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The Cruel Count

Barbara Cartland

First published 1974 · 185 pages

A breathless, vintage romantic adventure where aristocratic duty collides with sudden peril and overwhelming passion on a sun-drenched Mediterranean island.

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What it feels like

Reading this vintage romance feels like being swept away on a breathless, sun-drenched Mediterranean adventure where danger and desire are inextricably linked. The narrative moves at a brisk, almost frantic pace, plunging the reader into a world of political upheaval, rugged landscapes, and high-stakes melodrama. The prose is characteristically flowery and earnest, leaning heavily into the swoony tension between an innocent, duty-bound heroine and a domineering, darkly handsome hero. It is an experience steeped in the classic tropes of 1970s historical romance, offering a potent mix of perilous escapades—including brigands and treacherous journeys—and overwhelming, unexpected passion. This book will delight readers who crave old-school, escapist romance where love conquers both political revolution and rigid social expectations.

Mood
  • swoony
  • perilous
  • sun-drenched
  • tense
Tone
  • breathless
  • earnest
  • melodramatic
  • romantic
Pace
brisk
Themes
innocence and experience · duty versus desire · the thrill of danger · unexpected passion
The writing
Breathless and flowery, driven by dramatic dialogue, emphatic adjectives, and sweeping romantic declarations.
The arc
The protagonist moves from frightened isolation and rigid duty to thrilling peril and overwhelming, unexpected passion.
Who it's for
Fans of vintage, fast-paced historical romances who crave innocent heroines, domineering alpha heroes, and high-stakes melodrama.
Content notes
  • kidnapping
  • mild peril
  • vintage gender dynamics

About the book

In 1819, Lady Vesta Cressinton-Font travels alone to the small Mediterranean island of Katona as bride by proxy to its hereditary Prince. As soon as she left her ship and set foot on to Katona, the blue-eyed, exquisitely beautiful Vesta felt frightened and totally alone. It was certainly not the reception she had expected.

Where, she wondered, were Prince Alexander's representatives? Surely His Royal Highness would not let his future bride arrive on Katona without a formal greeting. Really, it was quite unthinkable: traveling all the way from England to marry a man she had never met and then being rudely abandoned....

"They tell me you have arrived alone."

The words cut across Vesta's indignant reverie. Startled, she directed her gaze toward the man who spoke them. His stern, domineering manner, his penetrating glance quite alarmed her. And yet he was so darkly handsome....

"I am Count Miklos Czako," the stranger continued harshly. "I will take you to His Royal Highness."

To her dismay the imperious Count Miklos tells Vesta that revolution has broken out and she must return to England. This Vesta refuses to do and commands the unwilling nobleman to take her to the Capital. After a hazardous journey and capture by brigands, Vesta arrives at the Royal Hunting Lodge only to face new dangers for the Count who aroused in her an ecstasy such as she had never imagined.

Description from Open Library.

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