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The Mercer's House #0
The Mercer
A family grown rich in the wool trade. The landed gentry they’ve displaced. And the gentle daughter whose beauty will open the door to an even greater prize - the nobility.
Harry Fletcher is almost 50 years old, a widower with a large family and a respectable place in Yorkshire society, well on the road to becoming mayor. He’s very contented with his life, so when an attractive widow crosses his path, he’s happy to enjoy her company, but he doesn’t want to marry again and he certainly doesn’t want to abandon his roots in trade and gentrify himself.
But he’s also very, very rich, and Lizzie Haygarth is very poor. She’s determined to find herself a new husband, one who won’t keep her struggling in genteel poverty. She sets her cap at Harry, but in the most delicate way imaginable, slowly but steadily drawing him into her net. But it’s not just Harry she needs to convince — it’s his whole family. And it’s not just marriage she has in mind. Her plans are far more ambitious that that.
This is a complete story, a prequel to the Mercer’s House series. A traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom. The ebook of this story is available free of charge to Mary Kingswood mailing list subscribers.
Harry Fletcher is almost 50 years old, a widower with a large family and a respectable place in Yorkshire society, well on the road to becoming mayor. He’s very contented with his life, so when an attractive widow crosses his path, he’s happy to enjoy her company, but he doesn’t want to marry again and he certainly doesn’t want to abandon his roots in trade and gentrify himself.
But he’s also very, very rich, and Lizzie Haygarth is very poor. She’s determined to find herself a new husband, one who won’t keep her struggling in genteel poverty. She sets her cap at Harry, but in the most delicate way imaginable, slowly but steadily drawing him into her net. But it’s not just Harry she needs to convince — it’s his whole family. And it’s not just marriage she has in mind. Her plans are far more ambitious that that.
This is a complete story, a prequel to the Mercer’s House series. A traditional Regency romance, drawing room rather than bedroom. The ebook of this story is available free of charge to Mary Kingswood mailing list subscribers.
162 pages, Paperback
First published May 12, 2022
1 person is currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Mary Kingswood
70 books480 followersI live in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland with my husband. I like chocolate, whisky, my Kindle, massed pipe bands, long leisurely lunches, chocolate, going places in my campervan, eating pizza in Italy, summer nights that never get dark, wood fires in winter, chocolate, the view from the study window looking out over the Moray Firth and the Black Isle to the mountains beyond. And chocolate. I dislike driving on motorways, cooking, shopping, hospitals.
The lovely lady in my avatar is Archduchess Clementina of Austria (1798-1881), Princess of Salerno, painted around 1839.
NOTE: I read Regency romances as well as write them, and I review them all on my website, or you can find them right here on Goodreads on my real-name account at Pauline M. Ross.
The lovely lady in my avatar is Archduchess Clementina of Austria (1798-1881), Princess of Salerno, painted around 1839.
NOTE: I read Regency romances as well as write them, and I review them all on my website, or you can find them right here on Goodreads on my real-name account at Pauline M. Ross.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 30, 2022
A very enjoyable beginning to a new series from Mary Kingswood. I really like that this is a story of a family coming from trade and working their way up in the world. And of course, that the love story starts as a mercenary finagling, but then blooms into something more. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
May 23, 2022
Kisses only. It took me a while to get into this book because I hated Lizzie’s motivations. I love Kingswood’s writing though and I really liked how things turned out in this. I’m excited for the series which this sets up.
May 30, 2022
I am very excited to start this new series by Mary Kingswood as it is taking a look at the different side of Regency England - a family in trade who is slowly making the move into gentility. While the #0 editions are not necessary to enjoy the entirety of the series, it is nice to have the backgrounds of the main characters in greater detail.
This was an interesting read because it went into detail of what a rich family in trade's social life would have looked like during this time. As usual, the characters were all interesting as people and talked to each other like people. I felt that the frictions and arguments were natural ones and not ones based on contrivances (no "if only they would have had a conversation, this would be solved" situations here). There is some foreshadowing that I will be excited to see play out in the larger series.
Here's to the next book!
This was an interesting read because it went into detail of what a rich family in trade's social life would have looked like during this time. As usual, the characters were all interesting as people and talked to each other like people. I felt that the frictions and arguments were natural ones and not ones based on contrivances (no "if only they would have had a conversation, this would be solved" situations here). There is some foreshadowing that I will be excited to see play out in the larger series.
Here's to the next book!
September 24, 2022
A new series to love!
The prequel, The Mercer, lays the foundation for this series on the Fletcher family, perfectly introducing all of the immediate members including the crotchety Aunt Madge and feisty and particular Great Aunt Petronella. These unsuspecting characters, other than the aunts, are soon to engage with Mrs. Haygarth, a neighbor’s widowed sister who has her sights set on Mr. Harry Fletcher. In the end, the challenge of acceptance by the ton, new money versus title, makes for a unique series premise with an array of tropes to explore. I truly enjoyed this opening novel and look forward to the rest of this series.
This book is suitable for teens and older with no inappropriate intimate scenes and no bad language. I received this book from the author/publisher free of charge, with no expectation of a positive review.
The prequel, The Mercer, lays the foundation for this series on the Fletcher family, perfectly introducing all of the immediate members including the crotchety Aunt Madge and feisty and particular Great Aunt Petronella. These unsuspecting characters, other than the aunts, are soon to engage with Mrs. Haygarth, a neighbor’s widowed sister who has her sights set on Mr. Harry Fletcher. In the end, the challenge of acceptance by the ton, new money versus title, makes for a unique series premise with an array of tropes to explore. I truly enjoyed this opening novel and look forward to the rest of this series.
This book is suitable for teens and older with no inappropriate intimate scenes and no bad language. I received this book from the author/publisher free of charge, with no expectation of a positive review.
September 21, 2023
Widower Harry Fletcher is the head of a large family in trade. They live in Sagborough, Yorkshire, amongst the industry of the North. He is content with his lot and has no plans to remarry....until he meets the penniless widow, Elizabeth Haygarth. She immediately sets her cap at him and starts her battle plan. She's after his fortune, but along the way she comes to realize what a wonderful man he is. She plants the seed in his head about buying a country estate near London and giving his unmarried children a Season, with the aim of finding a wealthy husband for his daughter, Rosie. This sets up their move to Chadwell Park, continued in Book 1 of the series.
I read book 1 before reading this prequel and was already impressed with Harry Fletcher. This one just intensified my admiration.
I read book 1 before reading this prequel and was already impressed with Harry Fletcher. This one just intensified my admiration.
May 22, 2022
The Mercer is a prequel and a short novella. With this book Mary Kingswood sets the expectation of the series to come.
Retired from trade, well-to-do mercer and widower Harry Fletcher is content to live life quietly with his grown children. Like a whirlwind, Lizzy Haygarth, a poor widow crosses his path. She is keen to attach and marry him and uses all her wiles to do so. She also has plans to move his family into a higher strata of society.
Will she succeed and will the family accept her? This forms the rest of the story.
All the main characters and their ambitions are introduced in this prequel. Now, I just can't wait to read the rest of the series to see what happens to each one!
Retired from trade, well-to-do mercer and widower Harry Fletcher is content to live life quietly with his grown children. Like a whirlwind, Lizzy Haygarth, a poor widow crosses his path. She is keen to attach and marry him and uses all her wiles to do so. She also has plans to move his family into a higher strata of society.
Will she succeed and will the family accept her? This forms the rest of the story.
All the main characters and their ambitions are introduced in this prequel. Now, I just can't wait to read the rest of the series to see what happens to each one!
July 11, 2022
I was concerned since I really didn't like the mercenary nature of Lizzie, but as I read this book, I realized that regardless of my 21st century mentality, this was a realistic approach to marriage for women at the time, who had few options for taking care of themselves in a socially acceptable way! It helped me to really feel the era it was set in, and the characters were well-written and the story heartwarming in the end. Love Mary Kingswood's books...this one included!
September 19, 2023
I came to this book having already read all of the Mercer’s House series, which I loved, and I enjoyed this novella just as much. It was good to learn a bit more about the main characters in this series.
May 14, 2022
A good introduction to the Fletcher family, I look forward to finding out more about them.
May 16, 2022
A wonderful prequel to Ms. Kingswood's new series The Mercer's House. Can't wait to read the series.
May 29, 2022
Perfection! I will read everything Mary writes. I cannot wait to immerse myself in this family's adventures.
June 30, 2022
This is a prequel to the new series by Mary Kingswood, it nicely introduces the principal characters and gives a foreshadowing of what to expect. A promising start.
May 20, 2023
That was cute. Though I've read it after the first book, this one is a really nice prequel. I like Harry a lot.
September 15, 2023
This is an introductory book to a new series. It’s hard to rate such novella too high—but it did its job. A good introduction to the family and characters!! Now I’m ready to dive in!!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews