M. C. Beaton

M. C. Beaton is the pen name of bestselling novelist Marion Chesney. She was a prolific writer of historical romances and small village mysteries. Born in Scotland, the author began her writing career as a fiction buyer for a Glasgow bookstore and worked as a theater critic, newspaper reporter, and editor.

The author wrote under various names, most notably as M. C. Beaton for her Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin series. She also wrote under the names Sarah Chester, Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Marion Gibbons, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward.

M.C. BEATON® is a registered trademark of M.C. Beaton Limited

Featured Books By Author

Kitty

In any given glittering social season, Edwardian London’s dizzying whirl had its share of surprises. The latest was Kitty Harrison, once achingly poor, suddenly an heiress and now, thanks to her determined mother, she was about to become a Baroness. From the moment Kitty set eyes on Lord Chesworth, she found him to be the most exciting man she had ever laid eyes on. But Kitty was young, innocent, and easily dazzled. She did not even question the motives of the dashing bachelor who swore he loved her even as he courted the scandalously beautiful Mrs. Jackson. All too soon Kitty’s dream of marriage became a nightmare; someone was trying to kill her. Adrift in a sea of deception, Kitty soon realized that to save her life and win the only man she had ever loved, she would have to learn to play the game, only this time, her way: smarter… better… and for keeps.
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Back in Society

Chesney wraps up The Poor Relation series ( Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue ) with this enjoyable story. Featuring several old series hands--blustery and sarcastic Sir Philip, the still unmarried Miss Tonks and Lady Fortescue, the eccentric hoteliers' concerned mother hen--the story hinges on the group's efforts to help their new guest, young Lady Jane Fremney, after she proves unable to pay her bills and attempts suicide.
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Lady Fortescue Steps Out

The impecunious Lady Fortescue, widowed and alone save for two loyal, unpaid servants, has sold off almost all of the furnishings in her large Bond Street home and faces a grim future as a member of the aristocracy too proud to seek employment or charity, yet too poor to survive on the infrequent largess of wealthy relatives oblivious to her plight. Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of old Colonel Sandhurst, an equally impoverished retired military man who falls at her feet in a hunger-induced faint one afternoon in Hyde Park. The two decide to join forces: the Colonel will share Lady Fortescue's home, and they will invite others of their station and situation to live with them and pool their resources. Thus is born what eventually becomes one of London's most popular hotels, The Poor Relation, to which the nobility flocks to enjoy the novelty of being waited upon by members of their own class.
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Books By
M. C. Beaton