"A unique novel that is fantastic"

On the Devon-Cornwall border, Masterson Manor is either an economic elephant draining one's assets or a beautiful historical landmark worth preserving. To the owner, the house costs way too much to maintain so he is selling the manor and its contents. To Master Museum curator Laurel Whitney, the sale is a ghastly tragedy. Still on her last guided tour, she remains professional and tells the tourists three tales of three pairs of lovers who have shared the renowned eight century old Masterson bed. 1200, 1583, 1815, and the present as a fourth tale starring a sad Laurel and the modern magic of the bed closes out the stories of love.

The quartet of novellas spans the history of England with three historical periods that rank among the most popular amidst romance readers. Medieval, Elizabethan, Regency, and a contemporary provide the backdrop to four great tales linked by the bed. Each story is well written and enticing, as readers will get into the sheets. Though the tales are connected, Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway insure their contributions stand alone as the audience knows the era is well represented and described. The concept is sort of like the movie the Yellow Rolls Royce, but spans eight hundred years as Ms. Dodd and Ms. Brockway gift the sub-genre with a powerful tour-de-force.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted June 15, 2002

Summary

From two of romance fiction's most exciting and acclaimed authors comes the sizzling saga of a magnificent bed and the lovers who have shared it through the ages. Collaborating for the first time, Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway take readers on an unforgettable adventure -- from medieval times to present day -- that sparkles with love and laughter. Once Upon a Pillow Within a beautiful old English manor house lies a sumptuous antique bed, one of many Masterson family heirlooms that have been sold along with the house. As Laurel Whitney leads the last tour group through the house before it's closed to the public, she regales the visitors with romanticized tales of how this exquisite bed affected the lives of the couples who slept in it. The actual stories -- of a bawdy medieval knight trying to woo his reluctant bride; an insolvent Elizabethan aristocrat who plans to ruin a wealthy heiress but beds her impoverished cousin instead; and a feisty Regency lady whose scheme goes awry when she mistakenly manacles herself (and a dashing colonel) to the bedpost -- are funnier and certainly sexier than anything a tour guide could ever tell! Shocked to see her lover from the past on the tour, Laurel is even more surprised to find their love rekindled when a twist of fate leaves them no choice but to spend the night in the famed Masterson bed.