Rules of the Heart — Janice Hadlow

A beautifully evocative historical novel about the perils of all-consuming love, inspired by a real-life 18th-century love affair, from the bestselling author of The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow.

I could never understand a medium in love, I must love with my whole heart and soul, my whole existence, know no happiness or misery but from the object of my passion . . .

England, 1794. Now in her thirties, Lady Harriet Bessborough is no stranger to the affections of a younger man. For married women of the Ton, a young lover is encouraged, provided you know how to play the game: don't embarrass your husband, maintain complete discretion at all times and, most importantly, never fall in love.

So when Harriet meets Lord Granville â€" brilliantly handsome, rich, twelve years younger than her â€" he appears the perfect candidate for an affair. Until she falls uncontrollably under his spell.

As she's plunged into an all-consuming passion, all the wisdom and sophistication Harriet thought she had deserts her. And, with their relationship drawing the attention of wider society, each anxious but besotted step she takes leads her further into scandal and ruin . . .