Elizabeth Chater

Athena was always considered to be too intelligent for her own good. Her grandmother would like nothing more than to pull Athena’s nose out of those useless books and marry her off to the first eligible bachelor around. When they arrive in London to fulfill the grandmother’s plan of transforming Athena from a pauper to a princess, they are both in for a surprise: the only man Athena has eyes for is a man she loathes. After she shamelessly offends the Duke, Athena wants nothing more than to repair the damage of their first meeting. But the Duke has already begun his campaign of slander against the ugly ducking. Soon Athena realizes she has blossomed into a swan. Will the belligerent Duke realize her newfound beauty and the burning desire inside him or will he destroy her only chance of marriage.

Extras: ONE: A Note from the Author, TWO: An Early Preview of Barbara Delinsky's upcoming novel, The Passions of Chelsea KaneOn a luxurious Caribbean villa Arielle Pasteur hopes to find the solitude she desperately craves. Until devastatingly handsome fashion photographer Chris Howe shows up, sparking memories of her painful past. Can Arielle trust him with her fragile heart?A Barbara Delinsky classic, first published in 1982.New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky demonstrates her incomparable talents for capturing the deepest desires of the human heart in this breathtaking story, first published in 1982, of misunderstanding, fulfillment, and love.It is the ultimate in luxury and privacy -- a villa nestled amid brilliant sunlight and gently waving palm trees on a secluded Caribbean beach. There Arielle Pasteur hopes to find the solitude she desperately craves.Instead she ends up sharing her sensuous surroundings with a man who sparks memories of a painful past she thought she'd put behind her. Devastatingly handsome fashion photographer Chris Howe seems like an overbearing, egotistical chauvinist. Yet behind the glittering celebrity facade lurks a tenderness that begins to soften Arielle's protective shell. But before she can trust him with her fragile heart, she must learn to trust herself.

Alison's twin brother, Edmond, has run off and forfeited his obligation to fight a duel with the intimidating and handsome Earl of Havard. The man is an infernally good shot, as well as ruthless in meting out judgement. But Alison is sure that the duel is a farce, and that the Earl is only trying to teach her brother a lesson for inappropriately flirting with his sister. She is so sure that the Earl will misfire in order to avoid killing her young brother, that she borrows Edmond's clothes and shows up at the duel, pretending to be Edmond in order to save the family honor. But the Earl of Havard easily sees through her disguise. His anger is fierce and justified by the strict code of honor that binds both houses. Now, to pay for the insult, Alison must become an indentured servant in his household, serving as his page until the debt of honor is paid in full...

She went from rags to riches in the blink of an eye. Alfreda never felt like she belonged, but when she discovers that she was switched at birth and is the rightful heir to an Earl's estate she is flabbergasted. Nobody ever expected this mousy, plain girl to be of noble blood, especially Mark Savage. Mark has always infuriated Alfreda with his ceaseless mocking, but now she sees a spark of love deep within his eyes. But the aristocracy isn't all it's cracked up to be, someone isn't pleased with Alfreda's new position and they will do anything to ensure her demise. Can Mark's love and Alfreda's unstoppable will save her?

Also includes: Short author biography Facts about the Stolen Generations Review by James Moloney Paul Keating: The Redfern Park speech School projects: Questions and answers on Angela

When her father loses everything in a gambling bet, including her, Matilda can take her role as a passive and dutiful daughter no longer. Inside herself she finds a strength and willfulness she have never recognized before and finds the courage to leave the undesirable situation. Fleeing the kisses of the fifty-year old Earl of Lark, a man notorious for his womanizing ways, Matilda finds work as a cook in London. Her culinary skills so impress the Major Robert Bruce that he hires her as his personal chef. But the earl is still pursing her and Matilda has been trapped in a whirlwind. Her love is beginning to grow for the handsome duke, but does he love enough to give her shelter from the nefarious earl?

Clea Bradford is a striking creature with her sun-kissed hair and incredibly long legs, but definitely not en vogue. Her Aunt, Lady Floss Dearborn is determined to ensure the girl’s entrance to the ton is greeted with respect. She achieved her purpose, but it is by announcing Clea’s fake engagement to Lord Gledon, a man better suited for her. But lurking behind every corner is Lord Ranulf, a man driven by vengeance. He mistakenly assumes the bohemian is her Aunt and plans to exact his revenge for an unsubstantiated rumor of a wrong committed against his relative, Floss’ deceased husband. Everywhere Clea turns, Ranulf is right behind her. But, his searing hatred is beginning to melt beneath Clea’s piercing gaze. Now, rather than burning with revenge, his heart is scorching with passion.

Andrea is devastated when her father, the count, and sister, Pola, are murdered. Determined to unmask the killer, Andrea puts her very honor at stake when she disguises herself as a young, fair-haired boy. It is a dangerous facade, but necessary if she exact her revenge. Andrea has only one suspect, her stoic brother-in-law, Lord Kyle. Bt she doesn’t expect the handsome Scotsman's gaze to be so penetrating or his arms so powerful. Soon Andrea finds herself falling in love with a man who may have murdered everyone she cares about. Is a man capable of such overwhelming passion also capable of cold-blooded murder?

When Luella Hanley's father dies suddenly, he left her alone and penniless in Milan. Accepting a business proposition from a mysterious stranger, she finds herself accepting a commission to escort a little Italian boy home to his father, a English Duke. But the proposition yields some startling repercussions, presenting a Duke with an appalling dilemma, in terms of both mortal danger and unexpected romance.

When her brother loses everything, even the family home, to an infamous gambler, Zelda must play the hand of her life to win back her family's honor. Desperate to regain possession of her home, the beautiful but proud Zelda cloaks herself and challenges the shrewd card shark to a game where the stakes are high. The gambler, smooth, calloused and undeniably handsome, is a man unaccustomed to losing. A master of deception, the gambler quickly discovers Zelda's façade, but not before desire begins to burn in his soul. Before the final card is dealt, Zelda must outwit a master or all hope to recover her family's estate and her heart is lost.

Kathryn Hendrix, a twentieth century librarian, escapes from the rain one evening into a dusty, old gallery where the only treasure is a portrait of an eighteenth century gorgeous redhead by the name of Elsingham. All of a sudden, Kathryn finds herself in the body of Lady Elsingham two hundred years in the past. She finds that everything that belonged to Lady Elsingham-her life, her belongings, her body, and her sneering husband-now belong to her. Kathryn becomes desperate-how to find her way home? But as her and Lord John became closer, and things began to heat up, Kathryn became to forget that she had ever wanted to leave, for now all she wishes to do is stay in the arms of the evermore intoxicating Lord John.

Lord Phillip Sandron had seen Miss Thalia Temple one day and become obsessed. He found himself ensnared by the sweet and ardently passionate face and the wide and desperately wanting brown eyes of this young woman. This rake now found that maybe he could learn to love and he married the sweet, innocent Tally on the spot. But as the two become closer and their bond of love and happiness grows stronger, Tally and Lord Phillip find their marriage threatened by forces from the past: Lord Phillip's old friends and lovers. For who cannot but become jealous of the reformation of a rake by his love for a sweet, young girl.

The Duke of Landsdale's mother's anger erupts when she is persuaded by the King of France to give asylum to his mistress, the Comtesse and her daughter, Tiri. She immediately launches a campaign to make the King's plaything and her bewitching daughter's lives miserable. But the Comtesse has other plans: marry off her daughter to the wealthiest and most powerful bachelor in sight. When the Duke first gazes at Tiri's extraordinary beauty, he is captured. Against his mother's wishes, he has fallen in love with the enchanting woman. Tiri has also rebelled against her mother's plans and found a mouthwatering catch, but she has also fallen in love with him. Can their mutual love overcome the obstacles their mothers have placed in their paths? Or are they doomed to enter into a passionless marriage with another?

emphasized textThe Earl of Stone and Hammer has always led a peaceful and undisturbed life. That is until a gorgeous young French woman shows up on the doorstep of his home. She brings news that his brother, who has been missing for years, is dead in the streets of France and that the young boy in front of him is his nephew. Cozette has brought the young boy all the way from France to save his life, for the French Revolution has seized Paris and virtually everyone is in danger. From that day on, the Earl has had to put up with this saucy young Frenchwoman who so tempts and torments his heart. But as the two grow closer, Cozette reveals her real reason for having so desperately escaped from France: she bears a message for the King of England himself! As Cozette comes closer and closer to danger, like a fly being tempted toward a spider, she and the once icy Earl become entangled in a web of their own making, one of mounting desire for each other.