The Duke's Dilemma

The Duke's Dilemma was published in hardcover by Severn House (UK) in 1994. This title was not published in the US in paperback.

Luella Hanley is orphaned in Milan and while she prays for guidance after the funeral, she sees an odd sight. When she asks for help to return to England at the British Embassy, she notices the priest who was acting oddly. She accepts the offer to take an Italian boy to his English father and finds danger and love in this romance.

The heroine's clothes are the star of this cover of this book! I love her flower strewn hat and the blue ribbons which match her jacket. It covers a white gown, which looks like a basic dress which can be changed by a jacket and hat! We also notice that our couple are on a ship and stand in a decorated stateroom.

Heaven in Hong Kong

Heaven in Hong Kong is the first of 9 hardcover books that I own by Barbara Cartland. As far as I know, none of these were ever published in paperback. Most are Severn House publications and just published in the UK.

Heaven in Hong Kong, dated 1990 by Severn House, is the story of Velda Armstrong, who is caring for her young brother since they've been orphaned. She is worried that he may be taken away from her so she visits Mike Medway, an English trader, and asks him to sponsor her brother in school. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with a married man!

I like this cover of colorful fireworks! It's interesting seeing our English hero and heroine in Chinese outfits, but it suits the title of the book.

Stand and Deliver Your Heart

Stand and Deliver Your Heart is a UK Mandarin paperback dated 1991. This book was not published in the US and had a hardback equivalent at one time.

Vanda Charlton warns the Earl of Wynstock that highwayman have taken over his home while he has been away fighting Napoleon! Soon they both find themselves in desperate straits and the earl has to use all of his ingenuity in fighting the intruders!

It looks as if our couple is being married in an interesting place and style! The hero is masked and the heroine seems not to mind. Maybe she is aware who he is? It looks like they may be outdoors in a ruined church.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some rare Cartland books! Next I will show some titles that have only been published in hardcover and then we'll begin her Pink Collection, books published after her death in 2001.

The Sleeping Princess

The Sleeping Princess is a UK Mandarin paperback from 1991 and another that wasn't published in the US and extremely hard to find.

Lady Odela Ford returns from boarding school to find out that her stepmother is planning on marrying her to her own lover so that he can have her fortune! She runs away to her old nanny who is employed by the Marquis of Trancombe and she thwarts the theft of one of his Van Dyck's!

Since it was hard to find this book, I was curious to see what the cover art would look like! We see the couple tied up by the thieves. Both are wearing riding dress, which suggests that they had been waylaid on a morning ride.

Again, I'd use eBay or Amazon to find copies of these titles and if you live in England or Australia, search out your local second hand book stores. Good luck!

The Scent of Roses

The Scent of Roses is a Mandarin UK paperback published in 1991. This book was not published in the US and was extremely hard to find!

Nikola's brother has become a thief! She is mortified by his passion for art and the Marquis of Ridgmont has found out and decides to help him by sending him to Peru to check out some old paintings there. He decides to take Nikola to Turkey as he is being sent on a secret diplomatic mission.

We see our couple sitting and looking at three paintings. The hero is relaxed but the heroine seems to be studying intently the pictures. I like her dark green riding dress which is set off by the rich red leather furniture and curtains in the room.

The Magic of Paris

The Magic of Paris is a UK Mandarin paperback published in 1991. This book was also published in hardback and I believe with another title. It was not published in the US.

Eva's father has died while they were in Paris and in the house of a notorious courtesan! When she visits to retrieve a shirt stud, she encounters Lord Charles Craig, who has visited Leonide with a problem of his own and she decides to ask Eva if she will help Charles thwart a marriage proposal!

On this cover, we see an angry man who seems to be upsetting our heroine, since the hero comforts her. Her dress really is the star of this cover, with its bustle and blue ribbon trimming. It looks very elegant and I think all of us girls wish we could wear something like it, at least once!

Love Runs In

Love Runs In is a Mandarin UK paperback published in 1996. This book was not published in the US.

Novella Wentworth saves a wounded young man when he begs sanctuary in her house. She soon realizes that he is being hunted by Lord Grimston and the wounded man asks for her help in getting a message to the Secretary of War in this regency romance by Barbara Cartland.

Our couple kiss as they sit inside a carriage. One wonders if their mission is a success? The heroine wears a pretty white delicate looking evening gown.

Ebay or Amazon are the best places to find copies of these books. Also, if you are in the UK or Australia, you may find copies in a second hand book store.

The Love Light of Apollo

The Love Light of Apollo was published by Mandarin UK as a paperback in 1996. This book was not published in the US. Queen Victoria is trying to separate Princess Marigold from her suitor by sending her away to Athens to attend a state funeral as her representative. She decides to play a trick on the Queen by asking a friend, Avila, who could be her double, to attend in her place while she marries her suitor privately! Aliva, who has always wanted to visit Greece, agrees and finds a wonderful adventure there!

This cover is interesting because it looks as if our couple have discovered a rare statue in a cave. Our heroine is not dressed for excavating and looks lovely in her light blue day gown. I think it's a pretty cover.

Love, Lies, and Marriage

Love, Lies, and Marriage is a UK Mandarin paperback published in 1997.  This book was not published in the US. I believe there is a hardcover version of this title.

Teresa's father and his friend, Sir Hubert Bryan are scheming to unite their relatives into matrimony. Bryan's nephew is in need of a wife and Teresa's father is afraid of fortune hunters.

This is an interesting cover. Our heroine lounges on the floor at the chair of the hero, who is reading a letter. They are both dressed for dinner or a evening out. It seems unusual that she isn't using the chair in the background and seems a bit subservient. I like the room's details.

Love and a Cheetah

Love and a Cheetah is a 1994 UK Mandarin publication. This book was not published in the US.

Ilesa Harle's half-sister is widowed and enamored of the Duke of Mountheron. She is invited, along with her family, to visit the duke's estate and it's Ilesa who captures the duke's attention, to the wrath of her sister!

This is an interesting cover of our couple with the addition of the dangerous cheetah! I'm assuming that the duke had a home zoo. The contrast of the elegant dress against the wildness of the animal is interesting.

For anyone looking for these books, eBay is your best choice along with Amazon. It still amazes me that they weren't published in the US, but the market for Cartland's books may not have been as strong in the 1990's.

In Love, In Lucca

In Love in Lucca is a UK Mandarin publication dated 1997. This book was not published in the US.

Paola's grandmother has died, so her debut is delayed. Her mother decides to send her to Italy to visit a distant cousin during her time of mourning. While there, she meets the Marchese Vitturio, who has a dreadful reputation, but is handsome and enigmatic!

This is a simply drawn cover of our couple with them sharing an embrace during a quiet moment. It's romantic and mysterious.

A Dog, A Horse, and a Heart

The next 10 books are some of my favorites! All were published in the UK under Mandarin publishers and were not published in the US! I am not sure why, since Barbara Cartland's books were still being published in the US in 1994, which is the date of this book. Some Mandarin book titles were published in the US by Jove under the Camfield label, so it's a mystery!

A Dog, A Horse, and A Heart is a story about Manella, who runs away from her uncle after he tells her she must marry an elderly duke. She rides away on her favorite horse and brings her pet dog and assumes the position of the cook to the Marquis of Buckingdon.

I like this cover of our couple as they ride through the village. We see them being kind to local children while also seeing the horses and dog of the title!

The Wrong Duchess

The Wrong Duchess is the sixth and final book in the UK Master Butcher series. It is also dated 1989. None of these Master Butcher books were published in the US.

Queen Victoria discovers the Duke of Kerncliffe with one of her ladies in waiting during the night and thus decrees that he must immediately be married. He is furious at this royal command but takes the suggestion of a friend and asks for the hand of a duke's daughter. She is in love with another and being forced to marry Kerncliffe. However, her cousin Areta, who is not in society because of her father's disgrace, is willing to take her place as the bride!

I like this cover. The heroine is pretty and the hero handsome. It looks like they are celebrating their wedding and he doesn't know that Areta has taken her cousin's place as bride. The title is enough for me to pick up this book, which I'm planning on reading again quite soon!

The Music of Love

The Music of Love was published in the UK in 1989, the fifth book in the Master Butcher Collection.

Carla and her widowed mother leave for Vienna where her mother, a once famous opera singer, decides to rejoin the stage. She is a countess, so decides not to use her real name and tells her daughter to keep it a secret. While there, she meets a young man whose horses are in a production. They fall in love but he is a disguised prince and cannot marry a commoner!

I like this cover of our couple attending an opera! They are seated in a box and are elegantly dressed. The curtains seem to conceal as much as reveal and the theater was an important place to be seen!

Free as the Wind

Free as the Wind is the fourth book in the UK Master Butcher series in 1989. It was not published in the US. Eustacia is an heiress but wishes to be married for love, so she answers an ad and becomes the companion to a lady whose son is an explorer. She falls in love with him but his father won't give him any money since he won't settle down as his heir should.

I like the austere setting of the room on this cover which allows the objects to be observed. The heroine is happy to be looking at the treasures of the hero's and the sapphire Buddha looks rare and very breakable! The hero is anxious to see her reaction and she looks very happy.  I like her simple hairdo and vivid yellow gown.

A Heart in the Highlands

A Heart in the Highlands is another "Master Butcher" UK only publication from 1989.

The Duke of Strathvegon heads to Scotland after fleeing the wrath of an Earl and his mother convinces him to marry. She has chosen 3 debutantes, but one girl isn't allowed to go because her father is friends with the Earl, so he sends his niece instead.  The Duke is enchanted with Yseulta and soon realizes that she is the only woman for him!

This is a sweet cover of our couple sharing a kiss on the grounds of a beautiful castle. The hero is handsome in Scottish regalia while the heroine is enchanting in a white bustle gown. It looks like a happy story from the cover.

Love Comes to the Castle

Love Comes to the Castle is the second of the "Master Butcher" books, only published in the UK. This copy is a 1989 publication date.

Jaela Compton's father has died and she is wanting to return to England from Italy. She is asked to escort an English lady and her daughter back home, but the lady is dying and she must convince her husband to accept the little girl as his daughter.

This is an elegant cover of our couple facing off! The heroine is regal in her traveling dress while the hero is handsome in formalwear. The little girl sleeps in a chair opposite. I like the stubborn expression of the heroine and this pretty cover makes me want to pick up this book and read it!

Desire in the Desert

Desire in the Desert was published in the UK in 1989, 1 of 6 books in the "Master Butcher" collection by TCCL (the Communication Circle LTD).

This is the story about the Marquis of Peverell, who vows never to remarry after an unfortunate marriage. His two cousins are running up debts because one of them is his heir. In order to deflect this, he decides to find a ward to whom he can leave the bulk of his fortune, if not the title.

He finds Shamara in an orphanage, the daughter of a missionary. She is suitable and they travel abroad for her to learn how to be a lady.

There is no artist signature, but the cover is interesting being set in the middle east with our heroine approaching the hero, who is unusually undressed for a Cartland novel! I like her blue gown as well as the ornate pillars and fountain.