"A near perfect historical read!"

Lady Beatrix Lennox, disowned by her father after being found "in flagrante delicto" at a ball four years ago, accompanies her scandalous godmother to a country house party given by the Infamous Esme. The mischievous Bea enjoys her role as the diabolical seductress, playing many characters, while never showing her true self. At this gathering, the only challenge Bea finds is the puritanical Earl of Spade.

Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, the Earl of Spade, has fought relentlessly for political reform, but sees that he has made little difference in the world. Tired and depressed, Stephen heads to Esme's house party determined to find a respectable mistress among the fashionably impure. Among the sophisticated ladies, Stephen meets Countess Helene Godwin, a perfect candidate to ease his loneliness. However, Helene does not set his blood on fire, as does the very impudent Bea.

Stephen has his hands full at this unusual house party. A trio of women has him in their sights. Bea, who is wooing him for immoral purposes; Helene, who is using him to make her husband jealous; and Esme, who needs him as her fiancé in her quest for respectability. The staid and dull Stephen rises to the occasion causing a perfectly zany time where laughter and tears abound.

A near perfect read, A WILD PURSUIT sparkles with wit and has a cast of delightful characters. Luckily, the sequel to this creative tale arrives in April, when we will follow the escapades of Helene.

Reviewed by Suan Wilson
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted February 16, 2004

Summary

It is whispered behind the fans of London's dowagers and in the corners of fashionable ballrooms that scandal follows willfully wild Lady Beatrix Lennox wherever she goes. Three years before, the debutante created a sensation by being found in a distinctly compromising position. Now, the ton has branded her as unmarriageable, her family has called her a vixen, and Beatrix sees no reason not to go after what -- and who -- she wishes. And she wants Stephen Fairfax-Lacy, the handsome Earl of Spade. Beatrix, with her brazen suggestions and irresistibly sensuous allure, couldn't be more different from the earl's ideal future bride. Yet Beatrix brings out a wildness in the earl he has tried to deny far too long. Still, he's not about to play love's game by Lady Beatrix's rules. She may be used to being on top in affairs of the heart, but that will soon change.