-
Highest Stakes (Paperback)
$15.49 - Save $0.50 (3%) - RRP $15.99 Free shipping worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 24 hours | |- Also available in...
- eBook (EPub - DRM applied) $10.34
Short Description for Highest StakesIn 18th century England and Colonial Virginia, when high-spirited stallions filled the stables of the lords of the land and fortunes were won and lost on the outcome of a race, a love story unfolds between a young woman for whom her uncle's horses are her only friends and the young man who teaches her everything about their care and racing.
Full description- Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc
- Published: 21 May 2010
- Format: Paperback 560 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Historical Romance | Historical Fiction
- ISBN 13: 9781402236426 ISBN 10: 1402236425
- Sales rank: 571,332
Other books
Reviews for Highest Stakes
-
Great adaptation story for the BBC!
This is a very well thought out novel with an exciting and intricate plot that is interweaved almost to perfection. Although over 500 pages, I never thought the novel was long and when the end came, I was ready for more. More do you hear that Emery Lee? The end invites several story lines to be continued and after reading several of the blogs the author is on, it looks like a sequel or prequel is in the works. I normally read King and Koontz, but I picked up this novel for my wife as it has horses and is a romance novel. I started to read it and did not put it down until I was over a hundred pages into it and found I was hooked. The characters are well formulated and real, not cardboard; they have flaws just like real people. The hero, heroine and villains develop and change because of their interactions with each other, they live in a world and time unlike our modern world and the voice of the author brings all this to vivid life. Then there is the horse aspect to the novel, I'm far from an expert on horses but I have been around them in my life and it is evident that Lee has a great love for them. Although the novel details many aspects of the horse, their training, linage and racing I never felt as though I was in school, the details presented are in context with the story. For me, the racing was especially of interest as the "wager" for love centers around several races. Each race has separate hooks and twists to draw the reader in and keep the pace going and the read enjoyable. One last observation, as an avid movie fan I could picture this novel in the cinema or maybe a BBC or A&E mini-series. by Sobjohn
-
COMPLETELY CAPTIVATING!!
What first piqued my interest in THE HIGHEST STAKES was the back cover blurb about the origins of Throroughbred racing and pedigrees, but the book proved to be so much more than a bland history of horseracing!
The book opens with a horse race described in such blow-by-blow detail, that I felt like an active participant. The suspense became so heightened I felt I had placed actual stakes on the race in which Robert Devington rode.
I was then captivated by the heartrending story between Robert, a lowly stable groom and Charlotte, the orphaned niece of ambitious relatives, and the tenacity of this relationship against all odds.
Each time it appears Robert and Charlotte will be together, something unexpected and drastic follows these star-crossed lovers. Ruthlessness and villainy seem always to prevail.
Having little prior knowledge of the Georgian era, I was fascinated by the details of the nobility, their lifestyles, and pride in breeding.
The excitement of the story kept me on the edge of my seat for hundreds of pages in a sitting. I would highly recommend the book to anyone interested in history, horses and true love. FIVE STARS by Femme de Plume -
AUTHOR'S COMMENTARY
WHAT WOULD YOU WAGER FOR LOVE???
In the high stakes gentleman's world of 18th century horseracing, when the blood of the "desert kings" ruled the English turf, a hero returns from war to claim the girl he has loved since he first spied her riding hell-for-leather over the Doncaster heath. Determined to have her at any cost, he will risk everything.
AUTHOR'S COMMENTARY BY EMERY LEE:
A story of star-crossed lovers and horseracing, THE HIGHEST STAKES transports the reader to 18th century England, an era infamous for corruption, arranged marriages, and high stakes gambling; when racing and breeding became the obsession of the uppermost elite, and a match race might replace a duel in settling a point of honor.
Since THE HIGHEST STAKES' release, I have done a number of guest blogs to answer questions about my creative process, why I chose Georgian England and Colonial Virginia as my settings, and how I researched the novel. I also wrote about the history of horseracing and my own passion for equines. I would now like share some of these thoughts and add some background information on the novel itself.
It is always said that one should write one's passions. In my case, this would mean converging horses, history and romance, elements that at first glance appear very much at odds, but the combination, to me, was irresistible. I wanted to create a hero, (Robert Devington) who would overcome many obstacles to find love and happiness, with his ultimate fate hanging on a horse race.
A story of star-crossed lovers and horseracing, THE HIGHEST STAKES transports the reader to the hard-drinking, vice-ridden, horseracing world of Georgian England. Fascinating and titillating, this was an era of corruption, arranged marriages, and high stakes gambling; when racing and breeding became the obsession of the uppermost elite, and a match race might replace a duel in settling a point of honor. It was also an age in which a powerful and privileged aristocracy used an outer façade of honor and politesse to cover its multifarious sins.
My research in this endeavor was both extensive and diverse, going back to the early 18th century and the creation of the Thoroughbred itself. The horses (all progeny of the Byerley Turk, and the Darley and Godolphin Arabians) are seamlessly woven into the plot in which the success of Sir Garfield's racing stud is elemental to his schemes of social advancement, and a racing wager becomes the only pathway Devington sees to win his true love, Charlotte.
Charlotte Wallace is a young girl who is orphaned and forced to live with uncaring and socially ambitious relatives. Lonely and neglected, she seeks solace within her uncle's racing stables where she meets the young man with whom she share's what will become her lifelong passion- racehorses.
The young and ambitious Robert Devington is a lowly, but talented stable groom, who leaves his employ for the military in order to better himself in the eyes of Charlotte's uncle. After some time passes, Robert returns to claim Charlotte's hand in any way possible, ultimately leading to a racing wager that sets the plot in motion.
Through the fictional love story of Robert Devington and Charlottte Wallace, a tale of drama, danger, thwarted love, and retribution unfurles...
Enjoy the ride!
Emery Lee
http://www.authoremerylee.com
http://emerylee.wordpress.com by Emery Lee -
Top review
Horses, friendship, intrigue, betrayal and romance -- an engrossing and satisfying read!
Emery Lee's The Highest Stakes opens at the races in Litchfield, Staffordshire in 1742. It's at this race that we're introduced to the characters that shape the novel. The race is for untried horses - those who have yet to win a race. Sir Garfield Wallace, a merchant who recently rose to the gentry, and an avid turf follower entered the gray mare White Rose ("Rosie") in the first race. But on the day of the race, the Wallaces are running late and the jockey, Sir Garfield's son Charles won't make it in time. The race is limited to gentlemen jockeys: no professional jockeys are allowed -- the horses must be ridden by the owner or a member of his family. Robert Devington who has worked for Sir Garfield as a trainer, jockey, and all around problem solver decides to take a dangerous risk and claims a relationship to the Wallace family in order to keep Rosie from forfeiting the race. Devington handles Rosie brilliantly though he wins the Wallaces considerable status, he finds himself shut out once again.
Though much in love with Charlotte Wallace, Sir Garfield's niece, Robert decides that the best way to win her hand is to break away from the Wallaces and to make his own fortune. Robert enlists in the King's Horse. Robert Devington proves his mettle and somehow Robert's commanding officer, Captain Drake, becomes Robert's mentor and closest friend.
Robert and Drake find themselves closely allied as they woo Sir Garfield's niece and daughter respectively. But romance, intrigue, and social ambition keep the lovers apart -- and make The Highest Stakes a fascinating and unusual read.
In The Highest Stakes, the horse racing and breeding are more than a backdrop for the action and romance. It's the horses and those that breed, race and love them that give The Highest Stakes its unique and strong charm. I've loved horses and riding since I was young, but I think most animal lovers and lovers of historical fiction will find The Highest Stakes to be an engrossing and satisfying read.
ISBN-10: 1402236425 - Paperback
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark; 1 edition (April 1, 2010), 560 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher. by Gaby @ Starting Fresh
share
tweet
