The first book in an all-new historical romance series from Lauren Smith!

A most proper earl. A not-so-proper heiress. A match fit for a fairytale. Leopold Graham never expected to inherit his earldom so soon—or the massive debt his father saddled the title with. Forced to leave behind his pursuit of hedonistic pleasure and instead pursue a suitable, wealthy heiress, Leo sees nothing but a long, dull future ahead of him. Ivy Leighton may be a wealthy heiress, but she’s definitely not suitable. Her exotic Romani roots are cause for scorn amongst most of high society. Not that Ivy minds overmuch. She’s too independent and free spirited to worry about things like that. Then she meets Leo . . . and her mind conjures all sorts of delicious trouble they could indulge in together. She just needs to convince him that sometimes a little scandal can lead to a lifetime of happiness.

What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets. . . A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance—including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury. A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to an unexplored world of pleasures. Bourne may be a prince of London's illicit underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness—a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them . . . .even her heart.

Lady Philippa Marbury is . . . odd The brilliant, bespectacled daughter of a double marquess cares more for books than balls, for science than the season, and for laboratories than love. She's looking forward to marrying her simple fiancé and living out her days quietly with her dogs and her scientific experiments. But before that, Pippa has two weeks to experience all the rest—fourteen days to research the exciting parts of life. It's not much time, and to do it right she needs a guide familiar with London's darker corners. She needs . . . a Scoundrel She needs Cross, the clever, controlled partner in London's most exclusive gaming hell, with a carefully crafted reputation for wickedness. But reputations often hide the darkest secrets, and when the unconventional Pippa boldly propositions him, seeking science without emotion, she threatens all he works to protect. He is tempted to give Pippa precisely what she wants . . . but the scoundrel is more than he seems, and it will take every ounce of his willpower to resist giving the lady more than she ever imagined.

The debate over the true author of the Shakespeare canon has raged for centuries. Astonishingly little evidence supports the traditional belief that Will Shakespeare, the actor and businessman from Stratford-upon-Avon, was the author. Legendary figures such as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and Sigmund Freud have all expressed grave doubts that an uneducated man who apparently owned no books and never left England wrote plays and poems that consistently reflect a learned and well-traveled insider's perspective on royal courts and the ancient feudal nobility. Recent scholarship has turned to Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford-an Elizabethan court playwright known to have written in secret and who had ample means, motive and opportunity to in fact have assumed the "Shakespeare" disguise. "Shakespeare" by Another Name is the literary biography of Edward de Vere as "Shakespeare." This groundbreaking book tells the story of de Vere's action-packed life-as Renaissance man, spendthrift, courtier, wit, student, scoundrel, patron, military adventurer, and, above all, prolific ghostwriter-finding in it the background material for all of The Bard's works. Biographer Mark Anderson incorporates a wealth of new evidence, including de Vere's personal copy of the Bible (in which de Vere underlines scores of passages that are also prominent Shakespearean biblical references).

"Marlowe shines with a delightful and delicious comedy of errors... Regency fans will love this page turner."—RT Book Reviews The only way to save his family estate: marry an heiress. But Miss Sophie Goodnight will do anything to sabatoge all his attempts to charm her. When Richard Barrett, Lord Hartley, is abruptly called home to take the reins of the estate, he discovers the extent of the family's financial straits. The remedy: marry the heiress their families have picked out for him. Unfortunately, he's already planned to marry someone else. Miss Sophie Goodnight isn't too keen on becoming his purse with feet...and she sabotages all attempts to woo her. But when Lord Hartley discovers the shenanigans in his father's past, he realizes that deciding between two beautiful women is the least of his problems. "Absolutely terrific! Adventure and heat and everything I want in a great story." —Victoria Alexander, #1 New York Times bestseller, on Touch of a Thief "This sizzling tale of seduction, suspense, and adventure is what readers expect from Marlowe." —RT Book Reviews on Touch of a Scoundrel

Daphne Goodenham has always been determined to wed a duke—not just because she loves fine dresses and parties, but because she wants to guarantee that she and her sister are never destitute again. When she meets the Duke of Inverfyre, a notorious fop, she immediately notices intriguing inconsistencies. Is there more to the duke than meets the eye? Why would he hide the truth if he were handsome, young, rich and a duke? Alexander, the Duke of Inverfyre, is bent on catching a notorious thief who injured his sister, no matter what the cost. But confronted by the lovely Miss Goodenham, Alexander’s disguise proves to be no defense against her curiosity—and he has no resistance to her kiss. Will Daphne inadvertently foil Alexander’s plan? Will he have to sacrifice her interest to avenge his sister? Or can Daphne ensure Alexander’s triumph and make her own Christmas wish come true?