Lady Windermere’s Lover

In a night of drunken revelry, Damien, Lord Windermere, gambles away his mother’s ancestral estate and forever changes the course of his life. He enters diplomatic service in an attempt to reform his ways and several years later finds a way to regain the estate. But marriage to country bumpkin Cynthia Chorley turns out to be more than Damien bargained for. When he returns to London after a year abroad, his mousy wife has blossomed—and taken a lover in the form of his greatest enemy.

Lady Windermere’s Lover is a classic romance. Cynthia is admirably good hearted and just smart enough to avoid being labeled dull. Damien is dutiful and driven to expunge his past deeds but never seems to accept the blame for his part in them. He is eager to mend fences with Cynthia but not always for the best reasons. Yet by the end, he fully appreciates his wife for all her winning qualities. The plot moves quickly, and uses the age old trope of keeping the hero and heroine apart through a series of misunderstandings. But the ending is happy and will leave historical romance lovers satisfied.