Lauren Willig Books In Order

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

While history has unmasked the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian, mystery still surrounds another lesser known hero, the Pink Carnation. In this refreshing historical romp strong on history with a healthy dollop of romance Eloise Kelly, 21st century Ph.D. candidate, sets about to reveal the true identity of that romantic figure. Through dogged determination, Eloise gains access to a treasure trove of letters and diaries. Narrator Kate Reading slips seamlessly between the diction of present and past. Reading’s accomplished voicing, particularly in the novel within a novel, turns the streets of 1890s Paris rank with unimaginable muck, while Josephine’s salons glitter with pomp. Reading handles secret assignations, gambling hells, gentlemen’s clubs, passionate encounters, torture chambers, and slimy villains with her usual expertise, adding luster to author Lauren Willig’s imaginative take on the Napoleonic Era. S.J.H. AudioFile 2005

The Masque of the Black Tulip

‘But if modern manhood had let me down, at least the past boasted brighter specimens. To wit, the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Purple Gentian and the Pink Carnation, that dashing trio of spies who kept Napoleon in a froth of rage and the feminine population of England in another sort of froth entirely’. Modern day student Eloise Kelly has achieved a great academic coup by unmasking the elusive spy, the Pink Carnation, who saved England from Napoleon. But now she has a million questions about the Carnation’s deadly nemesis, the Black Tulip. And she’s pretty sure that handsome Colin Selwick has the answers somewhere in his family’s archives. While searching through Lady Henrietta’s old letters from 1803, Eloise stumbles across something more exciting than she ever imagined: Henrietta and her old friend Miles Dorrington were on the trail of the Black Tulip and had every intention of stopping him in his endeavour to kill the Pink Carnation. But what they didn’t know was that while they were trying to find the Tulip and trying not to fall in love in the process the Black Tulip was watching them…

The Deception of the Emerald Ring

A dangerous ring of spies, a game of mistaken identities, and a heartwarming romance of unlikely pairs come together in Lauren Willig’s engaging and exciting third novel THE DECPTION OF THE EMERALD RING. Praised for the ‘cheerfully postmodern and energetic…
romance adventure hybrids that have escaped the clutches of niche fiction.’ The Onion A.V. Club, her Pink Carnation series is garnering her critical acclaim and a loyal fan base. Lauren Willig s debut The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, appeared on retailer bestseller lists in hardcover and made a big splash in sales in trade paperback. Her second book, The Masque of the Black Tulip, was selected as a BookSense Pick for January 2006, and continue to rack up incredible reviews. Lauren Willig s passion for authentic historical detail coupled with her talent for enthralling love stories make her series the perfect read for lovers of romance, history and adventure. The year is 1803 and England and France remain at odds. Hoping to break the English once and for all, Napoleon backs a ring of Irish rebels in uprisings against England and sends the Black Tulip, France s most deadly spy, to the Emerald Isle to help. What they don t know is that also in Ireland is England s top spy, the Pink Carnation, who is working to shut the rebels down. Meanwhile, back in England, Letty Alsworthy intercepts a note indicating that her sister, Mary, is about to make the very grave mistake of eloping with Geoffrey Pinghingdale Snipe second in command of the League of the Purple Gentian. In an attempt to save the family name, Letty tries to stop the elopement, but instead finds herself swept away in the midnight carriage meant for her sister and is accidentally compromised. Geoff and Letty, to each other s horror, find themselves forced into matrimony. Then, Geoff receives word that he is to travel to Ireland to help the Pink Carnation and disappears immediately after their wedding ceremony. Letty learns of Geoff s disappearance and, not to be outdone by her husband, steals away on a ship bound for Ireland, armed and ready to fight for her husband and to learn a thing or two about spying for England. As in her previous tales, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and The Masque Of the Black tulip, our modern day hero*ine and hero, Eloise Kelly and Colin Selwick, continue their budding romance in this captivating third novel in the series.

The Seduction of the Crimson Rose

Pride and Prejudice lives on, USA Today a fun and zany time warp, New York Daily News history textbook meets Bridget Jones Marie Claire: Readers and reviewers alike praise Lauren Willig’s bestselling Pink Carnation series for its passion, adventure, and tantalizing stories of flower named spies during the Napoleonic wars.

Lauren Willig continues the exciting Pink Carnation series with her fourth novel, The Seduction of the Crimson Rose, featuring Lord Vaughn, the delightfully devilish spy from The Masque of the Black Tulip, and Mary Alsworthy, the raven haired beauty whose sister accidentally stole her suitor in The Deception of the Emerald Ring. Determined to secure another London season without assistance from her new brother in law, Mary accepts a secret assignment from Lord Vaughn on behalf of the Pink Carnation: to infiltrate the ranks of the dreaded French spy, the Black Tulip, before he and his master can stage their planned invasion of England. Every spy has a weakness, and for the Black Tulip that weakness is black haired women his petals of the Tulip. A natural at the art of seduction, Mary easily catches the attention of the French spy, but Lord Vaughn never anticipates that his own heart will be caught as well. Fighting their growing attraction, impediments from their past, and, of course, the French, Mary and Vaughn find themselves lost in the shadows of a treacherous garden of lies.

As our modern day hero*ine, Eloise Kelly, digs deeper into England s Napoleonic era espionage, she becomes even more entwined with Colin Selwick, the descendant of her spy subjects.

The Temptation of the Night Jasmine

Puzzled, Charlotte lifted the small piece of paper and opened it. In a bold, scrawling hand were written all of two words. Forgive me. After years abroad, Robert, Duke of Dovedale, has returned to England to avenge the murder of his mentor. To uncover the murderer’s identity, he must infiltrate the infamous, secret Hellfire Club. But the duke has no idea that an even more difficult challenge awaits him in a romantic minded young lady. Charlotte Lansdowne remembers Robert from her childhood and when she takes up a bit of espionage investigating a plot to kidnap the king Robert soon realises that she is more than the perfect partner in crime.

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily

The hero*ines of Lauren Willig’s bestselling Pink Carnation series have engaged in espionage all over nineteenth century Europe. In the sixth stand alone volume, our fair English hero*ine travels to India, where she finds freedom and risk more exciting than she ever imagined. Everyone warned Miss Penelope Deveraux that her unruly behavior would land her in disgrace someday. She never imagined she’s be whisked off to India to give the scandal of her hasty marriage time to die down. AS Lady Frederick Staines, Penelope plunges into the treacherous waters of the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, where no one is quite what they seem even her husband. In a strange country, where elaborate court dress masks even more elaborate intrigues and a dangerous spy called the Marigold leaves venomous cobras as his calling card, there is only one person Penelope can trust…
Captain Alex Reid has better things to do than play nursemaid to a pair of aristocrats. Or so he thinks until Lady Frederick Staines out shoots, out rides, and out swims every man in the camp. She also has an uncanny ability to draw out the deadly plans of the Marigold and put herself in harm’s way. With danger looming from local warlords, treacherous court officials, and French spies, Alex realizes that an alliance with Lady Staines just might be the only thing standing in the way of a plot designed to rock the very foundations of the British Empire…

The Mischief of the Mistletoe

‘Tis the season to get Pink! Lauren Willig’s beloved Pink Carnation series gets into the holiday spirit with this irresistible Regency Christmas caper. Arabella Dempsey’s dear friend Jane Austen warned her against teaching. But Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies seems the perfect place for Arabella to claim her independence while keeping an eye on her younger sisters nearby. Just before Christmas, she accepts a position at the quiet girls’ school in Bath, expecting to face nothing more exciting than conducting the annual Christmas recital. She hardly imagines coming face to face with French aristocrats and international spies…
Reginald ‘Turnip’Fitzhugh often mistaken for the elusive spy known as the Pink Carnation has blundered into danger before. But when he blunders into Miss Arabella Dempsey, it never occurs to him that she might be trouble. When Turnip and Arabella stumble upon a beautifully wrapped Christmas pudding with a cryptic message written in French, ‘Meet me at Farley Castle,’ the unlikely vehicle for intrigue launches the pair on a Yuletide adventure that ranges from the Austens’modest drawing room to the awe inspiring estate of the Dukes of Dovedale, where the Dowager Duchess is hosting the most anticipated event of the year: an elaborate twelve day Christmas celebration. Will they find poinsettias or peril, dancing or danger? Is it possible that the fate of the British Empire rests in Arabella’s and Turnip’s hands, in the form of a festive Christmas pudding?

The Orchid Affair

‘Pride and Prejudice lives on’ USA Today in Lauren Willig’s Pink Carnation series, which has been hailed for its addictive blend of history, romance, and adventure. In The Orchid Affair, Willig introduces her strongest hero*ine yet. Laura Grey, a veteran governess, joins the Selwick Spy School expecting to find elaborate disguises and thrilling exploits in service to the spy known as the Pink Carnation. She hardly expects her first assignment to be serving as governess for the children of Andre Jaouen, right hand man to Bonaparte’s minister of police. Jaouen and his arch rival, Gaston Delaroche, are investigating a suspected Royalist plot to unseat Bonaparte, and Laura’s mission is to report any suspicious findings. At first the job is as lively as Latin textbooks and knitting, but Laura begins to notice strange behavior from Jaouen secret meetings and odd comings and goings. As Laura edges herself closer to her employer, she makes a shocking discovery and is surprised to learn that she has far more in common with Jaouen than she originally thought…
As their plots begin to unravel, Laura and Jaouen are forced on the run with the children, and with the help of the Pink Carnation they escape to the countryside, traveling as husband and wife. But Delaroche will stop at nothing to take down his nemesis. With his men hot on their trail, can Laura and Jaouen seal the fate of Europe before it’s too late?

The Garden Intrigue

In the ninth installment of Lauren Willig’s bestselling Pink Carnation series, an atrocious poet teams up with an American widow to prevent Napoleon’s invasion of England. Secret agent Augustus Whittlesby has spent a decade undercover in France, posing as an insufferably bad poet. The French surveillance officers can’t bear to read his work closely enough to recognize the information drowned in a sea of verbiage. New York born Emma Morris Delagardie is a thorn in Augustus’s side. An old school friend of Napoleon’s stepdaughter, she came to France with her uncle, the American envoy; eloped with a Frenchman; and has been rattling around the salons of Paris ever since. Widowed for four years, she entertains herself by drinking too much champagne, holding a weekly salon, and loudly critiquing Augustus’s poetry. As Napoleon pursues his plans for the invasion of England, Whittlesby hears of a top secret device to be demonstrated at a house party at Malmaison. The catch? The only way in is with Emma, who has been asked to write a masque for the weekend’s entertainment. Emma is at a crossroads: Should she return to the States or remain in France? She’ll do anything to postpone the decision even if it means teaming up with that silly poet Whittlesby to write a masque for Bonaparte’s house party. But each soon learns that surface appearances are misleading. In this complicated masque within a masque, nothing goes quite as scripted especially Augustus’s feelings for Emma.