The Ruthless Rake: Volume 31 (The Eternal Collection) - Softcover

Left on the verge of starvation by her dissolute father’s gambling and drinking, the beautiful but resourceful young Syringa Melton is at her wits’ end. Not only has their delightful Manor House and all its contents been put up for sale at auction to pay off his huge debts, but also her beloved horse, Mercury. When the rakishly handsome Earl of Rothingham overhears her sobbing to Mercury in a last desperate farewell, his heart melts for her and without Syringa’s knowledge he not only buys the Manor House and Mercury but as well, through a strange misunderstanding , Syringa herself! A man determined to avoid marriage at all costs, the Earl finds himself reluctantly but irresistibly drawn to this innocent beauty who compares him to the Roman God, Jupiter, no less! But soon the conceited but enchanting Lady Elaine Wilmot, determined to snare the Earl for herself, entraps Syringa in a wicked plot that leaves the young beauty terrified and threatened in the filth of Newgate Prison, facing a flogging and the gallows. Unless, as she prays fervently over and over again, her ‘Jupiter’ can come to her rescue.

Barbara Cartland, who sadly died in May 2000 at the grand age of ninety eight, remains one of the world’s most famous romantic novelists.  With worldwide sales of over one billion, her outstanding 723 books have been translated into thirty six different languages, to be enjoyed by readers of romance globally. Writing her first book ‘Jigsaw’ at the age of 21, Barbara became an immediate bestseller.  Building upon this initial success, she wrote continuously throughout her life, producing bestsellers for an astonishing 76 years.  In addition to Barbara Cartland’s legion of fans in the UK and across Europe, her books have always been immensely popular in the USA.  In 1976 she achieved the unprecedented feat of having books at numbers 1 & 2 in the prestigious B. Dalton Bookseller bestsellers list. Although she is often referred to as the ‘Queen of Romance’, Barbara Cartland also wrote several historical biographies, six autobiographies and numerous theatrical plays as well as books on life, love, health and cookery.  Becoming one of Britain’s most popular media personalities and dressed in her trademark pink, Barbara spoke on radio and television about social and political issues, as well as making many public appearances.