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

Animating Maria

Amy and Effy Tribble can’t believe their luck. After four seasons spent molding intractable, wayward, or just plain frumpy young women into marriage material, their fifth Season in the chaperone business brings them a dream client. Maria Kendall, is beautiful, impeccably mannered, effortlessly graceful, and extremely well—dowered. She is a perfect candidate for marriage, even if none of her real suitors—especially the proud and aristocratic Duke of Berham—quite live up to her dreams. But when the Duke meets Maria’s vulgar and boorish parents his proposal is quickly withdrawn. Amy and Effy soon realize that they face their greatest challenge yet—taking on not only Maria, but the hopelessly common Kendalls as well.
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Annabelle

It’s a maiden’s miracle! Annabelle Quennell, daughter of a poor country parson, gets a chance at a London Season to snare a wealthy husband. But before she sets off, Mad Meg the Gypsy predicts trouble ahead! And it is nothing but woe that Annabelle finds. Godmother Lady Emmeline sponsors Annabelle’s spree-and demands she wed the oafish Capt. MacDonald. But things get worse when Annabelle fears she is losing her heart to Lord Varleigh - elegant, well-pursed, but who is taken by another mistress! What a pickle Annabelle had gotten into, and it only gets more sour by the moment! Blessed with beauty, Mrs. Manners had never bothered with the more practical (and to her, lesser) skills of grammar and spelling. So it is, in order to snag a second husband, namely the handsome Duke of Denbigh, she needed the help of Miss Verity Bascombe. Surely the modest chit would be honored to help write her love letters. Poor Verity! Her old school-girl friend remained as selfish as ever. But the lovely girl’s gilded pen soon had the duke most intrigued by the poetic Mrs. Manners! But alas, what began as a seemingly minor deception became a larger problem and Verity soon found herself enamored of the handsome duke, wanting him all for herself!
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Deirdre and Desire

What clever woman would want a man like Lord Harry Desire? Why, he was clearly a lummox - languid, vain, and bland. Not even his beautiful face could redeem him. But he stood to inherit a vast fortune, and that was good enough for Deirdre's father, a spendthrift vicar who arranged the match to rescue himself from imminent financial collapse. Leave it to Deirdre to contrive an escape, a quick elopement with her one true love, the dashing Guy Wentwater. But Wentwater's love proved none too true, and Deirdre found herself in a humiliating pickle. Not even Lord Harry would marry her now. But Harry had more tricks up his tailored sleeve than Deirdre ever imagined. And soon she pined only for the marriage thrown away, and for a man whose arms had grown suddenly irresistible!
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Books By
M. C. Beaton