"A great Regency"

Her teenage younger brothers always bring home wounded animals and ultimately Alexandria Gascoyne ends up caring for the creatures. However this time it is different as they obtain her help using their door and his horse to carry the wounded unconscious man into their home. With no identification on him, the only thing Alexandria and the doctor she sent for know is that he is very wealthy. When he regains consciousness under her nursing, he introduces himself as the Earl of Drummond, Derek 'Drum' de Macy.

When Drum heals, he reluctantly returns to London, leaving behind a now lonely Alexandria who misses their enlightened discussions. He craves to see her too so he sends for her though he knows his rank makes her unsuitable. As they fall in love, Drum has an unknown enemy who tried to kill him on that country road near his beloved's home and will take other shots at it including at his most precious Ally.

Fans of Edith Layton's C Regency books will want to read THE CONQUEST, a powerful tale that brings back characters from the previous novels in the series. Though better to understand the support cast by reading the earlier novels, this story line tells the tale of the intrepid lead characters so that the new readers have a stand-alone book. The theme centers on love between social classes though some intrigue lingers throughout the plot. Regency aficionados, especially those, who give an A+ to Ms Layton's C books, will cherish the latest entry.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 16, 2001