Shall We Dance?

by Judith A. Lansdowne

Book Overview

Reformed highwayman Josiah Elliot had undertaken some remarkable pursuits in his time, but his courtship of Lady Miranda Wesley was by far the most scandalous. What business did this valet have with a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821770187
• ISBN13: 9780821770184
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Zebra
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.0" x 4.0"

Customer Reviews

A great read!

I'm a longtime Lansdowne fan and it's difficult to say how much I enjoyed reading SHALL WE DANCE? Let's just say, I hugged the book when I was done, I kid you not, and sighed. It was a wonderful read, with lovable, eccentric characters, witty, quirky dialogue, a bit of mystery and suspense - and, of course, romance - bravo!!!I can't agree with the previous reviews - I buy these books, and love them, for some of the very reasons others panned them. (Note: reading MY FAIR QUIGGLEY prior to reading this one will help the reader appreciate who everyone is.) I love the richness of the characters, and the many secondary characters, to me, just show off Lansdowne's talent for "quirky and funny". I read to be entertained, to be taken away to another place, and to fall in love with the characters... all my expectations were fulfilled when I read this book. Thanks, Ms. Lansdowne!

an enchanting read

"Shall We Dance?" carries on where "My Fair Quiggley" left off, and focuses on Josiah Elliot's efforts to uncover evidence of his pedigree that would make him eligible to ask for Lady Miranda Westley's hand in marriage. Added to this hunt is also Josiah's search for his missing nephews, as well as his attempts to discover what really became of his brother and the fortune that the Elliot family once possessed, and how it all ended up in the hands of the family's enemy. And since this is a romance novel by Judith Lansdowne, you can be sure that there will also be another romance subplot (in this case involving Miss Eleanor Feebes, a fledgling reformer, and the Earl of Blazingame) and a couple of animals (a cow named Susan, in particular). All in all, while this plethora of subplots does make for some entertaining reading, I must admit that it also added to quite a bit of confusion, as it was only after the first three chapters or so, that everything came together, and made sense. The novel became smooth reading after that, so if like me you were a little at sea after the first few chapters, take heart and stick it out -- the effort pays off.Josiah Elliot wants to marry the woman he's desperately in love with, Lady Miranda Wesley. Unfortunately, she the daughter of a duke, so Josiah, who actually does possess some claim to aristocratic blood, must prove that he is worthy in order to ask for Miranda's hand in marriage (the fact that Miranda couldn't really care less what her family thinks or desires, somehow doesn't really dawn on our worthy hero, but never mind). This task however proves more difficult than it seems as Josiah cannot find the proof (a family bible with his lineage neatly mapped out) now that his brother has mysteriously died; add to that the disappearance of his two nephews and the fact that the family home and all it's contents seems to be in the hands of a childhood enemy, and Josiah's hopes of winning Miranda's brother's approval seems moot. And this is where the Earl of Blazingame comes into the picture. Seemingly a dilettante, Blazingame is actually a very intelligent young man who is very good at ferreting out bits of information and solving puzzles. Josiah's friend, Daxonberry (and Miranda's nephew) hopes that Blazingame will be able to help Josiah discover where his nephews could have disappeared to, and why Josiah's brother left things so badly settled. Will Josiah and Blazingame find what they are looking for? The game grows even more difficult, when the two men discover that there are those who would do anything to stop them to discovering what really happened to the Elliot family and fortune.While the many subplots made this novel a more 'meaty' read, the novel really only came alive for me (anyway) when it dealt with the romance between Josiah and Miranda. Theirs is the kind of romance one usually hopes to read about -- deep and abiding and passionate as well. (And with none of those embarrassingly graphic sex scenes.) C

Judith's done it again

I truly enjoyed this book.Judith has proved that the lon-ger Regency based historical formatted book can be written andmade interesting without any graphic and or gratuitous love scenes.I loved the mystery in this book,and as always she addsher usual,but unsusal Hero & Heroine,plus a child or two & an ani-mal,in this case a Dexter cow named Susan.