Product Description

Dear Reader:
You met Heatherington in The Sherbrooke Bride and Helen Mayberry in Mad Jack. Now the two get together to track down a mystical treasure that Helen calls King Edward's Lamp.

Helen is a big girl - only two inches shorter than Heatherington - a resolute taskmistress, owner of her own inn. She adores her father, Lord Prith, and wants to find the lamp more than anything. It is her only passion - until she meets Heatherington.

Spenser Heatherington, Lord Beecham, enjoys Helen's pursuit of him. He is a renowned womanizer, a resolute bachelor, and really enjoys his life. When she throws him to the ground and sits on him, and he finally admits that he will succumb to her, she informs him, to his chagrin, that she doesn't want a lover, she wants a partner.

But things work out a bit differently than either of them expect. Indeed, Heatherington, unused to being thwarted, takes drastic steps to change his "big girl's" mind.

Do they find Helen's lamp? Is there more to this treasure than either of them knows? Listen and find out . . .

I hope you enjoy visiting the Sherbrookes when they stick their oars into the treasure hunt.

Write me and tell me how you liked The Courtship at P.O. Box 17, Mill Valley, CA 94942 or email me at ReadMoi@aol.com.

Catherine Coulter

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2506612 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-20
• Released on: 2006-06-20
• Formats: Abridged, Audiobook, CD
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 5
• Binding: Audio CD

Amazon.com Review
Whoever said eavesdroppers never hear anything good was never privy to the titillating conversation Spenser Heatherington, Lord Beecham, overhears at a party. But then, there's nothing retiring or at all usual about Helen Mayberry, daughter of eccentric Lord Prith. Helen is a statuesque blue-eyed, blond Aphrodite who owns her own inn and has read everything academic and otherwise on the art of discipline. An inveterate womanizer, Heatherington determines--based on a conversation he wasn't supposed to hear--that he would love to teach Helen what he knows about the subject and maybe learn something new in the process. When Helen tells Heatherington that she wants him for her partner, he wholeheartedly agrees but is dismayed when she further explains that she needs his skill to help locate a mythical golden lamp rumored to make its possessor all-powerful. But both are overwhelmed by their responses to each other--a passion that cannot be denied--in the middle of a fox hunt, in a rundown shack, on the floor of her father's study.... Marked by The New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter's trademark wit and sensuality, The Courtship is a keeper! --Alison Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly
Set in Regency England (though not a Regency romance), Coulter's latest historical novel describes, with delectable humor and sexuality, the romance between the beautiful Lady Helen and the Spenser Heatherington, Lord Beecham. A libertine, Spenser has vowed that he won't marry and produce an heir until just before he's ready to meet his maker. But his resolve wavers when he meets Helen, an inn-keeper who enchants every man she meets. At first, Helen would rather have Spenser as her partner than her lover, but she soon changes her mind. Helen's powerful discipline not only engenders great enjoyment for her and Lord Beecham in the bedroom, but in less steamy situations provides levity for the reader. In addition, a mystery subplot--concerning what might have happened to Aladdin's Lamp had the Knights Templar brought it back to England during the realm of Edward I--is intermixed with the love story. The novel reintroduces several beloved characters from Coulter's The Sherbrooke Bride and The Hellion Bride, who add to the droll good times. Coulter's romances may sometimes miss the mark, but she's in top form here, with a good-guy hero in pursuit of a worthy heroine. Readers will wish them years of delightful torment, silk cravats and all. (Jan.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Spenser Hetherington of The Sherbrooke Bride (1992) and Helen Mayberry of Mad Jack unite in their own romping romance. Overhearing Helen's conversation about "discipline," Spenser is fascinated with this "big girl," who is almost as tall as his strapping 6'3" . Meeting her at the Sherbrooke's home, he discovers that she was plotting to meet him to lure him into partnership on her quest to unearth Aladdin's lamp by interpreting an ancient scroll. A scholarly cleric helping them with the translation of the scroll is found murdered, and soon it seems that they are in grave danger. Their incessant sexual encounters are put on standby when the rakish Spenser decides to withhold his favors from Helen until they are wed, even though a seemingly insurmountable obstacle stands in their way. This is a sexy but average Coulter Regency-era romance, which holds appeal for readers who relish the subgenre, but is unlikely to win her new fans. Diana Tixier Herald

Customer Reviews

5+. Coulter is at her very best
In 1811 London, Spenser Heatherington, Lord Beecham, overhears two ladies discussing discipline. One is Alexandra Sherbrooke, but her unknown companion intrigues the infamous rake even though he has no idea what she looks like. Later on, Spenser meets the source of disciplinary wisdom, Lady Helen Mayberry, a beautiful amazon, who runs a tavern.

Though he thinks she wants to make love with him, she needs him to be her partner. Still, as the duo exchanges opinions on discipline, they fall in love. Spenser asks Helen to marry him, but she tearfully refuses because she is already married to a spouse who has disappeared. There is also a mystery involving a lamp that he tries to help Helen find. This keeps the pair working together and in close proximity, creating a situation where neither adult has the discipline to keep their hands off the other.

Catherine Coulter has written her best novel in several years as she takes a satirical poke at her own Regency books. Using two secondary characters from previous tales, Ms. Coulter writes a witty, humorous story filled with odd characters whose eccentricities will charm the audience. The lead couple is an endearing pair that will garner much empathy with their constant battle of the sexes. Ms. Coulter makes the Regency fun with this clever and ironic tale.

Harriet Klausner

Disappointed!
I have read every book by Coulter. I thought they couldn't get any worse than Mad Jack, but I was wrong. I have been trying to read this book for 2 weeks, and I finally made it to page 73 before I gave up. It rambles on and on with no sense of purpose. I definitely will read reviews before I buy another Coulter book. I was very disappointed with this one.

Terrific reading!
I LOVED this book! It was hilarious -- I found myself laughing out loud quite often. The storyline is delightfully refreshing, loaded with splendid sexual innuendos which kept me in stitches, and of course Coulter is a master at dialogue and characters' interactions. This book is NOT TO BE MISSED. Two thumbs up!