Book details
Publication Date: February 24, 2017
Paperback & eBook; 284 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-0992736156
Genre: Fiction/Satire/Gothic/Romance
Book description
An appreciative satire of the cliches of traditional Gothic.
When Clarissa Greendale inherits the fortune of disreputable uncle she hardly knows, she does not expect to find herself forced into marriage with an aristocratic fortune hunter and wild, brawling, debauched social outcast. Still, she has always found Harley Venn set off the most unmaidenly tinglings in her; that is one consolation.
Yet neither did Clarinda expect to inherit the legacy of evil from half a century before. For the wicked if beguiling Lord Venn seems to have inherited a family curse, which, having dispatched the main perpetrators of the old crime, now moves on to their heirs, who are just as wild a set of rakes as their elders. There are rumours of violent deaths preceded by appearances from an inexorable hooded spectre, of inexplicable strikes of lightning, and of haunted mirrors.
The light-hearted Harley Venn dismisses all these as conjuring tricks. He even hires a drunken charlatan of a professional magician to prove it.
Clarinda is far from sure that there is any rational explanation. Still, it would take more than an enforced marriage to an incorrigible pugilistic libertine or persecution from malevolent spectres to damage her steely nerves and sense of the ridiculous.
This lively Gothic comedy, written as a good natured satire, gives the reader a kind and courageous heroine, a rascally but beguiling anti-hero and an authentic historical background to the delightfully over-the-top adventures, a cast of wholly believable characters, an engaging love story and many chills on its way to its tumultuous conclusion.
Reviewer Praise
"I'm still smiling from this one. What a great book! Lucinda Elliot has a sense of humour I've never come across before. It's so firmly tongue in cheek, and you can tell that she's having great fun with her writing, probably chuckling to herself as she goes. To the reader, this comes across. The enthusiasm is infectious and the book very enjoyable. She throws many a nod to the old romance genre and its authors, yet the story comes across as new. The story is well told, with twists and turns and supernatural events that put the characters through their paces. I won't say any more as I don't want to give too much away. Suffice to say, I loved it The Villainous Viscount, and look forward to the next one." -Goodreads Reviewer
Meet the Author - Lucinda Elliot
Lucinda Elliot loves writing Gothic style stories, which isn’t surprising because she was brought up in a series of big old isolated houses which her parents were refurbishing (it wasn’t so fashionable back then). After that, she lived, studied and worked in London for many years and now lives in Mid Wales with her family.
She loves writing about strong women to complement gung-ho males.
Her interests do include weight training and body shaping,and she was once a champion Sportsfighter, but apart from that her interests are quite geeky. Reading classic novels, conservation, gardening, and even names and their meanings (bring on the carrot juice). She loves a laugh above anything.
For more information, please visit Lucinda’s website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
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