Love at First Sight

Despite the arranged marriages of her two sisters having ended in tears and misery, the Duke of Cumberworth insists that his beautiful daughter, Lady Lavinia, or Ila for short, marries the rich and aristocratic Marquis of Rakemoore, his most serious rival at Race MeetingsIla is appalled. Not only is she determined not to marry anyone she does not love, but she hears that he is only asking for her hand to avoid an arranged marriage to a German Princess who is a relative of Queen Victoria's Prince Consort.So Ila decides to run away. As she flees through the nearby woods, she sees a young boy astride a pony galloping blindly towards a sheer cliff. In the nick of time she saves the lad, although the poor pony plunges over the edge and Ila herself is knocked unconscious in the struggle.Coming to in a little house in the woods to recover, she finds the young boy, Robin, still at her side. It is only when his kind handsome uncle comes in search of him that she realises that he is the Marquis of Rakemore, the very man she is running away from. Refusing to give her name, the lovely mystery runaway stirs the Marquis's curiosity and perhaps even his heart

Barbara Cartland was the world's most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages. As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation. Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world. She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven. Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed. Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone's life.