My first reaction to seeing this book's title was to wonder what the author was thinking. It didn't sound particularly inspiring. I pulled the book off its shelf at the used bookstore I found it in, and immediately regretted my first impression. The cover art suggests a story far darker and deeper than you would expect from the book's title, and a Tolkien-esque epic scale. I bought it without another thought.

Sure enough, this was no children's book. What Richard Adams did for rabbits in Watership Down, Mary Stanton does here with her horses. The antagonists are truly evil in ways most storybook villians only aspire to, and the equine mythology/religion thoroughly detailed. My only disappointment was in thinking this masterpiece was a one-shot wonder, a belief that was thankfully proven wrong by the discovery of this book's more epically titled sequel, "Piper at the Gate"

NOT for young children (say, under 13). Anor the Executioner will give them the screaming meemies, and Anor's master (the equine analog to the devil) will give them nightmares (no pun intended) for weeks. But a MUST READ for anyone over the age of 13, whether you like horses or not.

NOTE: Due to the dark and supernatural nature of the storyline and antagonists, I'm tempted to catagorize this one under "anthropomorhpic/horror" instead of fantasy.

The best book I've ever read. I found it in a bargin book bin at a Shop Rite store and was intreged by the cover. (I LOVE HORSES) I have since read the book many times over, and just heard of Piper at the gate. I hope it's a sequal, and I wish to read it!!!!

I read this book back in the early 90's and I loved it, I unfortunately loaned out my copy and never got it back. I have wanted to find this book again it is a book you can read over and over. I recently found it in hard cover and ordered it at a small fortune but it is well worth it. I will cherish this book and also recently learned of its sequel and will order it now, if it is half as good as the first I will surely love it. I agree that Mary Stanton should write more of these and would also like to see Disney make it into an animated movie.

This is a stirring book which holds a reader's attention from the first page until the last. As the true drama unravels, readers learn of the atrocities which were inflicted on an innocent little girl. Readers also learn of the birth of child protection in America as it unfolds through the efforts of a few determined and dedicated individuals. This is a "must read" for anyone with a heart for children and compassion for victims of abuse. Until now, this story was a missing piece of our history, yet it is now available for us to read about and learn from. Lazoritz and Shelman have shed light on this once overlooked part of our history, and they have indeed brought little Mary Ellen Wilson "Out of the Darkness". This is an extremely well written book, and its pages are packed with truth, spirit, and drama. Once read, it is a story you will never forget. Little Mary Ellen Wilson scampers through the pages as her story is told. Readers feel, hear, see, taste, dream, hope and live Mary Ellen's story as the authors reveal her life using words of truth filled with strokes of compassion. While growing up, little Mary Ellen Wilson had no toys to play with or books to read. Her life was a living nightmare. But now, Mary Ellen not only has a book, she has an audience. We must give this child and her book our full attention so that we learn from history's mistakes and strive to protect our children from the evil of child abuse. Lazortiz and Shelman have cause to celebrate in this masterpiece book. Mary Ellen's story will touch many lives through the pages of this book.

Child abuse is a subject many people would prefer not to think about. This account of the life of Mary Ellen Wilson will change that way of thinking. This story will open your heart to a little girl who, for much of her childhood had no friends, no hugs, no kisses, no bedtime "I love you" moments. The book will take you from the beginnings of a love story, through death, child abuse, hate, compassion, rescue, and survival. It's a must read for anyone who thinks that one person cannot make a difference in the life of a child. Thank you, Mr. Shelman and Dr. Lazoritz for bringing Mary Ellen into our lives...may the doors of our hearts be opened as a result.

"Out of the Darkness" is indeed the perfect title for the long-awaited telling of these events. For the past 50 years, only students and professionals in the child protection field have learned the profound significance of Mary Ellen's story. This, the first book entirely devoted to this landmark case, brings Mary Ellen to life along with all those who helped her survive.

The story opens in May 1864 on a battlefield in Cold Harbor, Virginia, as Thomas Wilson receives word of the birth of his little girl in New York City and dreams of returning soon to his wife, Fanny, and their child. Shortly afterward, however, he dies in battle.

Amid the hustle and bustle of New York City life, Mary Ellen's mother attempts to care for her little girl, but poverty soon forces her to abandon the child. We learn of Mary Ellen's stay in an almshouse for a time before being taken into a foster home where she is beaten, locked in a closet, burned, and permitted no contact with the outside world. She remains in this home for 6 long years.

Shelman and Lavoritz accurately and poignantly describe the New York City of the 1860s and 1870s, allowing the reader to experience the overcrowding and the sounds and smells of the infamous Hell's Kitchen area of NYC where Mary Ellen is finally found and rescued.

The story follows two threads, first told separately, and then woven skillfully together. We learn of Mary Ellen's plight, while at the same time in NYC, Henry Bergh is working to found the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). We are with Bergh as he enforces the new animal protection laws in NYC. He fights to protect them all --from turtles to horses. He is often ridiculed as he charges, "Turtle abuse!" But he persists. Amazingly, in 1874 there was no agency to aid mistreated children. When Etta Wheeler, a dedicated social worker, appeals to Bergh and his animal rights society to take the lead in the child's rescue, he and the ASPCA's talented attorney, Elbridge Gerry, conduct the then famous trial that ultimately brings Mary Ellen freedom and a new home and results in the founding of the New York City Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, still in existence today.

The story culminates in the standing-room-only trial where Mary Ellen's foster mother is charged on several felony counts. The authors effectively recreate the circuslike atmosphere that prevails throughout the trial at which witnesses from all walks of life testify about what they have seen and heard. The transcripts of the trial are complete and authentic.

While most will read this book as a novel, a complete index at the back provides access to the wealth of factual material carefully researched by the authors. An epilogue tells what finally happened to Mary Ellen as an adult. Adding to the authenticity are a number of previously unprinted photographs provided to the authors by relatives of the principals.

An invaluable reference for those interested in the history surrounding child and animal protection, "Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson is also just "a good read."

Apart from the reading plaesure "Mary's World" provides, I immensly enjoyed this book for the following reasons: foreign history, in this case the American Civil War history, can be daunting for outsiders. Mary's World eases the foreigner not only into the life of the Pringle family but also into history of southern plantation life years prior to the war. This circumstance greatly facilitates the amateur's understanding of the time leading up to the war and the war itself. What I particularly appreciated was the southern view of that history. Even in Switzerland we are familiar with the northern issues of industrialism vs. agriculture (prominent geographically in Europe at that time also), the slavery issue etc. Rarely do we hear about the life and thoughts of Southerners other than the great military men. The history of Mary Pringle written by Richard Cote transports you into a Charleston household in two seconds flat. It is all so lively and easy to imagine that it is hard to put down the book. I felt I knew Mary Pringle and her children! And I felt I had never learned more about the South.

Before "Mary's World" I had not been privileged to read a meticulously-researched, scholarly work that moved along like a novel. When I was forced to put it down from time to time, it took me quite awhile to re-enter my own world, so caught up was I in a time so different from the present that I find myself, while reading, totally captivated.

Mary Motte Alston Pringle may have been the last of the legendary Southern Women. Truly born to the manor and accustomed to every luxury as a young woman, she rose to challenges during and after the Civil War that would have destroyed a lesser human being. The letters that she wrote just after the war to her adult children who were scattered from California to Europe would have left me in despair if they had not held such a powerful message about the durability of the human spirit.

She had no money, her beloved family home was occupied by Union soldiers and she was separated from many whom she loved, yet there is such courage in these letters that the book left me filled with inspiration. Men and women today can find much to admire and emulate in this indestructible family. "Mary's World" has a permanent place on my bookshelf and in my heart.

Mary's World is a well-written, wonderfully researched narrative of a wealthy and prominent family in nineteenth century South Carolina. The backdrop is the family's generational home, Charleston's Miles Brewton House, built in 1765, where family members wrote many of the letters used by Mr. Côté to reconstruct their lives. A chapter devoted to this historic site, now restored, plus frequent references, literally bring the reader into the Pringle home to observe the many lives that began and ended there. Mary Motte Alston Pringle (1803-1884) is the focal point of the story and the vehicle the author uses to familiarize the reader with the extended family and their various adventures. Mr. Côté draws on a rich mixture of personal letters, journals, and business and family records, plus a variety of secondary sources to piece together the lives of multiple generations and branches of this aristocratic planter family. His informed insight and objective analysis of Mary's fascinating world allows family members to speak for themselves and the reader to become virtually acquainted with them across the years. Their personal accounts reveal their lives in the antebellum South and how the Civil War affected them during and after the conflict. Interspersed throughout the book is information about their relationships with and attitudes toward their slaves before the war and the Freedmen after the war. Through this woven tapestry of emotions, beliefs, activities, customs, and culture people long dead speak again, explaining what it was like to live in their world, now long past.

why, oh why hasn't this book been "rediscovered" by a publisher, and put back on the shelves?

my boyfriend's mom lent me her copy to read to the little girls i nanny. (it was her favorite book as a child, i'm 28). well, i picked it up myself, began reading, and couldn't put it down! what a clever story.

so many children dream of secret worlds existing just beyond the next wall, or over the hill, or under the streets- and this book-with it's good and naughty children, tiny doll people world, and one very odd neighbor- lives up to and beyond the expectations any child might have about hidden, magical places.

publishing houses- bring back this book, along with the other children's book she wrote- loretta mason potts should be reborn on the bookshelves! it's sad that one would have to pay almost $[amount] to buy her fiction, but it also shows how treasured it is!

i'm so curious about the witch book she wrote! maybe one day i'll luck out and find it somewhere (and pay a reasonable price for it)!

I, too, thought I had dreamt up this book, as I could remember it from about 35 years ago but couldn't find it...only trouble was, all these years I'd been looking for "Laura Mason Potts." Google finally found it, even with my error. I discovered it late last night & was so thrilled I could hardly get to sleep! I loved the other reviews; I also remember curling up with this book by the Christmas tree; I remember the boy was named Colin, and the mother wished to "fly away" with her children - my own wish quite often..haven't re-read it yet but can't wait. Such a joy! Will have my own middle-school children & 11-yr. old niece read it! Other authors from my childhood to recommend: Catherine Woolley, Elizabeth Enright, Beverly Cleary, Edward Eager, Eleanor Estes, Mary Norton. So many great books from that time (60's). If you're blue, read "Rufus M." by Eleanor Estes, no matter your age - you'll love it! Well, I'm just so so happy to have found Loretta Mason Potts, and happy that others out there loved this book like I did! Restores my faith in people, in the current cesspool of our culture!!!

My sister and I both (without the other's knowledge) have been remembering our experience as children when I read this book aloud in its entirety to my younger sister. We have both searched for it with no success and decided to look in Amazon.com. We were amazed not only to find this book, but to find so many reviews by other sisters who read it as children, loved it, and had such long-lasting memories of this delightful, fantasy of a young girl with a tunnel to a fantasy land in her closet. We can't wait to get this book and read it again and will probably recommend it to our young nieces. It was so much fun reading all of the reviews because they were as if we had written them ourselves. This book has given my sister and I wonderful, warm memories of a charming childhood experience.

Legacy of Steel is by far one of the best books ever written for the Dragonlance Saga. Mary Herbert has taken a minor charcacter, Sara Dunstan and turned her into one of the most compelling and interesting charcacters ever to grace the pages of the dragonlance world. We see a relationship of trust, care, and understanding between a dragon and a human which has never before been discribed. Herbert balances the story with the action and intrigue immaculately. You really can feel the emotion of all the characters and the bond between Sara and Cobalt. My only complaint, the book was too short. I wanted more. I only hope Herbert writes more Dragonlance novels, especially involving Sara and Cobalt.

I really love when an author can make a story like this out of a seemingly small placed character. Mary Herbert did a fantastic job on Legacy of Steel. I have read quite a few DL novels and this one is right at the top, almost as good as MW and TH. This book may not be a must read, but it is one that you should take the time to read, trust me you'll enjoy it. All the characters are great, even the love to be hated un-honorable Knights of Takhisis. There is also a good deal of suspense in this book, it's well paced, and the fighting scenes are excellent (including plenty of dragons). If you are a major DL fan and you haven't read this book yet then get it right now, and if you just read Dragonlance time to time then you should get this one over all the others (save for the mainstream MW and TH books of course).

What a wonderful Book. I recieved it, and read it cover to cover all in the same day! I don't usually do that, but what a damn good book.

This story is centered around Sara Dunstan, whom is still grieving over her adopted son Steel Brightblade three years after the summer of chaos. In the begining, she is living as a exile from the Knights of Tahkisis, and is pretty miserable. Then she starts having some dreams that call to her for help. Eventually, she sets out to find the source of the dreams and comes upon a wounded and riderless blue dragon whom she nurses back to health.

Thats all I'm telling you about this book. But It was page turning. I just added Mary H Herbert, to the list amazing Dragonlance storytellers, right under Richard A Knaack, whom we all know is the best. I Cannot wait to learn more about the "Leigon Of Steel" which is founded in the end of this work!

By Huma's Shield, this was a Fantastic Book!

Toni Buzzeo takes us on a magical trip back through time to the days when the vigilance and skill of the lighthouse keeper were the only things between a storm tossed ship and catastrophe. But then, there were some storms so fearsome that even the lights were of no help. Auntie Maita's reminiscences of her solitary childhhod on fictional Sanctuary Island are lyrical and moving. She tells the story of one storm and the sea chest that washed up on shore in its aftermath. The connection between the contents of the chest and the event that awaits Auntie Maita and her grand niece eighty years later is one that will leave you in tears as you gently close the cover of the book.

This stunning picture book brings to life an old legend. In the midst of a storm, when their ship is about to sink, parents place their baby in a sea chest then cast it overboard with the hope that the baby will survive.

Buzzeo's poetic language convey's the emotional mood perfectly. She carries the reader along for every heart-stopping moment, from the first crashing of the storm to the catch-your-breath scene when the baby is found by the lighthouse keeper and his lonely daughter, to the very satisfying conclusion at the end of the story.

Grandpre's stunning oil paintings are the ideal visual for this poignant story.

This stunning new picture book reminds us that waiting for a baby to arrive is a timeless, and achingly poignant, event.
Toni Buzzeo's story opens with a small girl and her elderly aunt holding a dream in their hands - a care-worn photograph of a newborn the girl's parents have gone off to bring home. While the girl, an only child, waits with longing, the aunt tells her how she got her own sister, generations earlier.
The aunt's story is a Maine legend - based on an actual shipwreck that occurred off the coast in the mid-1870s near Southport Island. The ship went down, but one bundle tossed into the gray waves bobbed and rolled until it reached shore, near Hendricks Head Light. The keeper found it - a collection of feather mattresses fastened together with rope. Inside, there was a baby, still alive, with a note from the captain and his wife, "committing the child into God's hands."
Buzzeo's dramatic retelling of this legend is well-served by the vivid, engaging illustrations by Mary GrandPré, best-known as the artist who brought Harry Potter to life in the American editions of J.K. Rowling's series. GrandPré, who lives in St. Paul, has a warm style that makes an isolated island in the North Atlantic look like a jeweled place to live.
Buzzeo has paced the story expertly, creating mystery and one turn-of-the-page that is certain to produce a gasp from unsuspecting readers. This is a beautiful book to share with a child. The language is lyrical and demands repeated readings, but it is one of those rare picture books many parents will not mind reading over and over again.

You know what they say, "Reformed rakes make the best of husbands." Reggie makes a great rake, but even better is his struggle to reform. The way the author writes this book adds realism and credibility. While most romance books prefer to not broach serious topics like alchoholism (usually they get a bit dark and depressing), Ms. Putney does an excellent job at entwining it with the romance. I liked this book very much.

The heroine isn't bad, but the hero is delightfully complex, and just this side of delectable. The whole book was utterly realistic until the end, which I thought was a bit stretching reality, but that's really the most I can find to complain about. This book was absoloutly wonderful.

I'd recommend this to someone that wants a romance with realistic characters and a good plot. This author's writing is very good.

Reginald Davenport is an alcoholic. Alys Weston is a gifted businesswoman and estate manager living a life of lies layered on one another like an onion. What an unlikely pairing - but it works! Reginald's cousin opens the door to his transformation by restoring an estate to him which had been unlawfully withheld; however, it is up to Reginald to walk through that door. The book traces Reginald's journey, as Alys becomes a reluctant companion along the path. That the two fall in love is not surprising; what makes it interesting, is that in the end, it is Alys's flaws that threaten to destroy their relationship, and not Reginald's addiction.

Reginald's character is written so well - it's as if MJP was able to get inside the head of an addicted person and those around him who either collaborate with the addiction, or try to neutralize it. This story has credibility and depth, and is one that I'll be recommending to my friends. Excellent job.

This is a re-write of one of the best romance stories ever written. Period. Full stop. Mary Jo Putney displays her mastery of psychologically realistic characters, Regency England detail and sensual story telling. Her heroine, Alys, is intelligent, resourceful and independent but hurting because of her lack of faith in her own feminine appeal. Her hero, Reggie, is the ultimate gorgeous bad boy. He has wasted his own talents and intelligence on reckless living but has been given a chance to redeem his life, if only he can face up to his alcoholism. This rewrite heats up the sensuality and takes nothing away from the impact of the original. Ms. Putney manages not only to deal with a serious problem realistically and sensitively, but does so while building sexual tension, introducing lively secondary characters and making us fall in love with her wryly self aware main characters whose dialogue sparkles with insight and humour. Ms. Putney is a thinking person's romance writer and should be on the A list of anyone who loves a good story well told.

Very fascinating account of war-time Europe, this book also gives you a glimpse of life during the fast-changing times before and after
the death of Queen Victoria.

Every reader will be drawn into the honest and readable writing
style of Vera Brittain, who remembers the time of WWI when she
served as a nurse. As many other reviewers say, her momoir is simply stunning and even shocking in its description of her experiences during the tribulations. Though the some
descriptions about the hot, (or chilling) dirty hospitals, wailing patients, or stupid supervisers are understandably subdued, her feelings reacting to these surroundings are always touching, and sometimes even with some witty remarks.

On top of that, I was impressed with her daily way of life, which expeienced the rigid Victoraimism before the comrapatively free, modern post-war era. Some episodes are remarkable in telling us how a young woman had to live in a provincial town in England at the turn of the 19th century, when a die-hard Victorian conservative moral codes were still prevalent. In fact, Vera, rather humourously, recounts how travelling alone by train could be inappropriate for a lady at that time, and how she had to arrange the meeting with her love, Roland, using some skills.

Moreover, some readers may find this book interesting in different way;
that is, as this book was written during the time between WW1
and WW2, you get a strange feelings that something is missing

from the book that should have been there. For example, Hilter
is mentioned only once, but not the Nazi, and the name of
fascism appears, but very briefly (though she records one
episode in Italy which predicts the future events).
And the League of Nations, for which she passionately devotes
herself, was, as you all know, to collapse. Considering the
book alongside with the history WE know, the book becomes all
the more fascinating just because of the things the book could not tell at the time of writing.

And this strange sense leaves me wondering -- "What did Vera
Brittain do during the next world-war?" "How did she respond to
WW2 and possibly other big events in the world?" This is the
reason I didn't give 5 star rating, because the text itself is brilliant, the book gives me little information about the
author (anyway I will find it though, but...). Though a short
introduction by her daughter is attached, we know little about
her, and that is a shame, because this book is deserves much wider
range of readers, from those who remember the war to the students of Victorianism and feminism, and her life would
interest all those readers.

This book was the subject of a PBS drama in he early 1980's. However as good as that BBC television play was the book itself is far and away a better experience. If you are interested in the "Great War" and it's effect on the battlefield and Western culture then this is a must read. Vera Brittain was born into a upper middle class British family, exactly the generation that so willing risked their lives for their Country, King and Empire. The effect upon her, her family and friends as well as her generation is overwhelming and gaves a human face to the great events of this last century. You will not be able to read this without feeling the overpowering effect that the Great War had on those both at the Western Front and at home. A great and often overlooked book, one of the few of it's type written by a woman, a real hidden classic.

Ms. Brittain's autobio about the devastating losses she, and her generation, suffered as a result of WW I is simply brilliant. The book is clear, easy reading, and the story, though quite harsh, is never too filled with "woe is me" sentiment. Ms. Brittain's movement from provincial comfort to "university" to working as a volunteer VAD in the hospitals, coupled with the loss of a brother, a love, and a fiance, makes for fascinating reading. Ms. Brittain mourns the passing of the youth of the "war generation", but by the time the book is done, one realizes that the non-combatant "survivors" of Ms. Brittain's own generation--of literary "sets" and chivalric valour betrayed and changes in the social order in deep ferment-- has also passed from among us. This is not a joyful book, and its narrative voice can be quite bitter. But it is a meaningful book, and a very good read. Ms. Brittain's pragmatic feminism resonates well some seventy odd years later.

Not for those wishing to believe in fairy tales, "Office Politics" shoots straight from the hip and offers young women who wish to work in the high-paying corporate sector plenty of excellent advice on what the workplace is really like and how to maneuver in it to their best advantage. I have never read anything as honest as "Office Politics"---it also includes an excellent bibliography of other must read books. "O.P." is essential for any woman wishing to enter or re-enter the corporate world---however, it is not "politically correct", which makes it all the more effective as a tool for moving up in the "real world". Overall, it's the best book I have ever read on strategies for working women.

Even though this book is written towards women under 35 years of age, easily three-fourth of the material covered can easily apply towards men and others below upper management. The straight talk about promotions, job hopping, and perceptions in the corporate world rings true without candy coating the "Truth". Read it and learn!!

The book describes precisely how to improve your job survival skills and much more. Don Steele's style is direct and straightforward. He wants the reader to know the bigger picture of how it works: "Principles and facts that lead to understanding are presented before techniques and methods. (...) You can't take full advantage of what you are going to learn about the what, how and when of office politics unless you understand the why". The author wants women to know the score: "Men, beginning with daddy, then boyfriends, then fiancés, then husbands and ending with corporate bosses, never tell women the plain simple truth about us men. The truth about how we think, what drives us, why we behave as we do and what we want from women at work and everywhere else. The truth shall make you free". It takes a lot of thinking before you can utilize all the information contained in Office politics. A brilliant book.

I loved this book. It has all of the typical romance novel ammenities, a dark hero, a needy heroine etc. But more than that, Ms. Putney made me feel as though these people were three dimensional.
Nick, the hero, is complex but approachable and I liked him from page one right through to the end. The heroine, Clare, is smart, funny, and practical.
Although this book touched on some social issues: the work conditions of Welsh miners, the strict mores of early Methodist churches, racial discrimination against Gypsies, the interaction between Nick and Clare saves the book from being too dark.
For fans of Mary Jo Putney I highly recommend reading Thunder and Roses, the writing is fast paced and interesting. The plot remains solid, and Ms. Putney does a great job of bringing in the other 'Fallen Angels' as secondary characters, but keeps the main romantic focus on Clare and Nick.

I love reading a Putney book because I know I won't be disappointed or bored.This is the 1st in her FALLEN ANGELS series. It is the story of Nicholas and Clare. It is emotional, sexy, enlightening, and exciting. (Read it for the billiards scene alone! Whew!)You will also get to meet the 3 other members of the Fallen Angels: Rafe, Lucien, and a very tortured Michael. All three are fascinating and all three get their own stories in other books! But Nicholas and Clare are the main attraction in this book and they do NOT disappoint. This book is absolutely superb!

I didn't think Mary Jo Putney could top The Rake for a compelling, erotic, angsty and breathtaking story of betrayal, love and trust. But she's done it with this book.

So far, this is the fourth Putney book I've read and she's yet to get less than five stars. This one, however, would get ten if they were available. The book is full of tension, anguish, emotional moments to bring a lump to the reader's throat, moments when there is no option but to gasp in admiration at Putney's skill. I actually felt a sense of loss when I reached the final page: I wanted this book never to end. And I couldn't resist going back and re-reading some of my favourite passages there and then.

Nicholas is a deeply cynical, embittered man in his thirties, who has no intention of taking an interest in anything beyond casual affairs and other such pleasures. But Clare has other ideas for him: she demands that he do something to prevent the inhabitants of the local village from either starving or getting killed because of the appalling working conditions in the local coalmine. Nicholas just wants her to leave him alone, so he suggests a bargain he's sure she'll refuse: her reputation in return for his assistance. But she accepts him, along with his condition that he is allowed one kiss per day and that he will make every attempt to seduce her.

He keeps his word, in every respect, and soon Clare learns that while the Gypsy Earl takes his responsibilities very seriously, he also takes seduction extremely seriously. She's soon wondering just how long she can resist his advances and her own attraction to him....

In this book we also meet the other three Fallen Angels: Rafe (who has already appeared in the - chronologically - earlier The Bargain), Lucian and Michael. Michael in particular plays a significant cameo role in this story, which has left me eager to read his own story. Putney has created some delightfully complex and intriguing heroes here, and I'm looking forward to exploring them in greater detail.

Putney, in addition, has clearly put a lot of time and effort into research: she is head and shoulders above most US Regency writers in this respect. If it wasn't for the use of US spelling conventions, I would never know I was reading an American writer. The detail in respect of Methodism, the coalmining industry, the Napoleonic wars, societal conventions in the early nineteenth centuty and so on is both accurate and interesting.