What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

The author I'm looking for was a male romance author who wrote with a female pen name, maybe 30 years ago. He wrote these books all set in the 19th century, all featuring women who were in line for some kind of inheritance despite living as a poor person.

1. The heroine is a circus acrobat who joined the circus as a child after her aristocratic? parents were killed.

2. The heroine grew up in China and worked as a translator. In that capacity she met a British nobleman who, when he was due to be executed for intruding on the wrong tomb, married her the night before. Believing him to be dead she makes her way to his family, where his brother tries to woo her for the inheritance her marriage gives her, only for him to show up and prevent that. Also at some point she helps defend a mission in the Boxer Rebellion.

3. The heroine was a "half-caste" from India who goes to England, where to make her acceptable to upper class they decide to pretend that she's the daughter of an Indian ruler. But then they find out that is actually true, with her being the daughter of an Indian princess. The villain has magic powers.

4. The heroine was a widow, in hiding from the guy who killed her husband, a plantation owner in the South Pacific. In order to hide she disguises herself as a boy and works on a boat being run by the man who used to be her servant.

Hi David, so you think this author was writing books in the 1980's?

The author Marilyn Ross was a male author writing this type of book around that time. He also wrote under many other pen names, one of them being Clarissa Ross.

Oh, I know this! The author is Madeleine Brent. The books you're referring to are 1) Stranger at Wildings 2) Moonraker's Bride 3) Merlin's Keep and 4) The Long Masquerade

(Also, the heroine in The Long Masquerade wasn't a widow :))

Lsophia wrote: "Oh, I know this! The author is Madeleine Brent. The books you're referring to are 1) Stranger at Wildings 2) Moonraker's Bride 3) Merlin's Keep..."


Ha! I can't believe I didn't think of Brent since I had just put one of his/her books by my bed to read.

Lsophia wrote: "Oh, I know this! The author is Madeleine Brent. The books you're referring to are 1) Stranger at Wildings 2) Moonraker's Bride 3) Merlin's Keep..."

That's the one, thank you.

Ironically one of his books was actually called "Golden Urchin". Thank you, this one's solved.

Glad I could help.