Avon Books (Paperback), ISBN 0-380-81557-5
In The Viscount Who Loved Me, Julia Quinn recreates Jane Austen with -- gasp -- sex. Each engaging chapter opens with a fictitious epigraph from Lady Whistledown's Society Papers, a gossipy scandal sheet that prepares us for the fun to follow.

Anthony Bridgerton, one of London's most notorious and elusive bachelors, decides to wed. He picks a bride he never met. Anthony wants a wife, not a love match, and the lovely Edwinna Sheffield, the Incomparable of the 1814 social season, will do just fine. His only obstacle lies in the Incomparable's older sister Kate, who must approve the match. Kate finds Anthony totally unsuitable for her gentle sister.

Kate and Anthony square off. He refuses to allow this termagant nobody to interfere with his campaign. But Kate won't be outmaneuvered. She must protect Edwinna against this wicked rake. Kate doesn't believe rakes can reform, and certainly not Anthony.

With tongue firmly in cheek, Lady Whistledown's gossip sheet chronicles their skirmishes with enough wit to make Jane Austen proud. Kate not only inflames Anthony's temper, but his other body parts as well. He should dream of the beautiful Edwinna. Instead, he conjures up erotic images of her sharp-tongued sister. While Anthony fights his unruly thoughts, Kate wrestles with her own unwanted attraction to this supposedly reformed rake.

The Viscount Who Loved Me will make you laugh. The repartee between Kate and Anthony crackles and sparks. Sharp wit and clever syntax thrive in Julia Quinn's lively, entertaining Regency novel.

Doris Valliant

Click here to share your views.