Loretta Chase est une auteur américaine née en 1949 et originaire de Nouvelle Angleterre.

Elle a poursuivi des études de littérature anglaise à l’université de Clark. Elle a toujours été intéressée par l’écriture et produit de nombreux textes, poèmes, essais mais ce qui lui a permis de gagner sa vie en exerçant sa passion a été la romance.

Elle dispose d’une plume assez unique dans ce genre avec une écriture assez littéraire et une ironie hors du commun. Dans chacun de ses livres règne une artmosphère qui oscille entre humour froid et émotion.

Ces personnages sont souvent originaux, non conformistes et répondent à ce qui leur arrive de façon totalement non conventionnelle. Les hommes sont très loin des critères habituels et les héroïnes sotn souvent des femmes à fort caractère capables de tenir tête à n’importe qui ! Elle n’hésite pas à donner des professions à ses héros ou à situer le roman dans des contextes différents, comme l’Egypte.

Elle a été récompensée plusieurs fois pour son oeuvre en obtenant notamment deux RITA awards, un en 1991 pour The sandalwood princess et un autre en 1996 pour Lord of scoundrels traduit récemment en français sous le titre de Le Prince des débauchés.

Series :

Trevelyan Family

1. Isabella (1987)

Isabella Isabella Latham has seen one too many Seasons to be considered marriageable. But when she comes to London to chaperone a come-out, it is Isabella who is sought—by more than a few eligible bachelors, including the handsome-but- wicked Basil Trevelyan and the roguish Lord Hartleigh. Little does the savvy woman know, however, of the impending scandal that will shake up the ton—and land her the perfect husband…

2. The English Witch (1988)

Her father’s prodigal ways have forced lovely Alexandra Ashmore into an engagement with a stranger, a man blind to her charms—and to her bewitching effect on other men. And when she’s kidnapped in a foreign land, Alexandra thinks she’s doomed. But her troubles have only begun—for her rakishly charming rescuer, the notorious Basil Trevelyan, is determined to make her his own…

Isabella and the English Witch (omnibus) (2003)

Regency Noblemen

1. Viscount Vagabond (1989)

Fleeing an arranged marriage, Catherine Pelliston is on her way to London when she is drugged, abducted, and put to work in a house of ill repute. Desperate to escape, she puts her fate in the hands of the first man who comes to her—as disheveled and intoxicated as he is—and finds herself rescued by a lord in rake’s clothing…

2. The Devil’s Delilah (1989)

Sure to be ruined by the tell-all memoirs of her father— society’s most infamous rogue—Delilah Desmond is determined to suppress the manuscript. She enlists the aid of bookish Jack Langdon—whose rumpled brown hair and poetic gray eyes hide a most passionate heart…

Viscount Vagabond and Devil’s Delilah (omnibus) (2004)

Scoundrels

1. The Lion’s Daughter (1992)

Esme Brentmor doesn’t care that revenge isn’t a suitable job for a woman. She’s determined to avenge the murder of her beloved father, an enigmatic English aristocrat who lived in self-imposed exile. Honor demands that Esme let nothing and nobody stand in her way. That includes the handsome wastrel who’s become entangled in her life, whose charm does NOT make up for his lazy and irresponsible character.

Having gambled away his entire family fortune, Varian St. George, Lord Edenmont, now lives by his wits and winning ways. A man who has always taken the path of least resistance—preferably in soft beds with willing women—he does NOT want to become embroiled in a mad quest with a hot-tempered and heavily armed redhead.

But forced to travel together through an exotic land, the mismatched pair soon discover that friction produces dangerous sparks...

2. Captives of the Night (1994)

When the intriguing Comte d’Esmond enters a room, women swoon and men gnash their teeth. The count is fully accustomed to this reaction—and brilliant at exploiting it. What he isn’t prepared for is Leila Beaumont. One look from her tawny eyes is dangerously captivating. How…troublesome. Esmond can’t afford the distraction of an entanglement, however passionate it promises to be. He’s supposed to be working— for the British government ! —and his employers want Leila’s corrupt and treacherous husband brought to justice. When the spouse, unsurprisingly and conveniently, gets himself murdered, all Esmond has to do is clear Leila of suspicion and proceed to the next assignment.

But not being hanged for her husband’s murder isn’t enough for Leila. She wants to learn the truth—all of it—from Esmond, a man who’s been lying all his life.

3. Lord of Scoundrels (1995) / Le Prince des débauchés ( 2009 )

4. The Last Hellion (1998)

A ferocious conflict of wills...

Vere Mallory, the Duke of Ainswood, has everything—he’s titled, he’s rich, he’s devastatingly good looking—and he seems determined to throw it all away. Disreputable, reckless, and wild, the last of the Mallory hellions is racing headlong to self-destruction...until a mind numbingly beautiful blonde Amazon knocks him off his feet—literally.

An incendiary passion...

Lydia Grenville is dedicated to protecting London’s downtrodden. Dissolute noblemen like Ainswood are part of the problem, not the solution. She would like him to get his big, gorgeous carcass out of her way so that she can carry on with her work. The problem is, Ainswood can no more resist a challenge, especially in female form, than he can resist the trouble she seems to attract.

If they can only weather their personal firestorm...

they might survive the real danger that threatens all they hold dear.

Carsington

1. Miss Wonderful (2004)

2. Mr. Impossible (2005)

IMPOSSIBLE... Rupert Carsington, fourth son of the Earl of Hargate, is his aristocratic family’s favorite disaster. He is irresistibly handsome, shockingly masculine, and irretrievably reckless, and wherever he goes, trouble follows. Still, Rupert’s never met an entanglement—emotional or other—he couldn’t escape. Until now.

OUTRAGEOUS... Now he’s in Egypt, stranded in the depths of Cairo’s most infamous prison, and his only way out is accepting a beautiful widow’s dangerous proposal. Scholar Daphne Pembroke wants him to rescue her brother, who’s been kidnapped by a rival seeking a fabled treasure. Their partnership is strictly business : She’ll provide the brains, he, the brawn. Simple enough in theory.

INEVITABLE... Blame it on the sun or the blazing desert heat, but as tensions flare and inhibitions melt, the most disciplined of women and the most reckless of men are about to clash in the most impossibly irresistible way.

3. Lord Perfect (2006)

IDEAL The heir to the Earl of Hargate, Benedict Carsington, Viscount Rathbourne, is the perfect aristocrat. Tall, dark, and handsome, he is known for his impeccable manners and good breeding. Benedict knows all the rules and has no trouble following them—until she enters his life.

INFAMOUS Bathsheba Wingate belongs to the rotten branch of the DeLucey family : a notorious lot of liars, frauds, and swindlers. Small wonder her husband’s high-born family disowned him. Now widowed, she’s determined to give her daughter a stable life and a proper upbringing. Nothing and no one will disrupt Bathsheba’s plans—until he enters her life…

SCANDALOUS Then Bathsheba’s hoyden daughter lures Benedict’s precocious nephew into a quest for a legendary treasure. To recover the would-be knights errant, Benedict and Bathsheba must embark on a rescue mission that puts them in dangerous, intimate proximity—a situation virtually guaranteed to end in mayhem—even scandal !—if anyone else were involved. But Benedict is in perfect control of events. Perfect control, despite his mad desire to break all the rules. Perfect control. Really.

4. Not Quite a Lady (2007)

IRRESISTIBLE FORCE Darius Carsington is a spectacularly handsome rake with a rare intelligence and no heart, a man who divides his time between bedding loose-moraled women and writing scholarly papers. He finds society’s “perfect darlings”....exceedingly boring. But there’s something intriguing, and not quite perfect, about faultless Lady Charlotte Hayward. He senses a crack under her polished surface, and finding it is a temptation he can’t resist.

IMMOVABLE OBJECT Lady Charlotte is so beautiful, charming, and gracious that no one has noticed what an expert she is at Not Getting Married. Early on, she learned a painful lesson about trust....and temptation. In the years since, she’s devoted her life to all she ought to be—and she’s not about to let a man like Carsington entice her to do everything she shouldn’t.

A SPLENDID COLLISION But the laws of attraction can easily overpower the rules of manners and morals, and sometimes even the best -behaved girl has to follow her instincts, even if it means risking it all.

Romans :

Knave’s Wager (1990)

The Sandalwood Princess (1990)

Two heroes are better than one....

The Sandalwood Princess Determined to uncover who stole her sandalwood statue, Amanda Cavencourt is shocked to learn the culprit is a notorious rogue known as the Falcon. Why would a man renowned for his dangerous and delicate missions indulge in petty thievery ? Intrigued by the mystery—and rumors of the Falcon’s devilish charm and good looks—Amanda sets out on the trail of the brazen blackguard. But what she stumbles upon is a man who just may be her perfect match....

Your Scandalous Ways (2008)

James Cordier is all blueblood and entirely dangerous. He’s a master of disguise, a brilliant thief, a first class lover—all for King and country—and, by gad, he’s so weary of it. His last mission is to “acquire” a packet of incriminating letters from one notorious woman. Then he can return to London, and meet sweet-natured heiresses—not adventuresses and fallen women.

Francesca Bonnard has weathered heartbreak, scorn, and scandal. She’s independent, happy, and definitely fallen ; and she’s learned that “gentlemen” are more trouble than they’re worth. She can also see that her wildly attractive new neighbor is bad news.

But as bad as James is, there are others far worse also searching for Francesca’s letters. And suddenly nothing is simple—especially the nearly incendiary chemistry between the two most jaded, sinful souls in Europe. And just as suddenly, risking everything may be worth the prize.

Don’t Tempt Me (2009), à paraître

Spunky English girl overcomes impossible odds and outsmarts heathen villains. That’s the headline when Zoe Lexham returns to England. After twelve years in the exotic east, she’s shockingly adept in the sensual arts. She knows everything a young lady shouldn’t and nothing she ought to know. She’s a walking scandal, with no hope of a future...unless someone can civilize her.

Lucien de Grey, the Duke of Marchmont, is no knight in shining armor. He’s sarcastic, cynical, easily bored, and dangerous to women. He charms, seduces, and leaves them—with parting gifts of expensive jewelry to dry their tears. But good looks and charm, combined with money and rank, make him welcome everywhere. The most popular bachelor in the Beau Monde can easily save Zoe’s risqué reputation . . . if the wayward beauty doesn’t lead him into temptation, and a passion that could ruin them both.

Nouvelles :

A christmas collection ( avec Stella Cameron, Joan Hohl et Linda Lael Miller ( 1992 )

A christmas present ( avec Judith E French et Lisa Kleypas ) ( 1994 )

Three weddings and a kiss ( avec Catherine Anderson, Lisa Kleypas et Kathleen Woodiwiss ) ( 1995 )

The mad earl’s bride

Everyone loves a wedding...

Nothing lifts our hearts like the joyous peal of wedding bells. Or the sight of a happy couple being showered with confetti and good wishes. Now the most exciting new names in romantic fiction and the bestselling author who started it all -escort you down the aisle to a place of honor at four glorious celebrations of everlasting love :