Luettuani joltisenkin määrän historiallisia viihderomaaneja huomasin, että tietyt sanat toistuvat teosten otsikoissa, erityisesti sanat rogue, rake ja scoundrel. Niinpä tein Helmetissä haun hakusanalla rogue, ja aikamoisen pitkä lista näitä romaaneja kirjastosta löytyi, ja pitihän niitä lainata luettavaksi.
Rogue on suomennettavissa sanoilla kelmi, konna, roisto, veijari, kulkuri, villi, veitikka, kontrolloimaton, filuri ja niin edelleen, eli kyseessä on romaanihahmo jossa on koomisiakin piirteitä, ja melkoisessa määrin huijarin vikaa.
Näissä historiallisissa romaaneissa termi viittaa kyseenalaista mainetta saaneeseen yläluokan edustajaan, sellaiseen joka vehkeilee ja juonittelee saadakseen asiat järjestettyä haluamallaan tavalla. Ja haluamista näissä romaaneissa on useimmissa yllinkyllin, kovin isoa päiväannosta tällaista kirjallisuutta ei kerta kaikkiaan jaksa nautiskella.
Olivia Drake: Never trust a rogue (Rouge, 2012; ISBN 978-0-091950-27-9)
A devil in disguise... The wealthiest heiress of the season, Miss Lindsey Crompton finds detective work far more fascinating than social engagements - at least until she meets Thane Parker, the Earl of Mansfield. Thane is a paradox: a war hero and a cad, a wicked scoundrel and an indulgent guardian of his young ward.
Katharine Ashe:
I loved a rogue (Avon, 2015; ISBN 978-0-06-222985-4)
In the third in Katharine Ashe's Prince Catchers series, the eldest of three very different sisters must fulfill a prophecy to discover their birthright. But if Eleanor is destined to marry a prince, why can't she resist the scoundrel who seduced her? She can pour tea, manage a household, and sew a modest gown. In short, Eleanor Caulfield is the perfect vicar's daughter.
Suzanne Enoch:
Taming an imposible rogue (St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2012; ISBN 978-0-312-53452-3)
One year ago, Lady Camille Pryce left her haughty fiance at the altar - for good reason. Not only was the marriage arranged before she could even walk, her betrothed was too smug to exert himself to meet her! Now, disowned, with no husband or family to support her, shes left with one option: go to work in the notorious Tantalus Club...
Sabrina Jeffries:
When the rogue returns (Simon & Schuster, 2014; ISBN 978-1-47111-380-2)
The second sparkling book in the New York Times bestselling Dukes Men historical romance series.
It had been a decade since Victor Cale, first cousin to the Duke of Lyons, had seen his wife. After some royal jewellery went missing from the jeweller's shop where they worked, Isabel Mertens disappeared. When Victor gets word of a woman who fits his wife's description, he sets out to confront her.
But he discovers that nothing is as it seems-and revenge is never as sweet as true love.
Kathryn Smith:
When tempting a rogue (Avon, 2011; ISBN 978-0-06-192301-2)
In the glittering ballroom of London's most exclusive gentleman's club no one is more powerful than its mysterious proprietress, Vienne La Rieux. A shrewd businesswoman, Vienne treasures her hard-won independence and has her eye on a prize that could make her England's richest woman ... until the only threat to her heart arrives, sending her controlled world into chaos. Lord Trystan Kane is as familiar with success as he is with the exquisite Vienne. She's the lover he's never forgotten, and so, when an opportunity arises that would make them partners once again, he takes it.
Miranda Neville:
The ruin of a rogue (Avon, 2013; ISBN 978-0-06-219951-5)
Anne Brotherton is sick and tired of being an heiress. She cannot bring herself to marry a fortune hunter. Why can't men like her for her sharp mind and kind heart rather than her impressive dowry? Just when she is about to bow to her fate as a confirmed spinster, she meets the handsome and charming Marcus Lithgow.
It's been years since Marcus set foot in England. Why toy with the ton when he can fleece wealthy fools in Paris and Rome? Yet everything changes when he inherits a ramshackle estate. Marcus's first and only chance at a respectable life needs funding, the kind Anne Brotherton can provide. Such a wallflower should be ripe for the picking. So why does Marcus feel like he's the one hanging by a thread?
She nearly falls for Marcus's smooth seduction. But when Anne realizes she's being strung along, a lust for payback empowers her like never before. Two can play the game of deception. The game of love, however, has its own rules.
Shana Galen:
The rogue you know (Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2015; ISBN 978-1-4022-9874-5)
Looking for some danger, adventure and excitement in her life, Lady Susanna Derring falls for Gideon, a thief and swindler in a notorious gang from London's slums, and follows him into the gritty criminal underworld where no rules apply and no one, not even Gideon, is who they seem.
Celeste Bradley:
Rogue in my arms (St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2010; ISBN 978-0-312-94309-7)
When Sir Colin Lambert learns that the little girl left on the steps of his gentleman’s club belongs to one of its members, he’s filled with hope. Could Melody be the daughter of the beautiful, impulsive actress who broke his heart? Colin is determined to find out with the help of his lost love’s former seamstress, Miss Prudence Filby. But soon, Pru’s disarming manner and seductive voice are stirring all manner of doubts in his mind—as well as some delicious fantasies…
Pru’s only motivation in helping Colin is to reclaim the wages she’s owed. Or at least, it was, before days and nights traveling together draw them into a heated, thrilling intimacy. But as soon as Pru discovers his noble status, she suspects she’s been a fool. To a man of his standing, she can hardly be more than a dalliance, even if their scorching passion makes her long to take center stage in his life—and in his arms.
Johanna Lindsey:
A rogue of my own (Corgi Books, 2009; ISBN 978-0-552-16082-7)
For Lady Rebecca Marshall, a whirlwind of excitement begins when she becomes a maid of honor at the court of Queen Victoria. But when Rebecca unknowingly steps into the rivalry between the Queen’s spymaster and a noblewoman who uses the maids as courtly spies, she is soon entangled in a web of deceit with the charming marquis Rupert St. John. The devastatingly handsome ne’er-do-well is the cousin of Raphael Locke, with whom Rebecca was once infatuated. He’s also a secret agent of the crown who leads a double life. Certain that guileless Rebecca is spying on him, Rupert seduces her—then, forced to wed, he believes she has set a trap of the worst sort in order to marry into his powerful family! But as he comes to know Rebecca’s true heart, his vow of revenge and infidelity becomes a desire to share many passionate nights—only with his beautiful wife.
Anna Campbell:
Seven nights in a rogue's bed (Forever, 2013; ISBN 978-1-4555-1207-2)
Desperate to save her sisters life, Sidonie Forsythe has agreed to submit herself to a terrible fate: Beyond the foreboding walls of Castle Craven, a notorious, hideously scarred scoundrel will take her virtue over the course of seven sinful nights. Yet instead of a monster, she encounters a man like no other. And during this week, she comes to care for Jonas Merrick in ways that defy all logiceven as a dark secret she carries threatens them both.
Ruthless loner Jonas knows exactly who he is. Should he forget, even for a moment, the curse he bears, a mere glance in the mirror serves as an agonizing reminder. So when the lovely Sidonie turns up on his doorstep, her seduction is an even more delicious prospect than he originally planned. But the hardened outcast is soon moved by her innocent beauty, sharp wit, and surprising courage. Now as dangerous enemies gather at the gate to destroy them, can their new, fragile love survive?
Tekstit
