Julia Quinn: Splendid ja Dancing at midnight

Julia Quinn aloitti kirjailijanuransa kahdella romaanilla, Splendid ja Dancing at midnight, jotka päätyivät julkaistuksi hänen pyrkiessään opiskelemaan lääketiedettä. Kirjailijan työ vei mennessään eikä opiskelusta lopulta tullut mitään.

Romaanit ovat paikoitellen kulmikkaita, tarinan kuljetus hiukan tökkii ja historiallinen ajankuva ei ole uskottava, mutta melko mukavasti kirjailija hahmojaan käsittelee, ilmiselvästi hänellä on ollut kertomisen iloa romaaneja kirjoittaessaan.

Romaanisarjaan kuuluu kolmaskin teos, Minx, mutta sitä kirjastosta ei ollut saatavilla.

Splendid (Piatkus, 2010; ISBN 978-0-7499-3912-0)

There are two things everyone knows about Alexander Ridgely. One, he's the Duke of Ashbourne. And two, he has no plans to marry anytime soon.

That is until a redheaded American throws herself in front of a carriage to save his young nephew's life. She's everything Alex never thought a woman could be—smart and funny, principled and brave. But she's a servant, completely unsuitable for a highborn duke—unless, perhaps, she's not quite what she seems.

American heiress Emma Dunster might be surrounded by Englishmen, but that doesn't mean she intends to marry one—even if she has agreed to participate in one London Season. When she slipped out of her cousins' home, dressed as a kitchen maid, all she wanted was one last taste of anonymity before her debut. She never dreamed she'd find herself in the arms of a dangerously handsome duke... or that he'd be quite so upset when he discovered her true identity. But true love tends to blossom just when one least expects it, and passion can melt even the most stubborn of hearts.

Dancing at midnight (Piatkus, 2009; ISBN 978-0-7499-3913-7)

Lady Arabella Blydon has beauty and a brain, and she’s tired of men who can see only one without the other.

When a suitor tells Arabella he’s willing to overlook her appalling bluestocking tendencies on account of her looks and fortune, she decides to take a break from the Marriage Mart. During an extended stay in the country, she never expects to meet Lord John Blackwood, a wounded war hero who intrigues her like no other man.

Lord John has lived through the worst horrors of war… but nothing could have been as terrifying to his tormented heart as Lady Arabella. She is intoxicating, infuriating… and she makes him want to live again. Suddenly he’s writing bad poetry and climbing trees in the pitch-dark night… just so he can dance with her as the clock strikes midnight. And even though he knows he can never be the sort of man she deserves, he can’t help wanting her. But when the harsh light of day replaces the magic of midnight, can this tormented soul learn to love again?