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Love and Scandal #2
The Last Days of a Rake
In Love & Scandal, Collette Jardiniere is outraged when notorious roué Charles Jameson appears to take credit for The Last Days of a Rake, a novel she wrote under the pseudonym Colin Jenkins to satisfy Victorian convention.Can a rake be true to himself, yet remain free from sin?Edgar Lankin has lived the life of rake, a man who cares for nothing but the pleasures of the flesh. But it is the seduction—and abandonment—of a gentle maiden that turns him from mere gadabout to immoral cad. Too late, Lankin realizes his self-centered ways have left him incapable of finding enjoyment in anything. Now on his deathbed, he relates the shocking tale of his wasted life to John Hamilton, a school chum who chose a different path.In telling his story, can Lankin find redemption for the trail of ruined lives he leaves behind?Companion piece to Love & Scandal by Donna Lea Simpson17,000 words
63 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 2010
15 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Donna Lea Simpson
45 books113 followersDonna Lea Simpson is a nationally bestselling romance and mystery novelist with over twenty titles published in the last ten years. An early love for the novels of Jane Austen and Agatha Christie was a portent of things to come; Donna believes that a dash of mystery adds piquancy to a romantic tale, and a hint of romance adds humanity to a mystery story. Besides writing romance and mystery novels and reading the same, Donna has a long list of passions: cats and tea, cooking and vintage cookware, cross-stitching and watercolor painting among them. Karaoke offers her the chance to warble Dionne Warwick tunes, and nature is a constant source of comfort and inspiration. A long walk is her favorite exercise, and a fruity merlot is her drink of choice when the tea is all gone. Donna lives in Canada.
The best writing advice, Donna believes, comes from the letters of Jane Austen. The author wrote, in an October 26th, 1813 letter to her sister, Cassandra, “I am not at all in a humor for writing; I must write on till I am.”
The best writing advice, Donna believes, comes from the letters of Jane Austen. The author wrote, in an October 26th, 1813 letter to her sister, Cassandra, “I am not at all in a humor for writing; I must write on till I am.”
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 4, 2018
The Last Days of a Rake has such an interesting premise - it's a book written by one of the author's characters in her book Love and Scandal. I haven't read Love and Scandal, but I'm always enticed by a freebie and I'm so glad I picked this one up! The story is sad and thought provoking and actually rather feminist. The writing is proficient and intelligent and I even learned some new words.
Epicure - a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink
Sybarite - a person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for sensuous luxury
Cast up one's accounts - 1. obsolete To calculate the figures of one's financial accounts.
2. obsolete To regurgitate. A play on the terms cast (which is an obsolete term for calculating arithmetical operations, here meaning "to throw") and accounts (one's bank account, here referring to one's stomach).
Nacreous - resembling or relating to mother-of-pearl, lustrous, iridescent
August - respected and impressive
Frowsy - scruffy and neglected in appearance, dingy and stuffy
I love love LOVE to learn new words. I've added Love and Scandal to my want-to-read list and I can't wait to try more of this author's work!
Epicure - a person who takes particular pleasure in fine food and drink
Sybarite - a person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for sensuous luxury
Cast up one's accounts - 1. obsolete To calculate the figures of one's financial accounts.
2. obsolete To regurgitate. A play on the terms cast (which is an obsolete term for calculating arithmetical operations, here meaning "to throw") and accounts (one's bank account, here referring to one's stomach).
Nacreous - resembling or relating to mother-of-pearl, lustrous, iridescent
August - respected and impressive
Frowsy - scruffy and neglected in appearance, dingy and stuffy
I love love LOVE to learn new words. I've added Love and Scandal to my want-to-read list and I can't wait to try more of this author's work!
June 21, 2010
We find Edgar Lankin on his deathbed. A man in his 40's who has lived a life caring really about no one but himself. He has always lived a life of self indulgence and self deception always finding a way to blame others for the things he did whenever he had an ounce of regret for the people he had hurt.
Sitting with him at his bedside is his one lifelong friend John Hamilton who took a totally different path than Edgar choosing to study and follow God.
Edgar decides to confess to his friend John some of the hurts that he has caused others. He tells how in 1811 right out of Oxford University he meets a young woman, Susan Bailey, whom he seduces and then abandons. He even went so far as to place wagers with his buddies that he could accomplish such a feat. So each yr after he would make a wager with his friends called the Susan wager and he would pick a young girl to seduce never caring how he hurt her reputation.
He never alters his path in life until he realizes he is dying, then he does as many good deeds as he can for others trying to make amends for the lives he has ruined.
Will Edgar find the forgiveness he longs for in the last days of his life, or will the hurts that he has caused follow him till his dying day?
Even though this is a companion piece to a story called Love & Scandal it can be read as a stand alone piece.
On a side note this book is only available in e-book form.
Thanks to Carina Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this book.
Sitting with him at his bedside is his one lifelong friend John Hamilton who took a totally different path than Edgar choosing to study and follow God.
Edgar decides to confess to his friend John some of the hurts that he has caused others. He tells how in 1811 right out of Oxford University he meets a young woman, Susan Bailey, whom he seduces and then abandons. He even went so far as to place wagers with his buddies that he could accomplish such a feat. So each yr after he would make a wager with his friends called the Susan wager and he would pick a young girl to seduce never caring how he hurt her reputation.
He never alters his path in life until he realizes he is dying, then he does as many good deeds as he can for others trying to make amends for the lives he has ruined.
Will Edgar find the forgiveness he longs for in the last days of his life, or will the hurts that he has caused follow him till his dying day?
Even though this is a companion piece to a story called Love & Scandal it can be read as a stand alone piece.
On a side note this book is only available in e-book form.
Thanks to Carina Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read this book.
January 11, 2017
Pff...! Porque lo conseguí gratis, que si no... lo tiro contra la pared
October 8, 2023
This book was outstanding. It’s not a typical story, it’s a narrative by the indolent rake who wasted not only his life but destroyed others. This book has depth and layers that make you think. I loved it! R. K. Hanson
February 15, 2020
Not even a good pastiche; skimmed in boredom.
February 7, 2017
Drivel. Started with interesting premise but went nowhere.
September 15, 2011
This was a free book over at Carina Press. Apparently, it's a book that's mentioned in a book — a plot device in a romance, a book that a character has written but made real by the author of the romance so it can be sold as an actual book alongside the book in which the title is mentioned. I think?
In any case, it is most definitely not in the same genre. This is NOT a romance. This is a most depressing memoir, more like a deathbed confession, and for me rather reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray in that the main character is superbly corrupt in soul, without any sort of morals or scruples to hold him back from engaging in the most reprehensible of actions, such as despoiling the innocent.
Naturally, in his last days, he experiences strong pangs of remorse and must burden another character with his ghastly confessions, as though he were feeling so nauseated with guilt that he must vomit his sins on some poor soul and let them deal with it.
What makes this book so unsatisfying is that there is no redemption whatsoever, no happy ending. I suppose the only thing saving the character from being the worst of villains is that he at least realizes what he has done. It's pretty good, though, well-written — just kind of a downer to read, not the sort of thing you want to take up when you need cheering.
In any case, it is most definitely not in the same genre. This is NOT a romance. This is a most depressing memoir, more like a deathbed confession, and for me rather reminiscent of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray in that the main character is superbly corrupt in soul, without any sort of morals or scruples to hold him back from engaging in the most reprehensible of actions, such as despoiling the innocent.
Naturally, in his last days, he experiences strong pangs of remorse and must burden another character with his ghastly confessions, as though he were feeling so nauseated with guilt that he must vomit his sins on some poor soul and let them deal with it.
What makes this book so unsatisfying is that there is no redemption whatsoever, no happy ending. I suppose the only thing saving the character from being the worst of villains is that he at least realizes what he has done. It's pretty good, though, well-written — just kind of a downer to read, not the sort of thing you want to take up when you need cheering.
August 27, 2018
In Love & Scandal, Collette Jardiniere is outraged when notorious roué Charles Jameson appears to take credit for The Last Days of a Rake, a novel she wrote under the pseudonym Colin Jenkins to satisfy Victorian convention.
Can a rake be true to himself, yet remain free from sin?
Edgar Lankin has lived the life of rake, a man who cares for nothing but the pleasures of the flesh. But it is the seduction—and abandonment—of a gentle maiden that turns him from mere gadabout to immoral cad. Too late, Lankin realizes his self-centered ways have left him incapable of finding enjoyment in anything. Now on his deathbed, he relates the shocking tale of his wasted life to John Hamilton, a school chum who chose a different path.
In telling his story, can Lankin find redemption for the trail of ruined lives he leaves behind?
Companion piece to Love & Scandal by Donna Lea Simpson
September 24, 2010
Not quite the romance novel really, because it deals with the regrets of a reformed rake on his deathbed and how he was a rather scummy scoundrel. A little like Peter O'Toole's Casanova in the Casanova miniseries, starring David Tennant.
The book itself was quite well written - almost lyrical in places, though short. In the end, I came away feeling quite sad for all the characters. I do like the idea of the book within the book, however. Rather like The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey. Hmm!
The book itself was quite well written - almost lyrical in places, though short. In the end, I came away feeling quite sad for all the characters. I do like the idea of the book within the book, however. Rather like The Mysteries of Udolpho in Northanger Abbey. Hmm!
December 31, 2012
This short book is an “autobiography” of an English peer who establishes himself as a rake in his early 20s after deliberately betting and setting out to “ruin” a young woman. It is written as he is dying to summarize how this choice he made ruined its life. The book is a companion to another romance novel by the same author.
Without having read the companion, there’s not a lot to recommend this book. If you lead a life of debauchery, it might lead to an early death and self-loathing. Got it.
Without having read the companion, there’s not a lot to recommend this book. If you lead a life of debauchery, it might lead to an early death and self-loathing. Got it.
May 15, 2013
Edgar certainly got what was coming to him, a slow painful death from all the emotional trauma his ruthless ways brought upon the young ladies he demoralized and the young men who he convinced to gamble away their fortunes and then some. For anyone interested in witnessing the slow painful death a rake deserves, this is the book for you.
October 10, 2012
fairly well written, but I personally didn't see the point of the story. The main character had already changed at the beginning of the story and seemed to be simply confessing before his death. Self-indulgent in a way.
Read
September 14, 2014What a horrible little book! I think it was going for Jane Austen meets Dickens but fell far short. I kept expecting it to get better, but alas, no. I could have had a nice cup of tea and a scone instead. Now I need one to take the bad taste put of my mouth.
December 30, 2010
wonderfully written....to really appreciate, you must go on and read "Love and Scandal" (also by Donna Lea Simpson), about the fictional author of this fictional book. fantastic!
March 26, 2011
Not my style, it was kind of pointless.
July 19, 2011
Boring.
July 24, 2011
Not really a romance novel in my opinion. But nevertheless, a well written, good book. It was a short,
easy read. I really enjoyed it.
easy read. I really enjoyed it.
December 23, 2015
3.5 stars
February 14, 2012
This was my first e-book ever. The tittle doesn't not make a book!
Turned out this was a spiritual read...lol, not what I usualy read.
Verry glad it was free.
Turned out this was a spiritual read...lol, not what I usualy read.
Verry glad it was free.
September 2, 2012
Good thing it was only 63 pages. It was a sad commentary on a man's life and how he let one mistake lead him to a lifetime of mistakes.
April 24, 2013
While the book was definitely not what I was expecting, I actually wasn't disappointed.
July 30, 2013
This book did not interest me. It was depressing how the rake misused his best friend.
owned-to-read
January 1, 2014*downloaded free on ARE
Read
November 2, 2018Do not have time for this.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews