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A Servant of Quality
Beautiful Lady Sophia Clavering thought it worth running any risk to escape marriage to the boring Edwin Fothergill—hut now it seemed she had leapt from the frying pan into the fire.
Instead of being waited on hand and foot, she was disguised as a servant in a household where she had to eater to the whims of a willful young Miss.
Instead of dealing with a suitor who knew nothing of romance, she was faced with Lord Hugo Ramsey, the handsomest rake in all of society, who was reputed to be fearfully expert in the art of love.
Sophia's game of make-believe had turned all-too-real—as she discovered when she tried not to let the reprobate Ramsey learn her name...or suspect her feelings when his lips came down
Instead of being waited on hand and foot, she was disguised as a servant in a household where she had to eater to the whims of a willful young Miss.
Instead of dealing with a suitor who knew nothing of romance, she was faced with Lord Hugo Ramsey, the handsomest rake in all of society, who was reputed to be fearfully expert in the art of love.
Sophia's game of make-believe had turned all-too-real—as she discovered when she tried not to let the reprobate Ramsey learn her name...or suspect her feelings when his lips came down
222 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 5, 1988
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About the author
Eileen Jackson
9 books2 followersHaving written short stories for many years, Eileen was in her late forties before she turned to novel writing and first had her talent recognised by being published in America.
It was towards the end of the 1970s, when she was taken up by the London literary agent Gerald Pollinger, that her career blossomed in the UK and then worldwide. Bringing up and caring for her family did not stop Eileen from finding the time to write each and every day – a routine she urged upon young writers whenever asked to speak or comment upon a writer’s life. She was a very versatile author, and wrote for a variety of markets - from dark Victorian mysteries to swashbuckling pirate adventures, and from Mills & Boon modern romances to tales of Regency elegance quivering with emotional turmoil.
Towards the end of her career, Eileen tackled the big book, the family saga, and produced six novels for Hodder Headline under the pen-name, Elizabeth Warne. Eileen always undertook in-depth research for all her books, to ensure historical and geographic accuracy. Her authentic handling of dialogue was also the result of careful research. A favourite setting for her family sagas was the early part of the 20th century and, for each new book, Eileen went to the people who could remember and describe life, love, good times and the problems that beset those who lived at that time.
Eileen settled in Scotland, with her husband John and her family, in 1977. For the past twenty years she lived with her husband in a Regency cottage near Straiton. She always said how lucky she was to live in such a wonderful spot in the world and talked of the kindness of those around her.
Pseudonym/s: Helen May
It was towards the end of the 1970s, when she was taken up by the London literary agent Gerald Pollinger, that her career blossomed in the UK and then worldwide. Bringing up and caring for her family did not stop Eileen from finding the time to write each and every day – a routine she urged upon young writers whenever asked to speak or comment upon a writer’s life. She was a very versatile author, and wrote for a variety of markets - from dark Victorian mysteries to swashbuckling pirate adventures, and from Mills & Boon modern romances to tales of Regency elegance quivering with emotional turmoil.
Towards the end of her career, Eileen tackled the big book, the family saga, and produced six novels for Hodder Headline under the pen-name, Elizabeth Warne. Eileen always undertook in-depth research for all her books, to ensure historical and geographic accuracy. Her authentic handling of dialogue was also the result of careful research. A favourite setting for her family sagas was the early part of the 20th century and, for each new book, Eileen went to the people who could remember and describe life, love, good times and the problems that beset those who lived at that time.
Eileen settled in Scotland, with her husband John and her family, in 1977. For the past twenty years she lived with her husband in a Regency cottage near Straiton. She always said how lucky she was to live in such a wonderful spot in the world and talked of the kindness of those around her.
Pseudonym/s: Helen May
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 11, 2019
The moral/lesson of the book is along the lines of one's chickens coming home to roost- sooner or later.
Sad because the 'mistake' that the h is accused of by one and all is the one thing I feel she should be applauded for as it involves standing up against the benevolent tyranny of her elders and to run away to escape marriage to a man she thinks of as a brother. Of course, in those times running away without a maid or companion - and money, into the unknown, is fraught with more than one kind of danger (even when disguised as an unattractive woman) but the biggest, it seems, is recognition and thus, social ruin!
On the way, she meets the H who's looking for his equally (if not more) irresponsible sister, and by a stroke of fate and the girl's whims finds 'employment' as a maid to the H's sister. The H is mighty suspicious of this not very subservient maid and keeps asking her for references which she keeps fobbing off by making bad excuses or by losing her temper. These interactions are interesting and funny and quite believable actually.
As a maid, she finds life not exactly pleasant and gets embroiled in the below stairs politics and at the receiving end of advances of a footman as well as her employer.
Midway, she escapes to be a (newly returned to London) cousin and the book dips somewhat. The expected makeover and come-out happens but the h's fear of recognition casts a pall over the goings on and I was hard put to accept that no one recognizes her. The author stretches out the story till the expected pre-climactic 'exposure' and then the wrapping up.
But the exposure takes more than one unexpected turn and other people also get affected. So, the almost moralizing tone (not intentional) and the overstressed burden of honor and ruin on a woman's life gets a tad wearing.
And the bad guys get let off too easily. One should have been transported and the other given the glove slap!
Sad because the 'mistake' that the h is accused of by one and all is the one thing I feel she should be applauded for as it involves standing up against the benevolent tyranny of her elders and to run away to escape marriage to a man she thinks of as a brother. Of course, in those times running away without a maid or companion - and money, into the unknown, is fraught with more than one kind of danger (even when disguised as an unattractive woman) but the biggest, it seems, is recognition and thus, social ruin!
On the way, she meets the H who's looking for his equally (if not more) irresponsible sister, and by a stroke of fate and the girl's whims finds 'employment' as a maid to the H's sister. The H is mighty suspicious of this not very subservient maid and keeps asking her for references which she keeps fobbing off by making bad excuses or by losing her temper. These interactions are interesting and funny and quite believable actually.
As a maid, she finds life not exactly pleasant and gets embroiled in the below stairs politics and at the receiving end of advances of a footman as well as her employer.
Midway, she escapes to be a (newly returned to London) cousin and the book dips somewhat. The expected makeover and come-out happens but the h's fear of recognition casts a pall over the goings on and I was hard put to accept that no one recognizes her. The author stretches out the story till the expected pre-climactic 'exposure' and then the wrapping up.
But the exposure takes more than one unexpected turn and other people also get affected. So, the almost moralizing tone (not intentional) and the overstressed burden of honor and ruin on a woman's life gets a tad wearing.
And the bad guys get let off too easily. One should have been transported and the other given the glove slap!
January 17, 2026
she was cute, but Hugo gave me whiplash
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews