A Heaven on Earth

Beautiful Aurora Hartnell is returning home to Hadleigh Hall for Christmas. Looking forward to seeing her elderly father Lord Hartnell again, she ruefully acknowledges that life in the country is likely to seem rather dull after the elegance of her Finishing School in fashionable Paris.
Resigned to a quieter pace of life, she is therefore filled with anticipation when she hears that an eligible bachelor, Lord Moreton, has moved into nearby Elton Hall. Dreaming of an attractive stranger who will sweep her off her feet, Aurora is delighted when her father invites the mysterious Lord for dinner on Christmas Eve
Swept up in a frenzy of excitement, and determined to look her absolute best, Aurora is so caught up in romantic dreams she hardly notices that her intimidating stepmother, Lady Harntell, is behaving oddly. Hypercritical and quickly irritated, it seems that the only time Lady Hartnell smiles is when planning the impending dinner, which she insists must be perfect for his Lordship.
But Aurora's dreams are crushed like a daisy underfoot when she finally meets the man she has pinned all her hopes upon. A favourite of her father and stepmother's, Aurora knows instantly that Lord Moreton is not a man she can respect or give her heart to.
Then the dashing Earl of Linford gallops into Aurora's life. Tall, handsome and with a twinkle in his dark eyes, she immediately knows that she must put a stop to any notions of a match between herself and Lord Moreton if she is ever to find happiness.
But how can she extricate herself from Lord Moreton's increasingly cloying attentions, without disappointing her beloved father? And just why is her stepmother so keen that they marry immediately? As the pressure to accept this unwanted proposal increases, Aurora is caught in an unhappy trap that she struggles to see a way out of.

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.