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Jack Caldwell #1
The Unscrupulous Uncle
She had adored her older brother's best friend since childhood, but that was long ago. Now an orphan in a household that has reduced her to stocking servitude, he has suddenly returned. But why does he propose marriage, when it is clear that he loves another? Is he paying a secret debt, or simply intent on making a fortune through her? She must quickly find answers, even if it breaks the heart she lost to him long ago.
96 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
13 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Allison Lane
40 books36 followersAllison Lane is the author of 20 Regency novels and 6 novellas. She is a Holt Medallion Winner and the 2005 Romantic Times Career Achievement Award Winner, as well as National Readers' Choice Awards Finalist for three books.
Notes from Allison Lane:
I am not one of those who always wanted to be a writer, though I suspect I wanted to be just about everything else -- doctor, astronaut, artist, scientist, and concert pianist, to name only a few. My actual careers were not quite so exciting. Designing computer software and running horse shows gave way to motherhood, home improvement projects, and teaching piano. But books have always been one of the cornerstones of my life.
When I was growing up in the mid-west, reading and music kept me sane through frequent changes of address. As an adult, books offered a respite from the strain of daily living. Often I would finish the last page with the thought, I wish I were that creative. Occasionally it would change to, Surely even I could do better than this! So one day I tried. But this is not a fairy tale, folks. My first book was less than stellar. In fact, it stunk. Good writing is hard work. But I enjoyed the process (or maybe I just enjoy playing God) so I tried again. By the third tale, I had a publishable story.
Where am I headed in the future? I don’t yet know. For now, I write Regencies. It is a fascinating period and an entertaining genre. My work is classed as traditional though I don’t consider it in quite that way. I try to avoid clichés -- except for happy endings, of course; those are what offer us respite from that daily crisis. But I like to pose universal problems to my characters and then watch them find solutions. I have long been fascinated by how people surmount problems to find the happiness that we all deserve.
These days my spare time is limited. Writing consumes most of my day. I still read as much as ever and keep up with the world of science. And everyone knows better than to step between me and a TV during football season -- it somehow takes an extra month to complete fall manuscripts.
From: Regency Reads
Notes from Allison Lane:
I am not one of those who always wanted to be a writer, though I suspect I wanted to be just about everything else -- doctor, astronaut, artist, scientist, and concert pianist, to name only a few. My actual careers were not quite so exciting. Designing computer software and running horse shows gave way to motherhood, home improvement projects, and teaching piano. But books have always been one of the cornerstones of my life.
When I was growing up in the mid-west, reading and music kept me sane through frequent changes of address. As an adult, books offered a respite from the strain of daily living. Often I would finish the last page with the thought, I wish I were that creative. Occasionally it would change to, Surely even I could do better than this! So one day I tried. But this is not a fairy tale, folks. My first book was less than stellar. In fact, it stunk. Good writing is hard work. But I enjoyed the process (or maybe I just enjoy playing God) so I tried again. By the third tale, I had a publishable story.
Where am I headed in the future? I don’t yet know. For now, I write Regencies. It is a fascinating period and an entertaining genre. My work is classed as traditional though I don’t consider it in quite that way. I try to avoid clichés -- except for happy endings, of course; those are what offer us respite from that daily crisis. But I like to pose universal problems to my characters and then watch them find solutions. I have long been fascinated by how people surmount problems to find the happiness that we all deserve.
These days my spare time is limited. Writing consumes most of my day. I still read as much as ever and keep up with the world of science. And everyone knows better than to step between me and a TV during football season -- it somehow takes an extra month to complete fall manuscripts.
From: Regency Reads
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 14, 2025
Sometimes I think you should never go back to books you enjoyed when you were younger. So is the case with this!!
It started out quite good and the premise sounded interesting. In the beginning the book was almost Cinderellaesque in it's plot and it was working well. Then the hero comes into it and what a dose he turned out to be. There was nothing likeable about him at all. He had known and liked the heroine all her life and except for the years he was away in the army with her brother, he had spent all his time with them. After the brother dies and he had promised to look out for her he got distracted and was fobbed off easily when he made enquiries about her.
The book has some clownish over the top characters which had me rolling my eyes constantly. The hero was a wimp too and the romance between them boiled down to about two pages after he had treated her abominably for all the book until then.
A very disappointing read.
It started out quite good and the premise sounded interesting. In the beginning the book was almost Cinderellaesque in it's plot and it was working well. Then the hero comes into it and what a dose he turned out to be. There was nothing likeable about him at all. He had known and liked the heroine all her life and except for the years he was away in the army with her brother, he had spent all his time with them. After the brother dies and he had promised to look out for her he got distracted and was fobbed off easily when he made enquiries about her.
The book has some clownish over the top characters which had me rolling my eyes constantly. The hero was a wimp too and the romance between them boiled down to about two pages after he had treated her abominably for all the book until then.
A very disappointing read.
April 12, 2009
Damon promised his best friend Peter Braxton that he would take care of his sister should anything happen to him. And of course, Peter dies in Portugal.
Around the same time, Peter's father died as well, leaving Peter's uncle heir to the title (Baron, I believe). However, Peter's father, ticked off because Peter ran off to war, left everything to his sister Catherine.
In comes the unscrupulous uncle - he cut Catherine off from all her friends, told Damon she was engaged etc.
Damon, although he made his friend a promise etc, just accepts this and rides off into the sunset.
A few years later, Damon is almost engaged. On his way home to prepare his house for his new bride, he stops at Catherine's house. Eventually he figures out that her uncle has been fleecing her and treating her like a servant and the only way to save her is to marry her within the next two days. So off they go, get married etc.
Now Damon feels terribly guilty that he left his soon to be fiance in the lurch, and in order to make it easier for her, he pays lots of attention to her. Of course he does not feel guilty for just dropping his wife in London, leaving her alone for 7 years, etc, and alternates between ignoring her and treating her like dirt. Way to go, hero.
In the end, she is basically driven from town by his actions. He follows her and admits that he always loved her etc etc. Catherine forgives him and they all lived happily ever after.
What a d*ck. I'm getting rid of this book ASAP.
Around the same time, Peter's father died as well, leaving Peter's uncle heir to the title (Baron, I believe). However, Peter's father, ticked off because Peter ran off to war, left everything to his sister Catherine.
In comes the unscrupulous uncle - he cut Catherine off from all her friends, told Damon she was engaged etc.
Damon, although he made his friend a promise etc, just accepts this and rides off into the sunset.
A few years later, Damon is almost engaged. On his way home to prepare his house for his new bride, he stops at Catherine's house. Eventually he figures out that her uncle has been fleecing her and treating her like a servant and the only way to save her is to marry her within the next two days. So off they go, get married etc.
Now Damon feels terribly guilty that he left his soon to be fiance in the lurch, and in order to make it easier for her, he pays lots of attention to her. Of course he does not feel guilty for just dropping his wife in London, leaving her alone for 7 years, etc, and alternates between ignoring her and treating her like dirt. Way to go, hero.
In the end, she is basically driven from town by his actions. He follows her and admits that he always loved her etc etc. Catherine forgives him and they all lived happily ever after.
What a d*ck. I'm getting rid of this book ASAP.
January 21, 2019
My brain every time I picked this book up:
It started off promisingly enough. Cinderella like, the plot follows an orphaned young lady reduced to acting as housekeeper for her garish relations who then gets locked away when the hero comes calling and subsequently married out of hand by said hero. As this synopsis encompasses the description on the back of the book, I thought things would get moving a little faster. I was 30% through before the couple actually wed...and that 30% was the most interesting part of the book. The remaining 70% involves predictable misunderstandings, constant rehashing, and underdeveloped scenes that flutter about with little context outside of what you would expect from reading the synopsis.
Most damning of all, however, the plot sets up the main couple as 'brother and sister like' and then spends the rest of the book trying to explain why they actually were never brother and sister like and why their romance is not actually horridly awkward. But the lady protests too much and the result is something much more awkward than it otherwise would have been.
It started off promisingly enough. Cinderella like, the plot follows an orphaned young lady reduced to acting as housekeeper for her garish relations who then gets locked away when the hero comes calling and subsequently married out of hand by said hero. As this synopsis encompasses the description on the back of the book, I thought things would get moving a little faster. I was 30% through before the couple actually wed...and that 30% was the most interesting part of the book. The remaining 70% involves predictable misunderstandings, constant rehashing, and underdeveloped scenes that flutter about with little context outside of what you would expect from reading the synopsis.
Most damning of all, however, the plot sets up the main couple as 'brother and sister like' and then spends the rest of the book trying to explain why they actually were never brother and sister like and why their romance is not actually horridly awkward. But the lady protests too much and the result is something much more awkward than it otherwise would have been.
April 10, 2022
3.5 🌟 ⭐️⭐️Mainly I rounded up cause the story kept me hooked! I believe the feelings for each other got demonstrated too late in the story. That led to a lack in the romance! The H was spineless and too gullible to be appealing. He was sucked in by the OW and I don't feel like she got enough of her comeuppance.
April 28, 2015
I'm giving this one two stars, as opposed to just one, because I loved the setup. The first half of this book is actually amazing. I really did not see the nature of the uncle's crimes coming--though I knew it was something--and the manner in which the family is presented and her dull life created is pretty realistically shown. It's when Damon shows up to save the day that the story goes to pot.
Thwarting the schemes of the main villain should not have taken place smack dab in the middle of the book. That's sort of a climactic thing that would have been better served at the end. The entire marriage thing in London and the gossips and all that was just incredibly unnecessary and felt like two books shoved together. Solutions to problems were far too easy and sudden, and while the author spent paragraphs describing the way a room looked, she has a murderous attack on the hero start and finish in the space of four sentences. WTF?
Thwarting the schemes of the main villain should not have taken place smack dab in the middle of the book. That's sort of a climactic thing that would have been better served at the end. The entire marriage thing in London and the gossips and all that was just incredibly unnecessary and felt like two books shoved together. Solutions to problems were far too easy and sudden, and while the author spent paragraphs describing the way a room looked, she has a murderous attack on the hero start and finish in the space of four sentences. WTF?
April 18, 2012
I love reading these old Signet paperbacks. The book is more about the H/H and their story than about activities in the bedroom. Also, Allison Lane is good at putting us in the time period without us feeling we are reading a history book. All of the history is portrayed through the experiences of the various characters. It flows seamlessly with the story line. I did have a little trouble keeping track all of the characters as some of their stories weren't connected very well to the H/H when they entered the scene. This the first of a series called the 'Jack Caldwell Series'. He is a secondary character and he will play a part in the next book, "Devall's Angel", until we get his story in the final book,"Kindred Spirits".
September 6, 2024
This book was kinda terrible. The story was interesting and could have been really good if it was better executed, but instead there was no romance, no character development, hero and heroine was annoying, and they both still thought of each other as brother and sister two thirds through the book and then they just suddenly remembered they loved each other all along right before the end, despite barely even seeing each other after marriage, and when they did it was only to argue. Poorly executed romance and I most certainly did not enjoy.
May 31, 2022
I was in the mood for some angst, and some angst I did receive from reading this story.
The miscommunication, the over-the-top villainy of the uncle and his family, and the terribly vindictive other woman were absolutely bonkers. I loved it!
I wanted to bop the hero on the head a few times to wake him up to his inattentiveness. He was a bit of a mess. And when he declared his love for Catherine I was absolutely flummoxed-these two hardly spent time together on page. But then he explained his revelatory feelings and it made enough sense for me to believe him.
Allison Lane is a terrific writer when it comes to immersing the reader in a historical setting. This story had some inconsistencies, but I enjoyed it immensely.
The miscommunication, the over-the-top villainy of the uncle and his family, and the terribly vindictive other woman were absolutely bonkers. I loved it!
I wanted to bop the hero on the head a few times to wake him up to his inattentiveness. He was a bit of a mess. And when he declared his love for Catherine I was absolutely flummoxed-these two hardly spent time together on page. But then he explained his revelatory feelings and it made enough sense for me to believe him.
Allison Lane is a terrific writer when it comes to immersing the reader in a historical setting. This story had some inconsistencies, but I enjoyed it immensely.
March 15, 2022
This author does a great strong h and stubborn but redirectable H.
October 6, 2024
Nah can't finish it. H is an absolute ass to the H & all the malice is stressing me out lol.
January 18, 2020
It was ok. Not mentally stimulating at all - except maybe the tediousness of the two main characters. A good book for on a vacation when not a lot of concentration is on deck!
April 22, 2016
Not my favorite. I really didn't like Damon at all. My main reason for reading it was that it comes first in the series and I want to read the other two books.
However, I wonder if I should have bothered as Jack, the hero of book three, mentions he's already married in this one.
I really need a chart of Lane's characters as they pop up throughout all of her novels and I can never remember which book they appeared in (with the notable exception of Thomas Mannering).
However, I wonder if I should have bothered as Jack, the hero of book three, mentions he's already married in this one.
I really need a chart of Lane's characters as they pop up throughout all of her novels and I can never remember which book they appeared in (with the notable exception of Thomas Mannering).
August 12, 2021
2.5 stars. The hero's behaviour in effectively abandoning his new wife is not believable. (BTW, the description is an entirely misleading summary of the plot.)
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May 22, 2017Too many misunderstandings and silly behaviour...
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews