The Greatest Challenge of Them All
Page 44
A neo-Gothic tale of passionate romance laced with mystery, set in the uplands of southwestern Scotland.
A Cynster Second Generation Novel – a classic historical romance of 122,000 words.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
Buy & Read THE TEMPTING OF THOMAS CARRICK
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A MATCH FOR MARCUS CYNSTER
A Cynster Next Generation Novel
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Duty compels her to turn her back on marriage. Fate drives him to protect her come what may. Then love takes a hand in this battle of yearning hearts, stubborn wills, and a match too powerful to deny.
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to rugged Scotland with a dramatic tale of passionate desire and unwavering devotion.
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Restless and impatient, Marcus Cynster waits for Fate to come calling. He knows his destiny lies in the lands surrounding his family home, but what will his future be? Equally importantly, with whom will he share it?
Of one fact he feels certain: his fated bride will not be Niniver Carrick. His elusive neighbor attracts him mightily, yet he feels compelled to protect her—even from himself. Fickle Fate, he’s sure, would never be so kind as to decree that Niniver should be his. The best he can do for them both is to avoid her.
Niniver has vowed to return her clan to prosperity. The epitome of fragile femininity, her delicate and ethereal exterior cloaks a stubborn will and an unflinching devotion to the people in her care. She accepts that in order to achieve her goal, she cannot risk marrying and losing her grip on the clan’s reins to an inevitably controlling husband. Unfortunately, many local men see her as their opportunity.
Soon, she’s forced to seek help to get rid of her unwelcome suitors. Powerful and dangerous, Marcus Cynster is perfect for the task. Suppressing her wariness over tangling with a gentleman who so excites her passions, she appeals to him for assistance with her peculiar problem.
Although at first he resists, Marcus discovers that, contrary to his expectations, his fated role is to stand by Niniver’s side and, ultimately, to claim her hand. Yet in order to convince her to be his bride, they must plunge headlong into a journey full of challenges, unforeseen dangers, passion, and yearning, until Niniver grasps the essential truth—that she is indeed a match for Marcus Cynster.
A neo-Gothic tale of passionate romance set in the uplands of southwestern Scotland A Cynster Second Generation Novel – a classic historical romance of 114,000 words.
* * *
Click here to read an excerpt.
Buy & Read A MATCH FOR MARCUS CYNSTER
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And if you want to catch up with where it all began,
return to the iconic
DEVIL’S BRIDE
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the book that introduced millions of historical romance readers around the globe to the powerful men of the unforgettable Cynster family – aristocrats to the bone, conquerors at heart – and the willful feisty women strong enough to be their brides.
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Click here to read an excerpt. (link to website excerpt)
Buy & Read DEVIL’S BRIDE
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Certain of the historical facts that feature in this volume are described more fully below. In addition, as usual, the streets I have my characters strolling, running, or skulking down are real to the time. The map I use as reference is by Cross, dated 1850.
So to the nuggets of history buried in this book. Due to space constraints and also the easy availability of information on topics such as the Tower of London, what follows is not an exhaustive history but more a recounting of the facts pertinent to the story in this book.
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1) the London Working Men’s Association (LMWA)
- was founded in 1836 by cabinet-maker William Lovett and publisher Henry Hetherington, with assistance from tailor Francis Place, and printers John Cleave and James Watson, to provide a meeting place for Chartists in the southeast of England and further the ideas espoused by the Chartist movement, with a particular bent toward achieving political reform. As well as disseminating information to London’s working poor, the association had as its aim “to seek by every legal means to place all classes of society in equal possession of their political and social rights.” Further to this, the pivotal People’s Charter, presented in 1838 (see Author’s Note in the previous book for more details), was written by the LMWA’s secretary, William Lovett, with the help of Francis Place.
From its inception, the LWMA concentrated on securing political reform via appealing to public opinion to sway Parliament. The association was small in size, with only a total of 279 members, but was instrumental in organizing much larger gatherings of the working class in support of the policies the association espoused.
Note that I was unable to unearth any facts regarding the association’s headquarters. It is entirely possible that no such building existed, as it was common for London trade and political societies to meet in the back rooms of taverns, coffee houses, or clubs. However, there always was a secretary, and there had been a very large demonstration organized by the association on Kennington Common in south London in 1848, so I placed the association’s “office” in that area.
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2) the Guards and their barracks
The British Army includes regiments of Horse Guards and Foot Guards. The duties of the various guards regiments includes ceremonial appearances, but their members are fully operational soldiers.
Since the reign of Charles II, the Queen’s Guard (unmounted) and the Queen’s Life Guard (also known as the Household Cavalry) have been responsible for guarding the Sovereign’s residences. In the London of 1850, those residences numbered three—Buckingham Palace (which became the London residence of the British monarch on Victoria’s ascension in 1837), St. James Palace, and the Tower of London.
At any given time, the Queen’s Guard was formed from one of the five regiments of foot guards—those being the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish, and Welsh Guards. Whichever regiment was on duty provided detachments of guards for sentry and security duty at Buckingham Palace and St. James Palace, as well as a detachment to guard and secure the Tower of London.
Meanwhile, the Queen’s Life Guard provided mounted escorts to the royal family whenever the royal family ventured about the capital.
The Household Cavalry Regiment (the Life Guards) operated out of the Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge. The foot guard regiments were in the main stationed at Wellington Barracks, between Birdcage Walk and Petty France, close to Buckingham Palace. In 1850, army headquarters and general command of all regiments was located in Horse Guards, a Palladian building located between Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade (parade ground). Horse Guards served as the office of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces until 1904.
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3) the London fire brigade of 1850
In 1833, the London Fire Engine Establishment was founded by James Braidwood. It was a private enterprise funded by insurance companies with the stated purpose of saving material goods from fire. Braidwood was the first to introduce protective uniforms for firefighters. The London Fire Engine Establishment boasted 13 fire engine stations and 80 firefighters.
Braidwood himself was famous for turning out to help fight fires with his men, leading to the moniker used by Drake to refer to the firefighters: “Braidwood’s boys.”
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4) the Cemeteries of London in 1850
In the early 1800s, the principal burial sites previously used—common burial grounds located around the city and the church yards, vaults, and crypts within the city—became overcrowded, and after several outbreaks of cholera, in 1832, Parliament authorized several private companies to establish cemeteries on London’s outskirts.
There were seven large cemeteries, most styled after the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, that became known at the Ma
gnificent Seven, including one at Kensal Green, but in 1850, the most fashionable was the “very impressive” St. James in Highgate, which had opened in 1839.
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5) the Tower of London
Little about the layout of the Tower of London has changed since the late 1200s. However, over the centuries, buildings within the walls have been demolished, some rebuilt, and others erected from scratch. The buildings of the Tower of London described in this book are those that existed in 1850. Of particular note, Martin Tower is one of the thirteen towers of the curtain wall enclosing the Inner Ward, and stands at the northeastern corner of the Inner Ward. The White Tower is the original medieval keep and stands in the middle of the Inner Ward. The Waterloo Barracks were constructed in 1845 along the north side of the Inner Ward, facing south toward the White Tower and with the Bloody Tower directly opposite on the other side of the Inner Ward. Essentially, with one notable exception, the layout and buildings of the Tower of London described in this book as existing in 1850 remain the same to this day.
The single exception is the Jewel House.
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6) the Jewel House of 1850 and the Keeper of the Crown Jewels
The tradition of storing at least a part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London dates from Henry III’s reign. The position of “Keeper of the Crown Jewels” was created in 1207. On 1378, the original Jewel House in the Tower of London was built specifically to house the royal regalia and was located near the White Tower. There was also another Jewel House located in Westminster Abbey that housed part of the collection; over the centuries, this secondary Jewel House was moved from place to place within the abbey, until in the 1530s, the entirety of the Crown Jewels were brought together at the Tower of London, almost certainly for security’s sake, and housed in the rebuilt Jewel House on the south side of the White Tower.
In 1669, after the Restoration, the then-130-year-old rebuilt Jewel House was demolished, and the largely newly-recreated Crown Jewels were moved into Martin Tower.
Over the centuries, the title of Keeper of the Crown Jewels underwent various changes of duties and of title. In 1814, the appointment became known as the Keeper of the Jewel House, with responsibility for the day-to-day custody of the jewels. The Keeper was permitted to allow members of the public to view the Crown Jewels for a fee. This practice became hugely popular, to the point that the government became alarmed.
Consequently, the Treasury planned and built a new Jewel House attached to the south face of Martin Tower; this new Jewel House opened in 1842. The Crown Jewels were displayed in glass cases in the middle of the main chamber so that people could walk around and view them. Critically, this new Jewel House was constructed primarily of wood.
This was the Jewel House that existed in 1850 and which features in this book.
Note that I have found no information on the layout of this short-lived Jewel House, but the Keeper and his family did live on the premises, so the upstairs/downstairs plus cellar structure I have described may well be what existed at that time.
Of all the various Jewel Houses in the Tower of London, this one lasted for the shortest time. In the late 1850s it was declared a fire hazard. A new chamber was constructed on the upper floor of Wakefield Tower, another tower in the Inner Ward, and the Crown Jewels were moved there in 1868.
The Wakefield Tower Jewel House remained in use until 1967.
Today, the Jewel House is located in the Waterloo Barracks.
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I hope you’ve enjoyed learning of the snippets of historical fact that have contributed to the backbone of the stories in this trilogy.
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Stephanie.
ALSO BY STEPHANIE LAURENS
Cynster Novels
Devil’s Bride
A Rake’s Vow
Scandal’s Bride
A Rogue’s Proposal
A Secret Love
All About Love
All About Passion
On A Wild Night
On A Wicked Dawn
The Perfect Lover
The Ideal Bride
The Truth About Love
What Price Love?
The Taste of Innocence
Temptation and Surrender
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Cynster Sisters Trilogy
Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue
In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster
The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae
* * *
Cynster Sisters Duo
And Then She Fell
The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh
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Cynster Special
The Promise in a Kiss
By Winter’s Light
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Cynster Next Generation Novels
The Tempting of Thomas Carrick
A Match for Marcus Cynster
The Lady By His Side
An Irresistible Alliance
The Greatest Challenge of Them All
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Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles
Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Goose (coming October 19, 2017)
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The Casebook of Barnaby Adair Novels
Where the Heart Leads
The Peculiar Case of Lord Finsbury’s Diamonds
The Masterful Mr. Montague
The Curious Case of Lady Latimer’s Shoes
Loving Rose: The Redemption of Malcolm Sinclair
* * *
Bastion Club Novels
Captain Jack’s Woman (Prequel)
The Lady Chosen
A Gentleman’s Honor
A Lady of His Own
A Fine Passion
To Distraction
Beyond Seduction
The Edge of Desire
Mastered by Love
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Black Cobra Quartet
The Untamed Bride
The Elusive Bride
The Brazen Bride
The Reckless Bride
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The Adventurers Quartet
The Lady’s Command
A Buccaneer at Heart
The Daredevil Snared
Lord of the Privateers
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Other Novels
The Lady Risks All
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Novellas
Melting Ice – from the anthologies Rough Around the Edges and Scandalous Brides
Rose in Bloom – from the anthology Scottish Brides
Scandalous Lord Dere – from the anthology Secrets of a Perfect Night
Lost and Found – from the anthology Hero, Come Back
The Fall of Rogue Gerrard – from the anthology It Happened One Night
The Seduction of Sebastian Trantor – from the anthology It Happened One Season
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Short Stories
The Wedding Planner – from the anthology Royal Weddings
A Return Engagement – from the anthology Royal Bridesmaids
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UK-Style Regency Romances
Tangled Reins
Four in Hand
Impetuous Innocent
Fair Juno
The Reasons for Marriage
A Lady of Expectations
An Unwilling Conquest
A Comfortable Wife
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Medieval (writing as M.S. Laurens)
Desire’s Prize
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens began writing romances as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career when her first novel was accepted for publication, and with entirely becoming alacrity, she gave up writing about facts in favor of writing fiction.
All Laurens’s works to date are historical romances, ranging from medieval times to the mid-1800s, and her settings range from Scotland to India. The majority of her works are set in the period of the British Regency. Laurens has published more th
an 60 works of historical romance, including 37 New York Times bestsellers. Laurens has sold more than 20 million print, audio, and e-books globally. All her works are continuously available in print and e-book formats in English worldwide, and have been translated into many other languages. An international bestseller, among other accolades, Laurens has received the Romance Writers of America® prestigious RITA® Award for Best Romance Novella 2008 for The Fall of Rogue Gerrard.
Laurens’s continuing novels featuring the Cynster family are widely regarded as classics of the historical romance genre. Other series include the Bastion Club Novels, the Black Cobra Quartet, and the Casebook of Barnaby Adair Novels. All her previous works remain available in print and all e-book formats.
For information on all published novels and on upcoming releases and updates on novels yet to come, visit Stephanie’s website: www.stephanielaurens.com
To sign up for Stephanie’s Email Newsletter (a private list) for heads-up alerts as new books are released, exclusive sneak peeks into upcoming books, and exclusive sweepstakes contests, follow the prompts at Stephanie’s Email Newsletter Sign-up Page