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Turkish Delight
After spending most of her formative years in the harem of the Grand Seraglio at Constantinople, Lady Louisa Darwen enters London society and upsets the genteel equilibrium of the higher classes by appearing unconcerned with prospects for marriage
250 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
59 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Edghill
98 books137 followersShe was born long enough ago to have seen Classic Trek on its first outing and to remember that she once thought Spock Must Die! to be great literature. As she aged, she put aside her fond dreams of taking over for Batman when he retired, and returned to her first love, writing. Her first SF sale (as Eluki Bes Shahar) was the Hellflower series, in which Damon Runyon meets Doc Smith over at the old Bester place. Between books and short stories in every genre but the Western (several dozen so far), she's held the usual selection of odd and part-time writer jobs, including bookstore clerk, secretary, beta tester for computer software, graphic designer, book illustrator, library clerk, and administrative assistant for a non-profit arts organization. She can truthfully state that she once killed vampires for a living, and that without any knowledge of medicine has illustrated half-a-dozen medical textbooks.
Her last name -- despite the efforts of editors, reviewers, publishing houses, her webmaster, and occasionally her own fingers -- is not spelled 'Edgehill'.
Also writes under the name Eluki Bes Shahar.
Her last name -- despite the efforts of editors, reviewers, publishing houses, her webmaster, and occasionally her own fingers -- is not spelled 'Edgehill'.
Also writes under the name Eluki Bes Shahar.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 20, 2016
3.5 stars
~Rosemary Edghill is a pseudonym for Eluki Bes Shahar. She wrote three Regency romances in the late 1980s and one in 1990. Then, for some reason, she started writing mysteries, fantasies and delved into SciFi. As far as I know, TURKISH DELIGHT was her first story.~
Louisa Darwen was ten years old when her father, the 7th Earl of Coldmeece, decided to move his wife and child from England. It didn't help that his creditors were in pursuit. They ended up settling in Constantinople.
Her father, for their protection, placed his wife and daughter in a hareem. Soon after, Louisa's mother passed away and the Earl left for parts unknown. At that time, the Napoleonic Wars with England forbade letters from arriving in a timely manner and, inadvertently, the young girl was left behind.
Louisa loved her life. She adored the colors of her clothes, the animals she had as pets and the people who took care of her. She became a favored child of the French Sultan Valide. She was nurtured and loved and had expected her champion to eventually arrange a happy marriage for her. She was now a young lady of 18 years.
When a relative, Lady Mulford, finally showed up to take her 'home', Louisa (now known as Amber Pearl) didn't want to leave. But she was made to go and eventually relearned the stiffer rules and restrictions of the English. Without a dowry, she became Lady M's companion and a dear, close friend of her male cousin, the Honorable Augustus 'Gus' or 'Gussie' Templeton. And five years go by.
Bevan Gervase Timothy St. George Darwen, was the present Earl of Coldmeece and Viscount St. Germain, Baron St. George of Harrow and Coldham, Baron of Ness, Lord Landsdowne and so on and so forth and yada, yada, yada. At 35 years of age, he was a handsome, wealthy man; he knew it was high time he settled down. He had recently found an old contract that his deceased father had made years ago. His sire had betrothed his then 18-year-old son to his friend's young daughter, Celia. Actually, she was a baby. She was now 17.
STOP. I know what you are thinking. Ick! But large age differences were commonplace back then. Don't let that deter you from reading the story because a lot goes on. Lady Lou as Cousin Gus liked to call her -she despised the nickname- was smack dab in the center of things and nothing went as planned.
This traditional-style Regency romance was very different from the norm. When I mentioned a lot went on, I meant it. This worked for and against the story. It involved six people: Louisa, Gervase, Gus (my favorite character), Celia and two other relatives who came across as shady mischief-makers.
I felt Ms. Edghill kept plenty of notes when she wrote the story; I paused more than once to keep up with who said what and when and why. It was like 'betrothal musical chairs'. The country of Turkey was referred to often enough but TURKISH DELIGHT took place primarily in England. There were numerous minor misunderstandings but they drove the plot, and not in a bad way. Lastly, the romances were slow-going but the witty dialogue and lighthearted characters (namely Louisa and Gus) made up for what the story lacked.
~Rosemary Edghill is a pseudonym for Eluki Bes Shahar. She wrote three Regency romances in the late 1980s and one in 1990. Then, for some reason, she started writing mysteries, fantasies and delved into SciFi. As far as I know, TURKISH DELIGHT was her first story.~
Louisa Darwen was ten years old when her father, the 7th Earl of Coldmeece, decided to move his wife and child from England. It didn't help that his creditors were in pursuit. They ended up settling in Constantinople.
Her father, for their protection, placed his wife and daughter in a hareem. Soon after, Louisa's mother passed away and the Earl left for parts unknown. At that time, the Napoleonic Wars with England forbade letters from arriving in a timely manner and, inadvertently, the young girl was left behind.
Louisa loved her life. She adored the colors of her clothes, the animals she had as pets and the people who took care of her. She became a favored child of the French Sultan Valide. She was nurtured and loved and had expected her champion to eventually arrange a happy marriage for her. She was now a young lady of 18 years.
When a relative, Lady Mulford, finally showed up to take her 'home', Louisa (now known as Amber Pearl) didn't want to leave. But she was made to go and eventually relearned the stiffer rules and restrictions of the English. Without a dowry, she became Lady M's companion and a dear, close friend of her male cousin, the Honorable Augustus 'Gus' or 'Gussie' Templeton. And five years go by.
Bevan Gervase Timothy St. George Darwen, was the present Earl of Coldmeece and Viscount St. Germain, Baron St. George of Harrow and Coldham, Baron of Ness, Lord Landsdowne and so on and so forth and yada, yada, yada. At 35 years of age, he was a handsome, wealthy man; he knew it was high time he settled down. He had recently found an old contract that his deceased father had made years ago. His sire had betrothed his then 18-year-old son to his friend's young daughter, Celia. Actually, she was a baby. She was now 17.
STOP. I know what you are thinking. Ick! But large age differences were commonplace back then. Don't let that deter you from reading the story because a lot goes on. Lady Lou as Cousin Gus liked to call her -she despised the nickname- was smack dab in the center of things and nothing went as planned.
This traditional-style Regency romance was very different from the norm. When I mentioned a lot went on, I meant it. This worked for and against the story. It involved six people: Louisa, Gervase, Gus (my favorite character), Celia and two other relatives who came across as shady mischief-makers.
I felt Ms. Edghill kept plenty of notes when she wrote the story; I paused more than once to keep up with who said what and when and why. It was like 'betrothal musical chairs'. The country of Turkey was referred to often enough but TURKISH DELIGHT took place primarily in England. There were numerous minor misunderstandings but they drove the plot, and not in a bad way. Lastly, the romances were slow-going but the witty dialogue and lighthearted characters (namely Louisa and Gus) made up for what the story lacked.
August 15, 2014
This one was excellent. Yes the story was mostly predictable, and one we regency readers have read again and again and apparently are still hungry to read it again... BUT it was really well written. The background, the dialogue, the characters, all extremely well done. I really liked the main character of Louisa, whose early life in a harem is described in a way that instead of being titillating and 'other', as its seen in proper English society of the early 1800s, is actually made to sound (GASP) realistic. And the comparison of the two, as she views England and as England views her, all in a very understated way that would make Austen proud, is actually refreshing. This is an oldy from 1987, but worth finding if you want a satisfying romance read.
reread in 8/2014, replaced my paperback copy with a retired library hardcover and couldn't resist rereading it immediately. Edghill wrote an excellent regency, and this is one of my favorites!
reread in 8/2014, replaced my paperback copy with a retired library hardcover and couldn't resist rereading it immediately. Edghill wrote an excellent regency, and this is one of my favorites!
June 10, 2019
Lots of BIG MIS scattered throughout, good banter, interesting cast of characters. Much better than The Ill-Bred Bride IMO.
July 23, 2019
This book kept me turning the pages eagerly. I loved Louisa and the playful banter between her and some of the other characters.
December 25, 2020
There's a lot to like in this book - the heroine is quite fun and there's plenty of humor and satire - but the hero was so irritating that I can't give it a higher rating.
May 16, 2016
If you like Jane Austen, you will love this story about a spunky girl, raised exoticly and "saved" by her relatives, and brought back to England to find a good husband. It has all the sensibility and feeling of Austen with a more contemporary ease of reading with its less formal rhetorical style. It is perfectly enjoyable.
April 11, 2008
A talented writer of regencies and fantasy
February 8, 2011
Except for the cousins part, very fun, older genre fiction.
February 17, 2013
From my old book log: "Regency romance LITE." (Yet I did still give it 3 stars, lol!)
September 6, 2014
One of the best of the Older Regency writers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews