This book and 'Bride of Dreams' are my two favourite Hodge books so far (I haven't read them all yet!). I only recently discovered this author and as a Georgette Heyer fan I really enjoy Hodge too. This book is particularly good because it doesn't fall into the trap of putting historical details before story (as many of Hodge's books do). It has a good plot, great characters (including an unusually young hero who is about 22 I think), and, as the title suggests, a lot of adventure. The romance is nice but not sickly. A very enjoyable book.

This is definitely one of Hodge's better works. The history is less daunting in its complexity than in some of her earlier work. I have found some of her books off-putting when they become too much like an irrelevant history lesson, but this one does not fall into that trap. It manages to convey a very strong sense of period however and the accuracy is faultless. The story is particularly good in this one too, the main romance is surprising, and very lovely. My only quibble would be the lack of attention that is given to the romance for various reasons but this is only a very minor point. The scenes with Nelson and Lady Hamilton are a treat and if you enjoy Georgette Heyer you are bound to love this book.

If you like Mary Stewart you will like this book. You get some true history with your romance not a bad combination. The background for this book is The War of Greek Independence that began in 1821 and ranges from Constantinople through the Greek Islands and mainland Greece. With all the European powers playing their hand at which side should win.

We journey with Phyllida Vannick as she escapes a harem, tries to locate her missing brother and save a sucidal, jilted English bridegroom. Hey it wouldn't be a romance without it.

I don't know how many times I've read this book and I still enjoy it everytime.

I've been reading Jane Aiken Hodge when I can find her for 30 years. I've never been disappointed yet! Now that we have amazon.com I'm lucky enough to be able to find books I couldn't find before, and I'm glad this was one of them. It was totally engrossing, exciting, fast-paced, and had a wonderful ending. Her books take you to the places, and get you involved with the people, and I was very disappointed when this one ended! Kudos to Jane Aiken Hodge!

There were three issues at stake when I tried to figure out just how I would rate this book excellent book by Hodge. The first is its accuracy, the second its subject matter, and the third is its readability. In the end I gave it a top score because it is so very readable, and very well researched indeed - but I still hold some reservations about the subject matter which I will explain later.

But first to general comments - I was surprised at just how good this book is - how good and how much fun too. I think Jane Aiken Hodge has really excelled herself. This book certainly shows up in stark comparison to the absolutely appallingly researched book by Venetia Murray which came out at the same time . Hodge, a successful author of many novels based in the extended Regency shows herself to be mistress of her chosen topic. She is clear and very balanced in her presentation. She knows the people she is writing about and I found her marvellous at highlighting what had been relatively obscure facts (How Lady Bessborough hid her illegitimate pregnancies for instance).

I also felt she did a marvellous job in presenting gossip for what it was, and trying to present a balanced picture of some of the obscure incidents - for instance her chapter on the daughters of King George. There was quite a bit of gossip at the time, and since, about secret marraiges and illegitimate children. I felt Hodge did an excellent job presenting the issues, the sources and so on.

The book has a short introduction chapter to set it in context to the period, it contains an excellent overview of women's position in this period - legally, socially and politically. In it Hodge also explains her selection of women based on the 'extended Regency' - a common phrase which is used to cover the period of the Prince of Wales majority in 1780 until he became King in 1820. The Regency itself only lasted from 1811-1820 but this extended period allows Hodge to include greater range of interesting women.

Now I come to my reservations. This is a book written entirely from already published sources so don't expect to find anything new revealed in here - mind you this isn't always a bad thing . Hodge has used sources which most people would have great difficulty getting hold of themselves- so much of the information in here will be new to most readers.Hodge never attempts to re-write history, just collect a lot of relevant characters and make sense of them. Unfortunately it does mean that the subjects she chooses to rely on aren't always the best ones- they usually happen to be the ones with most written on them. So the Duchess of Devonshire, Lady Bessborough and their offpspring get a vast deal of discussion - but Lady Jersey, Lady Cowper and Princess Lieven who were dominant personalities in the actual regency period go almost entirely without mention. Now, like I said, this is just a reservation about the book - Hodge still has a great deal of material to deal with and she deals with it confidently.

So this does end up being great resource for Regency fans who don't want to carry around a whole stack of books but would like a quick easy reference. It has most of the main women you would come across at least mentioned if not in detail.

There have been numerous similar books as this published in the past - although most have predominantly eighteenth century personalities, E Beresford Chancellor and J Fyve have written a couple of the best of them but you'd need to track them down on a used book site. As further, but slightly different reading, Amanda Vickery has done a great book recently which is on everydaylife for Gentleman's daughters which I would highly recommend too

What are you, Yankee or Englishwoman? Damn, that's a rum touch to have an enemy for a daughter. But Henrietta was no one's enemy. She came to London from Boston in search of her father-a father thought lost to her until she discovered her aunt's treachery. Now armed with her mother's marriage papers, she set sail for England to prove her identity and, unknowingly, to gain a fortune-and a love-she had never dreamed of. Henrietta was too beautiful to ignore. Her wealthy father was enchanted with her. Her stepmother hated her on sight. and her stepbrother Cedric was an enigma. But nothing would stop Henrietta from becoming the talk of London society. At all the elegant parties, at fashionable Almack's, at masquerade balls, everyone was agog with the lovely young American girl. There were a few, however, who longed to see her ruined...

I very much recommend this book to those who love the regency period. A wonderful read and a fine example of regency writing!

Jane Aiken Hodge is a talented writer. This book follows Daphne as she finds her way to the island and her fears and problems that occur on the island. This book is suspenseful and is an excellent read.

I don't know if I'll ever view Heyer's books in quite the same way after reading this biography. It painted an (accurate?) picture of a snobbish, cold woman who I could no relate to the author of the books I love. Frankly I found it unhelpful.

I relished finding a copy of this book as I had been on the look out for years and anxiously delved into it-expecting to find the Georgette Heyer I had fondly imagined for many years instead of her being the antithesis of who she really was. Upon closer scrutiny I realised I may have been mistaken. Although my first impression is of a large and intimidating woman, I read between the lines to realise that a possible shyness is responsible for the refusal to let the adoring public into her life. For this and for the hours of joy I have had and will have as long as I can read, I will continue to think her one of the best authors the 20th century ever produced.
I was certainly more interested in what her own personal favourites were and what was her motivation in writing certain stories than I was with her private life at the time of her writing them. This is not so much mentioned in the book. And perhaps this is why I am less appreciative than I might otherwise have been of Miss Hodge's efforts....

I have enjoyed reading books by Heyer for many years now and have read all of her Regency books. Therefore, I was very interested to read this biography. If you are a Heyer fan you will find many things of interest throughout the book. I especially liked the pictures from her journals showing her meticulous research into all matters of fashion of the day. I also enjoyed that the author, Jane A. Hodge, wrote with affection for the Heyer books and presented insight into what was happening in the life of the author when she was writing them. If you enjoy reading the Heyer books, you will enjoy reading Hodge's informative biography.

Real historical fiction. An intelligent heroine, good characters, intrigue, and spies. Good fun, well written.

This novel was a complete waste of time. It was the WORST book I ever read. If it hadan't been a library book or 3/4 of my grade this semester I would have thrown it out the window. I have never heard of the author and I don't know anyone that has ever heard of the book. It was just HORRIBLE!

In this story, we again meet Hart and Mercy Purchis, who are seperated by the Revolution in America. Jane Aiken Hodge is a wonderful storyteller, who weaves her fictional characters around real people and events in history. She is able to give us a glimpse of life during the time of her stories, without getting bogged down in overdetailed descriptions of fashions or buildings. In this story, we are treated to sightings of political figures in America and England, as Mercy travels to Philidelphia, and Hart to London. Her characters are strong, and the women are not helpless little creatures. Fans of historical novels will find this a thoroughly satisfying read.

In this book, we again meet Hart and Mercy Purchis, who are seperated by the circumstances of the Revolution in America. Jane Aiken Hodge is a wonderful story teller, and weaves her fictional characters around real people and events in history. She is able to provide a glimpse of what society was like in the time and place where she sets her story, without getting bogged down in overdetailed descriptions of fashions or buildings. Fans of historical novels will find this a thoroughly satisfying read.