The Vicar's Daughter: A proper romance by Josi S. Kilpack

 

New from Best-selling author Josi S. Kilpack and the Proper Romance Line, The Vicar’s Daughter is a delightful twist on the classic tale of Cyrano De Bergerac.

Cassie, the youngest of six daughters in the Wilton family, is bold, bright, and ready to enter society. There’s only one problem: her older sister Lenora, whose extreme shyness prevents her from attending many social events. Lenora is now entering her third season, and since their father has decreed that only one Wilton girl can be out at a time, Cassie has no choice except to wait her turn.

Evan Glenside, a soft-spoken, East London clerk, has just been named his great-uncle’s heir and, though he is eager to learn all that will be required of him, he struggles to feel accepted in a new town and in his new position.

A chance meeting between Evan and Lenora promises to change everything, but when Lenora proves too shy to pursue the relationship, Cassie begins to write Mr. Glenside letters in the name of her sister. Her good intentions lead to disaster when Cassie realizes she is falling in love with Evan. But then Evan begins to court Lenora, thinking she is the author of the letters.

As secrets are revealed, the hearts of Cassie, Evan, and Lenora are tested. Will the final letter sent by the vicar’s daughter be able to reunite the sisters as well as unite Evan with his true love?


 Josi S. Kilpack hated to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and credits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998 and has written twenty-five novels, one cookbook, and been part of multiple collaborations since then. She is a four-time Whitney Award winner and Best of State winner in Fiction.  Josi currently lives in Willard, Utah, with her husband and children.

When Kensington Press picked up her first national women's fiction novel, As Wide as the Sky, Josi was in need of a pen name to differentiate between her other genres. For years, Josi has been called Jessica Pack by people who hear her name but don't know her, it made her new pen name easy to choose. As Wide as the Sky will be released in paperback sometime in 2018.

For more information about Josi or her books, please visit her blog, What is a Sundial In the Shade?

Forever and Forever by Josi S. Kilpack

 

Fall in love with history...all over again

 

It's 1836, and nineteen-year-old Fanny Appleton, a privileged daughter of a wealthy, upper-class Boston industrialist, is touring Europe with her family. Like many girls of her day, she enjoys the fine clothes, food, and company of the elite social circles. But unlike her peers, Fanny is also drawn to education, literature, and more intellectual pursuits.Published author and poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is also touring Europe, but under much different circumstances. Recently widowed, he is gathering research for a new publication that he hopes will secure his professorship at Harvard College.Befriended by the Appleton family while visiting Switzerland, Henry is introduced to Fanny and sees in her a kindred spirit, a lover of language and literature and high ideals. He is in love. Fanny, however, is uncertain. He is from a much lower social class and is older than she is. How could such a relationship ever thrive?Could a book of Henry's poetry, personally delivered, persuade Fanny to believe in a love that lasts forever and forever?

   

Editorial Reviews

Review

Well-researched, emotionally charged tale based on the real courtship of Henry Longfellow, America s first professional poet, and Fanny Appleton, an intelligent Boston heiress. The relationship was rocky and unlikely...Henry maintains a friendship with Fanny's family, and his dogged pursuit of Fanny confuses her; the widower's ardent attentions don't jibe with her ideas about love that lasts forever. Henry's inner turmoil is absolutely heart-wrenching, as his continuing passion finds expression in his writing but meets resistance and even unkindness at times from Fanny and her friends. Kilpack vividly re-creates the era in which the couple lived and constructs a love story that even the pickiest poet would declare fit for the ages. " - --Publishers Weekly


"New romance series based on the actual courtships of renowned writers, artists and musicians. Kilpack richly describes the customs and mores of the time, while appealing to present day sensibilities. Readers will gain a very different understanding of Longfellow, both through the story, as he and Fanny marry and live together joyously until fate interrupts their "happily ever after" and through the accompanying materials, including an informative time line, interesting chapter notes, and useful discussion questions for book clubs. This is an unusual and thoroughly engaging and eye-opening approach to historical romance. The next in Kilpack's thoughtful series will feature Sir Walter Scott." ---Booklist

About the Author

Josi S. Kilpack is the award-winning author of the Culinary Mystery series, and wrote two critically-acclaimed novels in A Proper Romance series: A Heart Revealed and Lord Fenton's Folly. She lives with her family in the Southwest.

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