The Secret Pearl: A Novel - Softcover

Balogh, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440242975 ISBN 13: 9780440242970

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 2005

Synopsis

Mary Balogh has no equal when it comes to capturing the complex, irresistible passions between men and women. Her classic novel, The Secret Pearl, is one of the New York Times bestselling author's finest-a tale of temptation and seduction, of guarded hearts and raw emotion...and of a love so powerful it will take your breath away....

He first spies her in the shadows outside a London theatre, a ravishing creature forced to barter her body to survive.

To the woman known simply as Fleur, the well-dressed gentleman with the mesmerizing eyes is an unlikely savior. And when she takes the stranger to her bed, she never expects to see him again. But then Fleur accepts a position as governess to a young girl...and is stunned to discover that her midnight lover is a powerful nobleman. As two wary hearts ignite-and the threat of scandal hovers over them-one question remains: will she be mistress or wife?

About this title

Synopsis:

"The Secret Pearl" opens with Adam, Duke of Raybourne, emerging from the Drury Lane Theatre, parting from his friends, and seeing a sad-looking prostitute standing in the shadows. Something makes him approach her; despite the fact that she isn't throwing out any lures to him at all, he hires her and takes her to a room in a run-down inn. This, we find, is Fleur's first night as a prostitute. Having gone two days without food and unable to get a job, she has decided to sell the only remaining asset she has: herself. Only when it's too late does Adam discover that she is actually a gentlewoman fallen on hard times, and a virgin. Afterwards, Adam does feel some guilt, and he feeds Fleur as well as giving her three times as much money as she asked for. And then he sends his secretary to ensure that she is offered a job - as governess to his daughter. His motives, he assumes, are simply philanthropic: he hates the thought of a gentlewoman having to survive on the streets in such a fashion. So Fleur takes up residence in the Duke of Raybourne's estate, delighted to have found a refuge both from her life in London and from the horrors from which she ran in the first place.

Until the Duke of Raybourne comes home, and she discovers that he is the same man to whom she sold herself as a prostitute. And yet, as the days go by, he is also the man who comforts her, who protects her and who offers her a safe refuge. "The Secret Pearl" is a classic, one of Mary Balogh's very best. It's poignant; heart wrenching and utterly romantic, and her fans will be overjoyed to find it back on the market.

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling, multi-award-winning author Mary Balogh grew up in Wales, land of sea and mountains, song and legend. She brought music and a vivid imagination with her when she came to Canada to teach. There she began a second career as a writer of books that always end happily and always celebrate the power of love. There are over four million copies of her Regency romances and historical romances in print.

About this edition

• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0440242975
• ISBN 13: 9780440242970
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 432