The Disgraceful Duke

Barbara Cartland

Jun 2014 · The Eternal Collection Book 89 · Barbara Cartland EBooks ltd

About this ebook

Innocent and lovely Shimona BardsleyÕs father, the celebrated actor Beau Bardsley, has fallen desperately ill and yet he insists on persevering with the eveningÕs performance as Hamlet at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
A concerned Shimona accompanies him to the theatre where she overhears the notoriously disreputable Duke of Ravenstone Ð known as ÔHis DisgraceÕ Ð offering her father the huge sum of five hundred guineas to find him an actress to play Ôa partÕ for just two nights.
Desperate to raise enough money to take her father to a warmer clime and thereby save his life, Shimona accepts the DukeÕs offer and finds herself reluctantly embroiled in a deception that her conscience finds hard to bear.
Unchaperoned in the grand Ravenstone House in London with the devilish Duke and an imperious Clan Chieftain, Shimona is afraid, alone and in trouble Ð
But soon, to her bewilderment and ecstasy, she finds that she is also in love.
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About the author

Barbara Cartland was the world's most prolific novelist, having written an astounding 723 books in her lifetime, including 644 romantic novels that achieved worldwide sales of over one billion copies and were translated into 36 different languages. In addition to romantic novels, she also authored historical biographies, six autobiographies, theatrical plays, and advice books on life, love, vitamins, and cookery. Cartland penned her first book, "Jigsaw," at the age of 21, which became an immediate bestseller, selling 100,000 copies in hardback in England and throughout Europe in translation. Remarkably, between the ages of 77 and 97, she increased her literary output, writing an incredible 400 romances to meet the global demand for her work. She wrote her final book at the age of 97, prophetically titled "The Way to Heaven." Her popularity was immense in the United States, where in 1976 her current books held the number 1 and 2 spots on the B. Dalton bestsellers list simultaneously, a unique achievement. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her lifetime, particularly cherished for her romantic novels. Her works are treasured for their moral messages, pure and innocent heroines, handsome and dashing heroes, blissful happy endings, and above all, her belief in the power of love as the most important aspect of life. Her millions of readers around the world continue to collect her books to read again and again, especially during times of misery or depression, finding solace in the love and happiness that define her stories.