Manchester industrialist William Rose was a poor lad from the slums who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, but in order to achieve his greatest ambitions he must become the epitome of Victorian respectability: a family man.
She has a plan...
But the only woman who's caught his eye is sophisticated beauty Octavia Marshall, one of the notorious ladies of Carson Street. Though she was once born to great wealth and privilege, she's hardly respectable, but she's determined to invest her hard-earned fortune in Mr Rose's mills and forge a new life as an entirely proper businesswoman.
They strike a deal that promises them both what they desire the most, but William's a fool if he thinks Octavia will be a conventional married woman, and she's very much mistaken if she thinks the lives they once led won't follow them wherever they go.
In the third instalment of Rachel Brimble's exciting Victorian saga series, The Ladies of Carson Street will open the doors on a thoroughly modern marriage – and William is about to get a lot more than he bargained for...
This is the third book in the Ladies of Carson trilogy but A Very Modern Marriage can definitely be read as a stand alone novel…
Each book in the trilogy tells the story of one of the three friends who are the heroines of the series. A Very Modern Marriage tells Octavia’s story and takes readers from the streets of Victorian Bath to the cotton mills of Manchester as she pursues of her goal of becoming an independent businesswoman…but things don’t quite the way she imagined.
The book is not a typical historical romance and I never intended it to be…
I have a reputation for writing darker, grittier romances set amongst the poorer classes and in the seedier areas of Bath, rather than stories that revolve around the elite upper classes, ballrooms and tearooms. The heroine of A Very Modern Marriage is a prostitute – but her story is not one you might assume. Octavia’s background should not have led her to where she is when the book opens but she is a fighter and determined to find her happy ever after.
The theme of the Ladies of Carson Street series is Survival…
And this is shown in each of the stories, but I think it is shown with Octavia in A Very Modern Marriage the most poignantly because she cannot admit how much she longs for genuine companionship. She was meant for a privileged life and when her mother died, her life changed dramatically in a matter of months. She was forced to rely on her own means and tragedy taught her independence and that is what she wants for the rest of her life. Or at least that’s what she tells herself.
A Very Modern Marriage begins in the famous city of Bath, England…
I count myself incredibly lucky to live just a short 30-minute drive from this incredible city – Bath is mostly known for being a Georgian town because of its amazing architecture and streets but, if you visit, you will see evidence of every historical period. From Roman to Victorian, Bath has played host to fascinating events and people…including Jane Austen, who lived in Bath from 1801to 1806. The city even features in her novels Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. I urge you to add Bath to your bucket list – you’ll love it!
If you like darker British period drama, I think you’ll love the Ladies of Carson Street…
This series was inspired by my reading of The Five by Hallie Rubenhold in which she investigates the lives of Jack the Ripper’s five victims. The book really makes the reader consider how very different these women were and if they deserved to be labelled prostitutes. I found the research incredibly moving and wanted to bring together three women from very different backgrounds doing what they must to survive.
A Very Modern Marriage and the two previous books (A Widow’s Vow & Trouble For The Leading Lady) are stories of struggle, tenacity and a deserved happy ever after. If you like British period dramas like Harlots, A Very British Scandal or Vienna Blood, this might just be the series for you!
There was something beguiling about a woman who spoke so eloquently, who clearly knew much of the world and wasn’t afraid to challenge and speak with a gentleman of wealth and standing. She was feisty, certainly. But it was more than that. Octavia Marshall had clear control of her emotions and an aptitude for conversation that challenged and intrigued him, that made him want to be a better man, to impress her with his strengths and play down any weaknesses.
He had never met a woman so mysterious yet open, so tormenting yet serious. It was baffling, but entirely captivating and the combination made his body shift carnally.
Dangerous. That’s what she was… very, very dangerous.
And he had to put a stop to her enchantment.
‘Octavia.’ He reached out as she stopped outside a closed bedroom door, gently but firmly grasping her elbow. ‘We should talk.’
Her hand slipped from the door and concern darkened her eyes. ‘Are you all right?’
William looked deep into her eyes and felt as though he was teetering on the edge of something he couldn’t explain. He released her elbow and pushed his hand into his hair. ‘I didn’t come here to be alone with you this way.’
Her gaze drifted over his face before she slowly lifted her incredible lashes and pinned him to the floor with her brilliant blue gaze. ‘Do you want to be with me now?’
‘I can’t make love to you when—’
‘You won’t be making love to me.’ She lightly touched her fingers to his jaw. ‘This is a business arrangement. The same as any other.’
A spike of something that felt far too much like a blow hit the centre of his chest and he swallowed. What in God’s name was happening to him? Since when did he react so uncertainly to anything… anyone?
From grieving widow...
1851. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath the only things she has left of him. And now the debt collectors will come calling.
To a new life as a madam.
Forced to leave everything she knows behind, Louisa finds more painful betrayals waiting for her in the house in Bath. Left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has nothing to turn to but her old way of life. But this time, she'll do it on her own terms – by turning her home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. And she's determined to spare the girls she saves from the street the horrors she endured in the past.
Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never envisaged. Can she find the courage to forge this new path?
A Widow's Vow is the first in a gripping and gritty new Victorian saga series from Rachel Brimble. You won't be able to put it down.
As a girl, Nancy Bloom would go to Bath's Theatre Royal, sit on the hard wooden benches and stare in awe at the actresses playing men as much as the women dressed in finery. She longed to be a part of it all and when a man promised her parents he could find a role for Nancy in the theatre, they believed him.
His lie and betrayal led to her ruin.
Francis Carlyle is a theatre manager, an ambitious man always looking for the next big thing to take the country by storm. A self-made man, Francis has finally shed the skin of his painful past and is now rich, successful and in need of a new female star. Never in a million years did he think he'd find her standing on a table in one of Bath's bawdiest pubs.
Nancy vowed never to trust a man again. Francis will do anything to make her his star. As they engage in a battle of wits and wills, can either survive with their hearts intact?
The second in Rachel Brimble's thrilling new Victorian saga series, Trouble for the Leading Lady will whisk you away to the riotous, thriving underbelly of Victorian Bath.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association as well as the Historical Novel Society and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.
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I really like the cover and the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad, Sherry! Hope you're tempted :)
DeleteThanks for hosting me today! I look forward to chatting with your visitors :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good story.
ReplyDeleteinteresting
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day! I like the cover, synopsis and excerpt, this sounds like a must read book and series for me. Thank you for sharing the author's bio and book details
ReplyDeleteGreat fun facts, thanks for sharing them
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt and giveaway.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your release of A Very Modern Marriage, Rachel, I enjoyed the excerpt and your book sounds like an excellent read for me! Good luck with your book and the tour! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a Happy Valentine's Day!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is really pretty - good luck with the tour.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great! Thanks for the excerpt!
ReplyDelete