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The Black Eagle
Roxanne had always been rather used to doing as she was told without question -- which was presumably why, when the mysterious Mexican Don Juan Armando Ramires, known as 'the Black Eagle', swept into her life, married her, and carried her off to his hacienda, Roxanne found herself meekly submitting to it all.
And so she embarked on this curious marriage -- for certainly it was no ordinary marriage. The hacienda, she was told, was haunted still by the spirit of Marta, the girl Juan had worshipped, and always would worship. Indeed, it was only because of her striking resemblance to Marta that Juan had married her.
In time, Roxanne's hatred of her husband turned to love -- but what chance had she of reaching his heart?
And so she embarked on this curious marriage -- for certainly it was no ordinary marriage. The hacienda, she was told, was haunted still by the spirit of Marta, the girl Juan had worshipped, and always would worship. Indeed, it was only because of her striking resemblance to Marta that Juan had married her.
In time, Roxanne's hatred of her husband turned to love -- but what chance had she of reaching his heart?
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
2 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Anne Hampson
169 books152 followersAnne Hampson was born on 28 November 1928 in England. At age six she had two ambitions: to teach and to write. Poverty after WWI deprived her of an education and at 14 she was making Marks & Spencer's blouses at one shilling (5p) each.
She retired when she married. Later, when her marriage broke up, she was homeless with £40 in her purse. She went back to the rag trade and lived in a tiny caravan. But she never forgot her two ambitions, and when Manchester University decided to trial older women she applied, and three years later had achieved one ambition, so set her thoughts on number two.
In 1969, her first novel, Eternal Summer, was accepted five days from posting and she soon had a contract for 12 more. From the caravan she went to a small stately home, drove a Mercedes and sailed on the QE2. From the first book, came over 125 more written for Mills & Boon, Harlequin and Silhouette. Alan Boon (the Boon of Mills & Boon) and she came up with the title for 'Harlequin Presents' over lunch at the Ritz. She suggested to Alan that they have a historical series. He told her to write one - it was done in a month, entitled Eleanor and the Marquis under the pseudonym Jane Wilby. She has the distinction of being number one in Harlequin Presents, Masquerade and Silhouette. Many of "Presents" have been reprinted many times (some as many as 16) and are now fetching up to $55, being classed as "rare" books.
She has had 3 awards, one at the World Trade Centre where she received a standing ovation from her American fans, who had come from many states just to meet her.
She was retired, but in 2005 she wrote two romance and crime novels, both of which were published by Severn House.
She passed away on 25 September 2014. She has been written her autobiography, entitled Fate Was My Friend.
She retired when she married. Later, when her marriage broke up, she was homeless with £40 in her purse. She went back to the rag trade and lived in a tiny caravan. But she never forgot her two ambitions, and when Manchester University decided to trial older women she applied, and three years later had achieved one ambition, so set her thoughts on number two.
In 1969, her first novel, Eternal Summer, was accepted five days from posting and she soon had a contract for 12 more. From the caravan she went to a small stately home, drove a Mercedes and sailed on the QE2. From the first book, came over 125 more written for Mills & Boon, Harlequin and Silhouette. Alan Boon (the Boon of Mills & Boon) and she came up with the title for 'Harlequin Presents' over lunch at the Ritz. She suggested to Alan that they have a historical series. He told her to write one - it was done in a month, entitled Eleanor and the Marquis under the pseudonym Jane Wilby. She has the distinction of being number one in Harlequin Presents, Masquerade and Silhouette. Many of "Presents" have been reprinted many times (some as many as 16) and are now fetching up to $55, being classed as "rare" books.
She has had 3 awards, one at the World Trade Centre where she received a standing ovation from her American fans, who had come from many states just to meet her.
She was retired, but in 2005 she wrote two romance and crime novels, both of which were published by Severn House.
She passed away on 25 September 2014. She has been written her autobiography, entitled Fate Was My Friend.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 8, 2024
Reads like fanfic of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The hero even has a widow's peak.
The heroine's male friend goes to a remoteRomanian Mexican town where he is begrudgingly taken in by the hero, a dark, broody, mysterious recluse living in isolation at his grand gothic castle hacienda, mourning his dearly departed fiancee who died ten years ago.
The heroine's friend shows a photograph of the heroine toDracula the hero, who is immediately besotted because the heroine is the doppelganger of that long ago, dearly departed fiancee. Wasting no time, the hero packs up for a visit to England, where he proceeds to compromise the heroine in order to force a marriage.
Upon their return to Mexico, heroine and hero have a bunch of increasingly annoying and frustrating Great, Big, Terrible Misunderstandings, which are exacerbated by the evil scheming of a Mrs. Danvers-like housekeeper and a well-meaning English OM living in the area.
While the beginning of the book was gripping, the middle became tedious. The heroine was TSTL. The hero was way too aloof so I didn't get to sympathize with him either. The heroine spent more time and had more emotionally poignant moments with the OM. Her realization that she has fallen intoStockholm Syndrome love with her husband occurs when she is discussing her marriage with the OM, not because she had a sudden eureka moment with her husband. We don't even really see any significant moment between the two of them that could justify how she went from hating him to loving him.
The end was super cheesy and unintentionally comical, with the madwoman housekeeper shooting the hero, being banished to a mental asylum, and then dying of a heart attack there. The heroine rushes to the hero's deathbed to assure him that she loves him.
It should have been more campy and fun but it ended up underwhelming.
The heroine's male friend goes to a remote
The heroine's friend shows a photograph of the heroine to
Upon their return to Mexico, heroine and hero have a bunch of increasingly annoying and frustrating Great, Big, Terrible Misunderstandings, which are exacerbated by the evil scheming of a Mrs. Danvers-like housekeeper and a well-meaning English OM living in the area.
While the beginning of the book was gripping, the middle became tedious. The heroine was TSTL. The hero was way too aloof so I didn't get to sympathize with him either. The heroine spent more time and had more emotionally poignant moments with the OM. Her realization that she has fallen into
The end was super cheesy and unintentionally comical, with the madwoman housekeeper shooting the hero, being banished to a mental asylum, and then dying of a heart attack there. The heroine rushes to the hero's deathbed to assure him that she loves him.
It should have been more campy and fun but it ended up underwhelming.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2013
3.5 stars rounded up
I thought we had another Pagan Loveron our hands but no doing. Yes, we have a heroine who was coerced into marriage by a dark domineering alphahole, but then the thing veers way off.
The story started with our submissive heroine, Roxanne, who was madly in love with Joel (or something other) and just can’t wait to get married. However, they were waiting until her fiancé saved enough money, which you can guess was a really bad decision (should’ve tapped that man). During this segment of the story, it was emphasized how passive and subservient she was and how she followed everything her conservative father and nurse said to the letter.
One night at a party (the boyfriend’s out of town, of course) she spied the hooked nose hero (he’s supposed to literally look like an eagle ~squawk!~), Don Juan Armando Ramires from across the room. She was meek and nervous around him, but she felt sorry for the guy since she heard how he’d been a hermit for the past ten years because he was broken-hearted over the loss of his fiancée, Marta. So she was nice to him despite feeling she ought to run like hell. In a moment of weakness, she relented to go out with him to make him feel better. Um, yeah. She should’ve listened to that inner voice, or at least remembered she had a boyfriend, because Don Juan, the bird man, kidnapped her and kept her locked up overnight at a house he was renting, knowing her father would force the now compromised compliant miss into marriage. And he did.
It jumped ahead two months, but we got the rundown that she hated his guts and had been making no bones about it, much against her submissive nature. That hadn’t stopped our beaked wonder from getting his own, hard and rough by the sounds of it, on a nightly basis. The heroine absolutely despised his ass and daydreamed and mourned the loss of her friends, family and fiancé back home.
It went on like this quite a while with some dominant maneuvers and shaking of the heroine until her teeth rattled after a poignant scene of defiance. Oh! I almost forgot. There was a crotchety servant who had been working there for years and who had it out for the heroine, constantly telling her how the hero only married her because she looked like his deceased fiancé (of which the heroine was all too aware) and that he’d only ever see Marta when he looked at Roxanne. She was gloriously evil…and persistent!
Everywhere the heroine went, she got the worshipped Marta and the hero’s ten year self-imposed exile thrown in her face. The only person she didn’t talk about it with was the hero, of course.
We saw a gradual transformation of the heroine from a meek and obedient doormat into a bold and totally pissed off woman who was ready to kick ass for the hand she’d been dealt. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we had the forceful, physically aggressive, rapey hero slowly transforming into a praying beta. He didn’t totally wimp out, mind you. This is an Anne Hampson Harley, after all.
Finally, Stockholm Syndrome made an appearance and the heroine found that she didn’t love her Joel after all and that she was madly in love with her schnozzley challenged stalker (He actually left Mexico with the intentions of bringing her home. He had seen a picture of her and because she looked almost exactly like his dead fiancé, he was going to have her or else. If that’s not stalking…) However, she knew that she couldn’t live her life with a man who would always be using her to replace his lost love and never loving her for herself (plus the old crotchety husk kept threatening her with one thing or another), so she escaped back to England and got herself a job, adamant about not living under her dad’s and her nurse’s thumb and rules again.
A whole month or more went by when she got a telegram that the crazy biddy went birding and shot her an eagle (It was the hero…”the black eagle.” Get it?). The heroine rushed back to find that the hero was fine with regard to his injuries, but had lost the will to live. The heroine’s presence resulted in a miraculous recovery and we got all the BS about how he really wasn't that much of a recluse and that he was over Marta and really loved Roxanne, yada yada yada. Sure. We all know better, but if it makes the heroine feel better.
Wonderful trainwreck in true Hampson fashion (but only one “pagan” in the whole story!), with a not quite believable conclusion. But what did we expect? Him to admit that if she didn’t look like poor ol' Marta, it would be a different story altogether? Not likely.
I thought we had another Pagan Loveron our hands but no doing. Yes, we have a heroine who was coerced into marriage by a dark domineering alphahole, but then the thing veers way off.
The story started with our submissive heroine, Roxanne, who was madly in love with Joel (or something other) and just can’t wait to get married. However, they were waiting until her fiancé saved enough money, which you can guess was a really bad decision (should’ve tapped that man). During this segment of the story, it was emphasized how passive and subservient she was and how she followed everything her conservative father and nurse said to the letter.
One night at a party (the boyfriend’s out of town, of course) she spied the hooked nose hero (he’s supposed to literally look like an eagle ~squawk!~), Don Juan Armando Ramires from across the room. She was meek and nervous around him, but she felt sorry for the guy since she heard how he’d been a hermit for the past ten years because he was broken-hearted over the loss of his fiancée, Marta. So she was nice to him despite feeling she ought to run like hell. In a moment of weakness, she relented to go out with him to make him feel better. Um, yeah. She should’ve listened to that inner voice, or at least remembered she had a boyfriend, because Don Juan, the bird man, kidnapped her and kept her locked up overnight at a house he was renting, knowing her father would force the now compromised compliant miss into marriage. And he did.
It jumped ahead two months, but we got the rundown that she hated his guts and had been making no bones about it, much against her submissive nature. That hadn’t stopped our beaked wonder from getting his own, hard and rough by the sounds of it, on a nightly basis. The heroine absolutely despised his ass and daydreamed and mourned the loss of her friends, family and fiancé back home.
It went on like this quite a while with some dominant maneuvers and shaking of the heroine until her teeth rattled after a poignant scene of defiance. Oh! I almost forgot. There was a crotchety servant who had been working there for years and who had it out for the heroine, constantly telling her how the hero only married her because she looked like his deceased fiancé (of which the heroine was all too aware) and that he’d only ever see Marta when he looked at Roxanne. She was gloriously evil…and persistent!
Everywhere the heroine went, she got the worshipped Marta and the hero’s ten year self-imposed exile thrown in her face. The only person she didn’t talk about it with was the hero, of course.
We saw a gradual transformation of the heroine from a meek and obedient doormat into a bold and totally pissed off woman who was ready to kick ass for the hand she’d been dealt. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we had the forceful, physically aggressive, rapey hero slowly transforming into a praying beta. He didn’t totally wimp out, mind you. This is an Anne Hampson Harley, after all.
Finally, Stockholm Syndrome made an appearance and the heroine found that she didn’t love her Joel after all and that she was madly in love with her schnozzley challenged stalker (He actually left Mexico with the intentions of bringing her home. He had seen a picture of her and because she looked almost exactly like his dead fiancé, he was going to have her or else. If that’s not stalking…) However, she knew that she couldn’t live her life with a man who would always be using her to replace his lost love and never loving her for herself (plus the old crotchety husk kept threatening her with one thing or another), so she escaped back to England and got herself a job, adamant about not living under her dad’s and her nurse’s thumb and rules again.
A whole month or more went by when she got a telegram that the crazy biddy went birding and shot her an eagle (It was the hero…”the black eagle.” Get it?). The heroine rushed back to find that the hero was fine with regard to his injuries, but had lost the will to live. The heroine’s presence resulted in a miraculous recovery and we got all the BS about how he really wasn't that much of a recluse and that he was over Marta and really loved Roxanne, yada yada yada. Sure. We all know better, but if it makes the heroine feel better.
Wonderful trainwreck in true Hampson fashion (but only one “pagan” in the whole story!), with a not quite believable conclusion. But what did we expect? Him to admit that if she didn’t look like poor ol' Marta, it would be a different story altogether? Not likely.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2020
Great for circa 75%, but a wobbly conclusion.
I'm almost certain that AH was channeling Star Trek-era Ricardo Montalban for the hero, which is f'ing fabulous. His softly menacing accent + sudden, powerful temper + olive skin + widow's peak is so totally Khan. :D Also, there's offscreen rape & a random gothic vibe with the isolated hacienda/crazy old housekeeper combining to drive the young innocent heroine to fits of depression & terror. All good stuff...
But AH dropped the ball as things shifted into repetitive scenes of the heroine's waffling & very little interaction with Khan, whether good or evil, due to the dreaded Big Mis. Granted, the Big Mis is a HQN staple, but there are better ways to handle it -- ways that don't require the heroine isolating herself from her husband AND relying on a psycho octogenarian who literally froths at the mouth when discussing her dead mistress. (Points to AH for resisting the obvious trope in this set-up; Marta, the dead mistress, isn't anything like Rebecca except for being deceased.)
The prose was pretty decent; I esp enjoyed the heroine's ranting & raving over how much she hated Khan & his overbearing masculinity. Pfft. True love it surely was, from the first shoulder grab to the hospital death-bed confession. ;)
Not great literature, even by harley standards, but I liked it anyway & kept my copy...a rare honor, esp for the contemps. That says it all, right? 😈
I'm almost certain that AH was channeling Star Trek-era Ricardo Montalban for the hero, which is f'ing fabulous. His softly menacing accent + sudden, powerful temper + olive skin + widow's peak is so totally Khan. :D Also, there's offscreen rape & a random gothic vibe with the isolated hacienda/crazy old housekeeper combining to drive the young innocent heroine to fits of depression & terror. All good stuff...
But AH dropped the ball as things shifted into repetitive scenes of the heroine's waffling & very little interaction with Khan, whether good or evil, due to the dreaded Big Mis. Granted, the Big Mis is a HQN staple, but there are better ways to handle it -- ways that don't require the heroine isolating herself from her husband AND relying on a psycho octogenarian who literally froths at the mouth when discussing her dead mistress. (Points to AH for resisting the obvious trope in this set-up; Marta, the dead mistress, isn't anything like Rebecca except for being deceased.)
The prose was pretty decent; I esp enjoyed the heroine's ranting & raving over how much she hated Khan & his overbearing masculinity. Pfft. True love it surely was, from the first shoulder grab to the hospital death-bed confession. ;)
Not great literature, even by harley standards, but I liked it anyway & kept my copy...a rare honor, esp for the contemps. That says it all, right? 😈
June 12, 2017
I might actually be giving this one an extra star because I love the cover. It was very vintage in feel with a whole lotta telling rather than showing. There were not quite enough scenes with both the hero and the heroine. It was also one of those books where you pretty much knew what was going to happen so some of the fun in reading it was dimmed. I did appreciate that the heroine learned not to be so submissive. I never really felt like the hero explained how he was over the old fiance adequately enough. Most of that was related by the author in the wrap up instead of shown in an actual scene. Consequently, I'm not sure I really believed he was over her. I needed more out and out swearing that he loved Roxanne much more than he had ever loved Marta. Oddly enough, how he felt about Marta was not adequately explained either. Also all the forceful married sex scenes were off stage so you really couldn't get worked up over them one way or another. I might like to see this rewritten with a modern take...
November 19, 2013
‘You shall kiss me!’ he snarled, and brought his mouth to hers. Sensuous moments passed, moments of sheer agony for Roxanne, whose sensitive nature was outraged by this pagan treatment. She recoiled inwardly but lay passive, feeling this was the best policy, for surely he would tire of inflicting his unrequited passion upon her. But he did not tire. On the contrary, her coldness only added fuel to his own fire and Roxanne felt she would soon lose her senses if he continued. Her mouth was swollen and bruised, her body protesting at being overpowered. One small tender breast was held savagely, the other crushed against the hardness of his chest.‘You shall kiss me!’ he repeated, shaking her and glaring into her tear-filled eyes. ‘You shall, if I keep you here all night! Kiss me, I say!’ His voice was raised, but only a little, yet it sent shudders along Roxanne’s spine. Murder itself was threatened in that tone ... murder but torture first.
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July 15, 2019
The Black Eagle by Anne Hampson
كنت أحب هذه القصة كثيراً عندما كنت مراهقة... هي قصة عن روكسان التي يراها خوان ويتزوجها فوراً بسبب شبهها الغير الطبيعي لزوجته التي ماتت مارتا... يعيشان في المكسيك وتبدأ مشاعرها بالتغيير نحوه وتقع في حبه.
كنت أحب هذه القصة كثيراً عندما كنت مراهقة... هي قصة عن روكسان التي يراها خوان ويتزوجها فوراً بسبب شبهها الغير الطبيعي لزوجته التي ماتت مارتا... يعيشان في المكسيك وتبدأ مشاعرها بالتغيير نحوه وتقع في حبه.
avoid
December 25, 2021Self note
H is obsessed with her because she looks like his departed ex.
H is obsessed with her because she looks like his departed ex.
July 15, 2019
تحسبين الدقائق لآن هامبسون
Years ago, when I was a teenager, this book was amongst my favorite translated copies, I read it in Arabic, from روايات أحلام and I loved it so much I remember reading it over and over again. Roxanne is an obedient, submissive girl. She meets the mysterious Mexican Don Juan Armando Ramires who sweeps her into marriage, romance and his hacienda, only to discover that she bares a striking resemblance to his ex wife Marta. She goes into adventures and changes slowly and falls for her wild husband.
Years ago, when I was a teenager, this book was amongst my favorite translated copies, I read it in Arabic, from روايات أحلام and I loved it so much I remember reading it over and over again. Roxanne is an obedient, submissive girl. She meets the mysterious Mexican Don Juan Armando Ramires who sweeps her into marriage, romance and his hacienda, only to discover that she bares a striking resemblance to his ex wife Marta. She goes into adventures and changes slowly and falls for her wild husband.
March 20, 2019
Re-read
February 4, 2024
The book seems confusing due to the lack of the hero's perspective, making the portrayed love feel fake. The hero will definitely whether it is unconsciously or consciously comparison to his deceased lover, Marta with heroine thoughout their whole life. I hvae doubts about his genuine feelings for the heroine. The heroine, potentially influenced by mental problems as she was sheltered before by equal dominant father leads a challenging life with a husband who seems mentally unstable.
The hero's stalking behavior, openly linking the heroine to his dead lover, suggests their relationship is more a fantasy than genuine love. The relatives' acceptance of this unusual match raises questions about their mental well-being.
The unnecessary Lupita character adds complexity without contributing meaningfully to the story. The heroine's interactions with side characters overshadow her connection with the hero. Overall, the book lacks coherence and may not be worth the read.
The hero's stalking behavior, openly linking the heroine to his dead lover, suggests their relationship is more a fantasy than genuine love. The relatives' acceptance of this unusual match raises questions about their mental well-being.
The unnecessary Lupita character adds complexity without contributing meaningfully to the story. The heroine's interactions with side characters overshadow her connection with the hero. Overall, the book lacks coherence and may not be worth the read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2023
I love vintage harlequins and so have to accept some very non PC stuff in them. Part of the fun is mentally rewriting the plot and dialogue to absolutely destroy the stupid H s who litter these books. But, this H was just plain mentally ill. Anyone who loses a fiancee in their early 20s and then spends 10 years as a recluse needed help. She was trapped by a crazy person, literally. Her escape and growth as a person would have made for a longer more interesting book. He and his wicked housekeeper needed to be institutionized so they stopped harming other people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2021
Not suitable for modern sensibilities, but even with the questionable gender politics aside, I found the main character Roxanne's transition from spineless pushover to angry scorned substitute to loving wife implausible and unconvincing.
March 3, 2022
Didn't enjoy thr story much... I skipped alot in the end where she is explaining her inner turmoil and woes. Spineless female like the introduction given . This was not one of the good works from Anne Hampson.
November 11, 2019
سيئه جدا لم احبها ولاوانصح بها
قراتها بعنوان تحسبين الدقائق من روايات عبير
قراتها بعنوان تحسبين الدقائق من روايات عبير
Read
November 9, 2025Not my favorite premise, but I have to mention the amazing HP cover! Just a terrified woman with a giant actual black eagle (is that even a thing??) looming behind her. It's awesome.
May 27, 2020
A nice read at the time. the gender politics would not be popular today.
SYNOPSIS:
Roxanne had always been rather used to doing as she was told without question -- which was presumably why, when the mysterious Mexican Don Juan Armando Ramires, known as 'the Black Eagle', swept into her life, married her, and carried her off to his hacienda, Roxanne found herself meekly submitting to it all.
And so she embarked on this curious marriage -- for certainly it was no ordinary marriage. The hacienda, she was told, was haunted still by the spirit of Marta, the girl Juan had worshipped, and always would worship. Indeed, it was only because of her striking resemblance to Marta that Juan had married her.
In time, Roxanne's hatred of her husband turned to love -- but what chance had she of reaching his heart?
SYNOPSIS:
Roxanne had always been rather used to doing as she was told without question -- which was presumably why, when the mysterious Mexican Don Juan Armando Ramires, known as 'the Black Eagle', swept into her life, married her, and carried her off to his hacienda, Roxanne found herself meekly submitting to it all.
And so she embarked on this curious marriage -- for certainly it was no ordinary marriage. The hacienda, she was told, was haunted still by the spirit of Marta, the girl Juan had worshipped, and always would worship. Indeed, it was only because of her striking resemblance to Marta that Juan had married her.
In time, Roxanne's hatred of her husband turned to love -- but what chance had she of reaching his heart?
September 14, 2017
All sorts of nope.
December 3, 2020
رائعة
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
June 21, 2018Roxanne had always been rather used to doing as she was told without question -- which was presumably why, when the mysterious Mexican Don Juan Armando Ramires, known as 'the Black Eagle', swept into her life, married her, and carried her off to his hacienda, Roxanne found herself meekly submitting to it all.
And so she embarked on this curious marriage -- for certainly it was no ordinary marriage. The hacienda, she was told, was haunted still by the spirit of Marta, the girl Juan had worshipped, and always would worship. Indeed, it was only because of her striking resemblance to Marta that Juan had married her.
In time, Roxanne's hatred of her husband turned to love -- but what chance had she of reaching his heart?
And so she embarked on this curious marriage -- for certainly it was no ordinary marriage. The hacienda, she was told, was haunted still by the spirit of Marta, the girl Juan had worshipped, and always would worship. Indeed, it was only because of her striking resemblance to Marta that Juan had married her.
In time, Roxanne's hatred of her husband turned to love -- but what chance had she of reaching his heart?
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