PLEASE NOTE: This book may have an alternate cover. The following description is provided as a guide only and may contain text that doesn't specifically relate to this item. . . .Mary Jo Putney explores a sensitive, challenging subject with grace and poignancy in this story of a young duke who is told he has a fatal illness and struggles to come to terms with his imminent death ... only to be surprised by love. Stephen Kenyon, Duke of Ashburton, vowing to live fully every moment of his remaining days, sets off alone across the countryside of Regency England, feeling wonderfully liberated from his ducal duties, when he becomes caught up with the traveling Fitzgerald Theater Troupe. Soon he's treading the boards and falling in love with the acting family's cheerful, down-to-earth adopted daughter Rosalind. How Stephen and Rosalind embrace their love under such sad circumstances heightens the passion and power of their romance, while Putney skillfully avoids becoming maudlin ... and dutifully provides the requisite happy ending. Rosalind's matter-of-fact approach to life contrasts delightfully with her dramatic family's emotional excesses, while her parents' loving marriage provides a fun secondary romance. . . . . . . . . .Stunned when his family physician tells him that he only has a few months to live, Stephen Kenyon, Duke of Ashburton, escapes Ashburton Hall and temporarily leaves his responsibilities behind to wander the countryside anonymously as he tries to sort out his feelings and reconcile himself to his apparent fate. However, when his heroic rescue of a young boy results in his becoming part of a traveling theater company, he meets the compelling Rosalind Jordan. In her superb, inimitable style, Putney (River of Fire, Signet, 1996) takes a pair of magnetic, beautifully matched protagonists, places them in a dark, impossible situation, and makes it work. This title is the first of Ballantine's new ‘keeper’ series of paperback-sized hardcover romances and should be in demand by Putney fans and libraries. She lives in Baltimore. . . .Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Mary Jo Putney
