About this item
Percival Windham is a second son and cavalry officer when he weds the beautiful Esther Himmelfarb, who bears her beloved husband four sons in little over five years of marriage. As Percival and Esther's finances become constrained, the ducal heir suffers an ailing heart, and the old duke becomes querulous and forgetful. Married life thus comes to feel like endless loneliness and tribulation. Esther is exhausted and emotional; Percival is considering the wisdom of finding a mistress; and then two women from Percival's past wreak further havoc on the marriage, with potentially disastrous consequences for the entire Windham family.Percival and Esther must grow into the nobility they've been resisting and stand together, or face the threat of destroying their family and the beautiful love that started out with such promise.
About the Author
I started writing as an antidote to empty nest and soon found it an antidote to life in general. I am the sixth out of seven children, and was raised in the rural surrounds of central Pennsylvania. Early in life I spent a lot of time reading romance novels and practicing the piano. My first career was as a technical writer and editor in the Washington, DC, area, a busy profession that nonetheless left enough time to read a lot of romance novels.It also left enough time to grab a law degree through an evening program, produce Beloved Offspring (only one, but she is a lion) , and eventually move to the lovely Maryland countryside. While reading yet still more romance novels (there is a trend here) I opened a law practice, acquired a master's degree in Conflict Transformation (I had a teenage daughter by then) and started thinking about writing.... romance novels. This aim was realized when Beloved Offspring struck out into the Big World. ("Mom, why doesn't anybody tell you being a grown-up is hard? ") I eventually got up the courage to start pitching manuscripts to agents and editors. The query letter that resulted in "the call" started out: "I am the buffoon in the bar at the writer's retreat who could not keep her heroines straight, could not look you in the eye, and could not stop blushing--and if that doesn't narrow down the possibilities, your job is even harder than I thought." (The dear lady bought the book anyway.) You can contact me though email at graceburrowes@yahoo.com or through my website at graceburrowes.com
