Lanterns

October 2, 1996
At "four and twenty and too old to attract a suitor'' in early-19th-century England, Miss Marietta Warrington should be despondent. Now that her mother is dead and her father has gambled away the London townhouse and the rest of his fortune, Marietta seems destined for spinsterhood unless she can find a suitable mate in the isolated countryside where the family has taken refuge at an abandoned estate called Lanterns. But Marietta's spirit is intact. A quirky beauty with a quick wit, she is the heart of a family that includes a mischievous little brother and a treacherous older one, a doting sister and a wonderfully eccentric aunt. Naturally enough, Marietta sets pulses racing in every man who finds his way to the Warrington's modest digs, from the slick Blake Coville to the rich Innis Willard and the brooding, intriguing magnet for violence who calls himself Mallory Diccon. Though Marietta is attracted to Diccon, she becomes aware that he may be a traitor to the Crown. Veryan (The Sanguinet Saga, a Regency romance series) deftly balances romance, mystery, comedy and--with special poignancy--the conflict Marietta must face, torn between love of country and love of a dashing man.

March 1, 1997
YA-A love story set in Sussex, England, in 1818. The tale revolves around Marietta Warrington, a young woman struggling to keep her family together after her father's gambling debts drive them into near poverty and social disgrace. The family moves to Sussex, renting the dower house at Lanterns, the mysterious and decaying estate of Lord Temple and Clouds. The plot includes kidnapping, ancient treasure, sinister dealings, and true love. For students who enjoy historical romances, this is a sweet page turner.-Linda A. Vretos, West Springfield High School, Springfield, VA

October 15, 1996
During the autumn of 1818, the weather could turn blustery on the Sussex cliffs, especially at the Lanterns estate, where readers get wind of Lady Pamela Coville's kidnapping. Residing in the estate's dower house is Miss Marietta Warrington and her family, whose fortunes have been squandered by their father's gambling. Her little brother Arthur, who spends much time playing dashing characters like "Sir Lancer Lot," becomes friends with the secretive Major Mallory Diccon Paisley, Lord Temple and Cloud, owner of the estate. He and his half-brother, Blake Coville, are at odds over their mother's disappearance. Blake courts Marietta, yet her heart is elsewhere. Treachery and deceit, both motivated by greed, drive this suitor and Marietta's brother Eric into scandalous actions, while the major's heroic deeds include rescuing young Arthur and refusing a king's ransom for "The Sigh of Saladin," a bejeweled painting of mysterious provenance. Although plots complicate the eventual betrothal of Marietta and Diccon, devotees of historical romances will find that Veryan has fashioned yet another page-turner. ((Reviewed October 15, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)