Alverstone (The Alverstones, #1) / The Alverstones (ePub)

"If Georgette Heyer wrote Gone With the Wind... Alverstone is a slam dunk historical family saga that has it all: romance, villainy, humor, and adventure, set against a backdrop of glittering balls, sprawling estates, and the battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars. For the purists among us, author Beatrice Knight delivers a Regency setting up there with the best ever written, and that includes Georgette Heyer." Regency Chronicle

A man in possession of £12,000 a year and his own teeth is not to be sneered at. After five failed London Seasons, Charlotte Winford is past being picky. She has enraptured a gouty squire with a pig-farming empire. Admittedly, he is no Adonis and has a horror of educated women, but it's not raining suitors in the ballrooms of 1813.

Only duty would induce war-hardened Jasper Alverstone to attend an Almack's ball. The most hunted matrimonial prize in England, he is not above skulking in dark corners to avoid ambitious mamas. But he is now head of his illustrious family and must honor his father's will, even if it means marrying an insufferable heiress who loathes him. No sooner has that lady thrown his dance offer in his face when he overhears some sapskull making the world's worst marriage proposal. Coming face-to-face with its fleeing recipient, he recognizes a country damsel he saved from ruin seven years ago--gallantry that almost cost him his life.

With old scores to settle and secrets to hide, Jasper and Charlotte form an uneasy alliance that will alter their lives forever. Alverstone is a sprawling historical saga in the tradition of Belva Plain, Rosamunde Pilcher and other great storytellers.

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From Beatrice Knight, founder of the All Things Regency research blog, author of the Regency Modistes Compendium, and host of the Napoleonic Zone and Regency Era podcast.

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Review: Meredith Thompson, REGENCY CHRONICLE. Rated 5 stars: "Best New Regency Voice"

"Alverstone is made for readers who want to escape back in time and put themselves in the shoes of a young, well-bred Regency woman, losing themselves in the world she inhabited. What was it like to go to a grand event at Vauxhall Gardens? Ms. Knight invites readers to live the experience with every sense fully engaged. What did people actually discuss over dinner - was it all small talk or did the events of the day inform conversation? What did they eat? What did they wear, and where did they buy it?

Historically accurate Regency vernacular flows effortlessly through the dialogue and thoughts of the large cast of characters above and below stairs. Witty, fun, and cleverly nuanced, the period-appropriate language is thankfully free of those glaring 21st century anachronisms that litter so many Regency romances. Readers seeking a straightforward romance may find they've bitten off more than they can chew. Think: Gone With the Wind - yes, there's a love story, but so much more...

Penning a sweeping historical saga populated by well-crafted characters with fresh, fabulous Regency dialogue, spanning continents and class differences, is a task for a serious author who does serious research. Ms. Knight tackled a daunting breadth of story, and she nailed it. In doing so, she brought something new and entirely her own to a genre that's been feeling stale: a distinctive voice, not like any other, and a grand vision of what a Regency-set historical novel can be."