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The Wicked Proposal
Wealthy Lady Penelope is looking for a husband who will leave her alone, and with the help of the cynical Earl of Harford, she plans to buy just such a man. By the author of A Perfect Performance. Original.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Emily Hendrickson
59 books22 followersDoris Emily Hendrickson lives in Reno, Nevada, with her husband, a retired airline pilot. Of all the many places she has traveled around the world, England is her favorite, and the most natural choice as the setting for her novels. In addition to her Regency romances, she has written a Regency Reference Book.
She is also the recipient of the Romantic Times award for the Best Regency of 1993 for Elizabeth's Rake and the Colorado Romance Writers 1997 Award of Excellence for The Debonair Duke. She is a nominee for the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Regency Romance.
Emily also enjoys stamps and stamping, and several of her flower designs, originally created for bookmarks for her Regencies, have been made into stamps.
Many of my books were re-published in England by Robert Hale Publishing House of London. My publisher requested that I use three pseudonyms for my English hard cover books. I chose the names: Emily Hendrickson, Emily Johnson, and Emily Harland.
She is also the recipient of the Romantic Times award for the Best Regency of 1993 for Elizabeth's Rake and the Colorado Romance Writers 1997 Award of Excellence for The Debonair Duke. She is a nominee for the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Regency Romance.
Emily also enjoys stamps and stamping, and several of her flower designs, originally created for bookmarks for her Regencies, have been made into stamps.
Many of my books were re-published in England by Robert Hale Publishing House of London. My publisher requested that I use three pseudonyms for my English hard cover books. I chose the names: Emily Hendrickson, Emily Johnson, and Emily Harland.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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November 27, 2015dnf at 15%
When a fancy French cook of the Earl of Harford, left him just before a wager could be completed, our heroine, his distant cousin, stepped in to save the day. She proposed to cook dinner for his lordship and his friends in exchange for his lordship help of finding her a suitable husband. Not too bad, right? Well, except, the said heroine was a wealthy daughter of an Earl. Neither character had any inkling of how absurd the notion is and how problematic it could be for the heroine. She just went to the kitchen in all her finery and started to cook. I guess I could overlook this glaring historical blander if the writing was competent. It wasn't. It was choppy and uneven.
When a fancy French cook of the Earl of Harford, left him just before a wager could be completed, our heroine, his distant cousin, stepped in to save the day. She proposed to cook dinner for his lordship and his friends in exchange for his lordship help of finding her a suitable husband. Not too bad, right? Well, except, the said heroine was a wealthy daughter of an Earl. Neither character had any inkling of how absurd the notion is and how problematic it could be for the heroine. She just went to the kitchen in all her finery and started to cook. I guess I could overlook this glaring historical blander if the writing was competent. It wasn't. It was choppy and uneven.
April 16, 2020
I liked this one so much that I finished it in three days! Loved the main characters! Jonathon and Penny!
March 26, 2021
A bit long winded and repitious but the main characters are charming at times.
April 13, 2026
Sweet little book.
March 27, 2025
Too much description, not enough dialogue
March 29, 2016
THE WICKED PROPOSAL by Emily Hendrickson was not at all what I was expecting from the short blurb inside the cover. I should say the characters were not really what I was expecting. Lady Penelope Winthrop was witty, charming and naively endearing in her mistaken beliefs. She is also a spinster and herbalist, as well as a fabulous chef. I wouldn't say Penny was unintelligent, or air headed; she's more misguided in how she thinks a person should go about their lives.
Her cousin (distant twice removed or something like that) Jonathan, Earl of Harford, however is simply interesting. You can tell from the get go that these two were made for each other, even forgetting that this is a romance, so of course they are. Few other romantic leads would trust their future lady love so quickly with what was a rather important evening for him, at least not on their first scandalous meeting. I have to wonder at the education of Penny's that she thought it quite proper to visit a distant male relative alone at his bachelor quarters without an introduction.
I think, though, I was far more interested in her female relative, the one she more or less barges in on to stay with while in London—Miss Lettice Winthrop, another spinster, though a poet-in-the-making spinster, who is quite absent minded and indulges in obsessions. She lives alone (save for her servants and companion), writing poetry, reading poetry and making infrequent social excursions. When foisted with the responsibility to help Penny in her marriage mate quest, she is quite taken aback and tries to warn Penny, but Penny is insistent.
Lettice has her own suitor, a fellow poet who has courted her many a year, with no success. Not because the lady is indifferent, more because he is not haut ton blood and Lettice is wary of her family's acceptance of him. Lettice is a far more entertaining character I think, though she is not the main character. In fact, romance seems to bloom for several people surrounding Penny suddenly, making her feel less easy about her own situation.
While the expected outcome is familiar, the secondary characters make this a very enjoyable read. Incidentally, the title is a little misleading as the proposal made isn't very wicked, just misguided and unusual.
Her cousin (distant twice removed or something like that) Jonathan, Earl of Harford, however is simply interesting. You can tell from the get go that these two were made for each other, even forgetting that this is a romance, so of course they are. Few other romantic leads would trust their future lady love so quickly with what was a rather important evening for him, at least not on their first scandalous meeting. I have to wonder at the education of Penny's that she thought it quite proper to visit a distant male relative alone at his bachelor quarters without an introduction.
I think, though, I was far more interested in her female relative, the one she more or less barges in on to stay with while in London—Miss Lettice Winthrop, another spinster, though a poet-in-the-making spinster, who is quite absent minded and indulges in obsessions. She lives alone (save for her servants and companion), writing poetry, reading poetry and making infrequent social excursions. When foisted with the responsibility to help Penny in her marriage mate quest, she is quite taken aback and tries to warn Penny, but Penny is insistent.
Lettice has her own suitor, a fellow poet who has courted her many a year, with no success. Not because the lady is indifferent, more because he is not haut ton blood and Lettice is wary of her family's acceptance of him. Lettice is a far more entertaining character I think, though she is not the main character. In fact, romance seems to bloom for several people surrounding Penny suddenly, making her feel less easy about her own situation.
While the expected outcome is familiar, the secondary characters make this a very enjoyable read. Incidentally, the title is a little misleading as the proposal made isn't very wicked, just misguided and unusual.
August 23, 2014
Read this in 2010, just reread it, and in all honesty it is a really cute take on the regency storyline. The heroine wants a husband that will marry her and then go away, and pretty much everything from that point on goes against her fervent wishes. Once again great characters that you want to see more of.
September 25, 2009
Regency
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews