read.

[Zack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book it was so sweet
I was so hooked at the start. The winter feel was so comforting, especially since it is winter in England. In the middle, it dragged a bit, so my interest was diminishing, until just after half the book, there was such suspense that I glided towards the end. I must say I learnt a bit about the history of this book, especially about Bonapartes shinanigans. I might just start reading more of Barbara's books...

[anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

- le style de l'auteure manque de subjectivité, j'aurais aimé avoir plus de détails dans certains passages et ralentir un peu le rythme car parfois ca semblait trop niais
-les références et le cadre historique sont intéressants
-couple prévisible mais bon
-aucunes informations concernant la reaction du père de Jabina c'est dommage
-je pense que ca aurait fait un bon film au cinema

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was, again, a typical Cartland, but with a little more excitement and more atmosphere. There was less of a focus on innocence and purity (though it still being present in Jabina's inexperience in life), but I enjoyed the plot despite it being one of her usual ones.

[Sunita · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is short, interesting and cute. I enjoyed reading this a lot. There is something great about classic Romance that i enjoy more than anything.

[Raffaella De Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storia carina e piacevole, abbastanza scontata ma interessante per quello che riguarda il matrimonio scozzese per nuncupazione, un’antica usanza peraltro abrogato solo nel 1949.

[Gloria E Meunier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Song of Solomon 8v4

[Toñi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75

[Gogol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but that's all

[Fran Alsaud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historia en la que los protas en una aventura inesperada atraviesan Escocia, Inglaterra, y Francia adoptando identidades. Entretenida.

[Jesse Claflin · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun historical romance! Three stars in part because: 1. I hated the MCs’ names (Drue and Jacobina I mean…); 2. Jacobina was just so naive; 3. the extreme plot was exciting but made me doubt how much these two were actually compatible. I would have loved to see a little more of them in an epilogue at least. I usually don’t like a plot with too many extreme twists and turns but this was very enjoyable. CW for sexual violence, death of a parent

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the austere, reserved Drue, the Duke of Warminster, is asked by a servant at a Scottish posting inn if he will give a lift to a little old lady whose carriage has broken down, he reluctantly agrees. But then he is outraged to discover that the frail old lady is a young red-haired beauty called Jabina, who has run away from home and a marriage forced on her by her father. When their own carriage overturns, severely injuring the Duke, the pair are taken in by aristocratic friends of Jabina's father - and Jabina, terrified of being sent home, tells their hosts that she and Drue are married. The Duke is then appalled to find that through an obscure Scottish law he is now actually and legally married to this unruly and impulsive young girl. But, as they travel together to France and fall into mortal danger as Napoleon Bonaparte declares war on England, their mutual dislike blossoms into a burgeoning passion - the question now is whether they will ever to able to escape from France and return to England to fulfil their unspoken love.