This HaBO request is from Cat, who is looking for a historical romance that was taken away from her before she could finish it:
I have been looking for this book for over 10 years! I only read about a third of it before my mother found it and took it away ( I was 12 and VERY curious).
It was probably from the 90s. The cover was green I think with a circular cutout that showed the hero and heroine kissing. If you opened it there was a full pic of the usual heaving bosom.
I am pretty sure the woman was sitting on top facing the man with her head thrown back. I can’t remember if she had blond or red hair. I’m not sure of the exact setting but I think it was England in the 1800s.
All I can remember of the plot is that the heroine pretends to have a hunchback and limp and maybe a stutter to avoid marrying some rake who is being forced to pursue her for some reason. Probably money. She watched him have sex with his mistress when she hid in a wardrobe at a local inn. He realizes she is faking when he sees her riding one day and becomes intrigued.
That is all I can remember and even those details could be a bit off. Please help!
My first thought was Midsummer Magic by Catherine Coulter (aka “The One With the Cream” aka “The First Romance I Ever Read”) because the heroine disguises herself, but not with a limp and a hunchback. Instead, she wears an ugly cap and some old glasses and pretends to squint. The hero of that one does have a mistress, but I don’t recall her in an inn with the hero while the heroine was in a wardrobe.
And honestly, how does he bring his mistress AND his wife along on a trip? That takes some…arranging.
Do you recognize this book?
Lady in Green by Barbara Metzger
Description (Goodreads):
Escaping an arranged marriage, Annalise Avery takes employment at Lord Gardiner’s townhouse and, disguised as his housekeeper, vows to end the lord’s lascivious and despicable ways.
HER SITUATION IS ONE OF DISMAY, DISILLUSIONMENT, AND DIRE PERIL….
Annalise Avery would rather run away than marry the despicable man her stepfather has chosen for her. All he wants is her fortune anyway. Escaping with two servants, Annalise takes employment at Lord Gardiner’s town house, disguised as a housekeeper. No one suspects that the new housekeeper for his wild lordship’s London pied-a-terre is a diamond of the first water and a famous horsewoman.
But as Annalise becomes familiar with Gardiner’s tomcatting, she vows to thwart the despicable man and is lascivious ways. Sleeping powders in the wine and fleas in the bed do just the trick!
In the meanwhile, his lordship has grown quite preoccupied by the very mysterious Lady in Green who rides through the park atop a magnificent steed, spurring hearts young and old-including his own!
The heroine, Annalise, is disguises herself as an ugly housekeeper with a humpback and hairy mole and takes a position at some lord’s love nest. I think this is the one you’re looking for.
Hi all! I submitted this HaBO. I know it isn’t midsummer magic and I am going to look up the other one mentioned, but at first glance I doubt that is it. I really did not get very far in the story before I was interrupted. I don’t remember why the heroine was hiding at an inn or why the hero and his mistress ended up being there, but she wasn’t disguised as his housekeeper. He was coming to her guardian or fathers house. Again, I hadn’t gotten very far. I will check it out. Any other suggestions are also very much appreciated. Thank you!
Probably not the book you’re looking for, but Jane Feather’s “An Unsuitable Bride” has a similar theme. The heroine pretends to have a hunchback, a birthmark, and to be much older than she is. It was published in 2012, so I doubt it’s the one you’re specifically searching for.
Confession when i read the title, my first thought was “well that’s impressive i wonder how she manage to hide behind Quasimodo”
A quick cursory look didn’t come up with anything, and unfortunately don’t have time right now to look, but did come up with this, since specifics are kind of lacking.
It’s a list of books that have stepback covers
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/921807-stepback-cover-list
I just like that there is more than one book where the heroine pretends to have a hunchback. This could be a whole subgenre of heroines in disguise.
There was a Johanna Lindsey book, but there was more being less feminine than hiding. She did loathe her intended. There was a bit about her possibly breaking her foot at a young age and hatred involved. Lots of miscommunication and misunderstanding. Where would our novels be without those two? Sorry, I’m not much help.
@Violet Bick – I was going to say the same thing. I don’t know why I’m surprised that there’s more than one romance where the heroine pretends to have a hunchback, but I am.
That’s one of the things that I love about HaBOs – the discovery of obscure sub-subgenres.
I don’t have any answers, but now must read Lady in Green. Who could resist?
OK, I am having flashbacks to one I read where the heroine was stunningly gorgeous but was so sick of only being valued for her looks, she disguises herself with a hunchback, stained teeth etc. Her father then marries her off to the hero who for some reason MUST bring home an ugly bride (for some reason beautiful brides bring only bad luck… alliteration!) and is actually quite dismayed to find she is beautiful. I think it ended happily…?
Oh my good lord, Kathleen, I’ve read that one!
Is it a medieval, perhaps? Oh man, I know this book! (not the HaBo one, though)
@Kathleen, I believe you’re thinking of Fairest of Them All by Theresa Medeiros. It’s a medieval romance; not the one Cat is thinking of. The hero was under an ancestral curse to be destroyed by desire, so he seeks to marry an ugly woman whom he can’t possibly desire.
It doesn’t quite fit, but there are several similarities with Never a Gentleman by Eileen Dreyer. I do not recall a hunchback, but the heroine is plain and has a limp (I think one leg is shorter than the other). She is forced to marry a spy after they are found in bed together (one of them was drugged; it was a plot by his enemies). She is an accomplished horsewoman. One of her relatives (who is working for the enemy) takes her to an inn room with a two-way mirror so she can witness her husband having sex with his mistress. The book cover is green. I don’t know if this could be the book, though, because it appears to have been published in 2011. I really thought it was older, though, because I’m pretty sure I started reading it years ago and did not finish it. I encountered it again last year (not recognizing it until I was partway into it) and did finish it that time.
I don’t have an answer, but I have Lady in Green, and it’s a traditional Regency, so it wouldn’t ever have had a heaving bosom cover. @kathleen, @azteclady, I am also having flashbacks about the ugly bride book, now it’s going to drive me crazy.
@Karin, the “ugly bride book” is Fairest of Them All by Theresa Medeiros.
Could it be Caught in the Act by Betina Krahn? The original cover is black with an oval cut-away in the center. The heroine Merrie hides in a closet at an inn while Jack, the hero, is having sex with his mistress. It takes place in the reign of Mary I of England, so it’s a Tudor which means cod-piece.
I have the book! First of all I have hundreds of historical romances. I have to go through them because I can’t remember the title or author. The heroine pretends to have a hunchback and limps. She works at a tavern. She is also taking care of two orphan kids. She panhandles on the street to feed them. While working there she constantly abused by the patrons. She is hiding from the police who think she tries to kill her uncle. More details I can’t remember. I’ll look for the title when I get home
I believe this is it. Surrender to the Night by Evelyn Rogers.Copyright date 1991