England, 1802 Beatrix March chose to be a governess rather than let an overbearing husband rule her. Even though she never intends to marry, it doesn't mean she can't enjoy a man's...company —especially when presented with one as tempting as notorious rake Simon Carling! Simon doesn't usually seduce virtuous governesses, but Beatrix is unlike any woman he's ever encountered. Her luscious curves were made to grace a man's bed, and he's never denied himself such satisfaction before. Flouting society's tedious conventions, in favor of thrilling chemistry, may force Beatrix and Simon to contemplate the unthinkable—marriage!

"Un-put-downable... This may be Harrington's best yet." —Publisher's Weekly STARRED Review For fans of Grace Burrowes, Sarah Maclean, and Bridgerton, USA Today bestselling author Anna Harrington brings you a sexy feminist historical romance with: An unapologetic rake attempting to cover up his past A rule-following heroine unafraid to speak her mind Thrilling action and mystery Passionate attraction that overrides their deepest resistance Notorious rake Alexander Sinclair, Earl of St James, takes pride in displaying his sins. When he's tasked by the Home Office with finding the men who attempted to assassinate the prime minister, his hunt leads him to Olivia Everett, a most proper schoolmistress who wants nothing to do with a profligate nobleman like him. Unknown to her, Olivia's brother Henry has been working with the revolutionary group planning to overthrow the government. Shocked and hoping to save her brother, Olivia agrees to help the persuasive earl. But the closer they get to uncovering the villains, the more Alec and Olivia will need to trust each other. Praise for Anna Harrington: "As steamy as it is luscious. My favorite kind of historical!"—Grace Burrowes, New York Times bestselling author, for Dukes Are Forever "A touching and tempestuous romance, with all the ingredients Regency fans adore."—Gaelen Foley, New York Times bestselling author, for Dukes Are Forever "Harrington is a rising star...plenty of both love and danger."—Booklist STARRED Review for An Inconvenient Duke

More Than a Duke: Book 9 in the “Heart of a Duke” Series

Under pressure to marry, Lady Edith is saved a suitor's unwanted advances by Griffin, a family friend and earl. She suggests a fake engagement to placate both of their families - but could their arrangement be just the thing to awaken a true romance? Lady Edith knows the sting of unrequited love, and now she wants only one thing—to marry a man who desires her or to never marry. But at the Season’s end, her father threatens to provide a husband if she cannot secure one herself. When a family friend saves her from the unwanted advances of one of their suitors, she falls a little bit in love. With his auburn hair and radical ideas about women, Griffin Paxton, the Earl of Eastern, is perfect. Except he doesn’t want her back. Griffin will not be distracted by Lady Edith’s diamond-eyed beauty. He needs a wife to fulfill his dying father’s wish, and he needs her to be a model of propriety to repair the family reputation his rakish father sullied. When Lady Edith calls herself a rake, he knows she’ll never do. He’ll have to guard his attraction to her fiery spirit and open heart behind thick ice walls and look elsewhere. But when Edith suggests they forge a fake engagement to appease both their fathers, Griffin can’t refuse. She needs his help, and he never ignores a damsel in distress. Will a fake courtship bring out their rakish desires, or will it offer a home to two hurting hearts? In this sizzling opposites-attract Regency romance by USA Today bestselling author Charlie Lane, a lady of passion and an earl of logic commit to a fake courtship as rakish as it is daring.

The numerous and multifaceted ways in which masculinities emerge and are expressed within cultures prompt a broad ranging examination and reconsideration of what it means to be a man. Within the study of masculinity, the early modern period stands between the Renaissance, when conceptions of manhood were primarily dominated by chivalric and humanistic traditions, and the latter half of the 18th century, which marked the beginnings of modern conceptions of masculine identity. But rather than a transitional period, the early modern era was a key moment in the evolutionary dynamics of masculine representation. Political forces, such as the Puritan revolution, the Restoration, and the shift in power from the courtier class to the growing middle class forced a reconsideration of the masculine ideal in light of the experiences of the masses. At the same time, the emergence of print culture provided a means of transmitting the new masculine ideal, and literature of the period reflected the changing notions of masculinity. The chapters in this volume explore the various strategies used by early modern writers to represent masculinity. Together, the expert contributors offer a broad perspective on the social and political dynamics of early modern masculine identity. Included are chapters on such writers as Thomas Carew, Andrew Marvell, Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, John Dryden, Daniel Defoe, and Samuel Richardson. Though incorporating a variety of critical approaches, the contributors all explore the inherent anxiety associated with masculinity and its representation. The chapters demonstrate how significant literary texts of the period provided not only idealized images of early modern manhood but also contesting ones. By focusing on the literary, historical, and social dynamics which construct cultural perceptions of masculinity, this volume ultimately illustrates the literary representation of manhood in the early modern period to be a dynamic and evolving process which often challenged Western notions of what it means to be a man.

In John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, the pilgrims cannot reach the Celestial City without passing through Vanity Fair, where everything is bought and sold. In recent years there has been much analysis of commerce and consumption in Britain during the long eighteenth century, and of the dramatic expansion of popular publishing. Similarly, much has been written on the extraordinary effects of the evangelical revivals of the eighteenth century in Britain, Europe, and North America. But how did popular religious culture and the world of print interact? It is now known that religious works formed the greater part of the publishing market for most of the century. What religious books were read, and how? Who chose them? How did they get into people's hands? Vanity Fair and the Celestial City is the first book to answer these questions in detail. It explores the works written, edited, abridged, and promoted by evangelical dissenters, Methodists both Arminian and Calvinist, and Church of England evangelicals in the period 1720 to 1800. Isabel Rivers also looks back to earlier sources and forward to the continued republication of many of these works well into the nineteenth century. The first part is concerned with the publishing and distribution of religious books by commercial booksellers and not-for-profit religious societies, and the means by which readers obtained them and how they responded to what they read. The second part shows that some of the most important publications were new versions of earlier nonconformist, episcopalian, Roman Catholic, and North American works. The third part explores the main literary kinds, including annotated bibles, devotional guides, exemplary lives, and hymns. Building on many years' research into the religious literature of the period, Rivers discusses over two hundred writers and provides detailed case studies of popular and influential works.