The Perfect Hero (37 page)

BOOK: The Perfect Hero

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Kay shook her head. She was daydreaming again and she’d said she wouldn’t do that any more because it had got her into far too much trouble in the past.
But it’s different this time,
she told herself, because – and she was quite sure about this – she had got things right at last.

‘Ready to go back?’ Adam asked her. ‘There’s a bit of a breeze picking up.’

‘Let’s just walk to the end first,’ she said. ‘I want to jump from the steps.’

Adam’s eyebrows rose. ‘Are you sure? I mean, aren’t you tempting fate?’

Kay shook her head. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I know you’ll catch me.’

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to my lovely agent, Annette Green, who has been hidden under a pile of manuscripts since taking me on!

To Kate Bradley, Helen Bolton, Charlotte Allen and the rest of the marvellous team at Avon. I love working with you all.

Thanks to Clive and Sheila Anstey for their peaceful cottage where it’s always a pleasure to write, and to Tracey Marler for her perfect place in Lyme Regis.

To Natalie Manifold at the marvellous Literary Lyme Walking Tours which I can highly recommend.

To Teresa Flavin and Lynne Garner for their expertise on illustrations, and to Kath Eastman – an expert quotation finder!

To my dear friend, Gael, who is such an inspiration.

To Jo Terry for introducing me to lemon drizzle cake!

To Ann Channon and the team at the Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton for their enthusiasm and support.

And my wonderful friends on Twitter and Facebook – especially Heather Zerfahs, and Emma Dye who helped me choose Oli’s car! And to my lovely friends at Austenauthors. com – a wonderful website for Janeites.

And, as ever, huge thanks to my husband, Roy. I’m so lucky that he loves Lyme Regis as much as I do!

Read on to find out Victoria Connelly’s
Top Ten Romantic Heroes . . .

1 Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen’s
Persuasion
– He is Anne Elliot’s first love and the one she so regrets letting go. When he enters her life again nearly nine years later and writes to her saying, ‘You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me that I am not too late . . .’ you realise that he has been suffering through the long years too. It’s a beautifully poignant moment that makes you believe in happy endings.

2 Michael Maloney as Mark in
Truly Madly Deeply.
This is my favourite film and I love Michael Maloney’s performance as the man trying to win Nina’s heart after her lover, Jamie, has died. Mark is gentle and understanding and I love his first date with Nina when they hop along the Embankment asking each other questions.

3 Gabriel Oak from Thomas Hardy’s
Far From the Madding Crowd.
He is patient, kind and oh-so-capable! I love the opening of the book which describes his wonderful smile. He suffers so much but never gives up and is finally rewarded by winning the love of his life.

4 Lloyd Dobler from the film
Say Anything
. Played by a young John Cusack, high school underachiever, Lloyd, sets his heart on winning brainy Diane. They’re the most unlikely couple ever but Lloyd’s true heart and unconventionality wins her over.

5 Westley – the farm boy turned pirate in
The Princess Bride.
Played by Cary Elwes in the film adaptation from the novel by William Goldman, he is strong, determined and not afraid to laugh at himself. He can scale my Cliffs of Insanity any day!

6 Gene Kelly - I can’t possibly choose one Gene Kelly film because I love him in almost everything, but I adore
Anchors Aweigh
and
On the Town
– there’s something about him in a sailor’s suit that’s rather special! And he’s a knockout in
Summer Stock
and
An American in Paris
. He combines strength and sweetness, his comedies never fail to make me smile and he’s very easy on the eye!

7 Gregory Peck as Joe Bradley in
Roman Holiday.
He plays the suave American journalist who bumps into and falls in love with runaway princess, Audrey Hepburn. They only have 24 hours together but I love their adventures and the ending will break your heart!

8 James Stewart as Alfred Kralik in
The Shop Around the Corner.
My favourite actor of all time – I love his gentleness and warmth, and he is wonderful in this romantic comedy from 1940. It was later remade as
In the Good Old Summertime
and then again as
You’ve Got Mail,
but the original film is the best. It’s about two shop workers who hate one another, unaware that they’re falling in love with each other as anonymous pen pals.

9 Jem Merlyn in Daphne du Maurier’s
Jamaica Inn.
He’s rough, he’s rude and he’s a thief but he’s really rather gorgeous as all bad boys are. He keeps an eye on heroine, Mary Yellan, and when he says to her, ‘If you come with me, it will be a hard life and a wild one at times’, you just know what her answer is going to be!

10 Mr Darcy from Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice.
What can I say about Mr Darcy? He’s everyone’s favourite hero, isn’t he? What I love about him is that he makes mistakes – really big, horrible mistakes – but he’s willing to admit to them and he’ll do anything for the woman he loves. He truly is the perfect hero!

A Weekend With Mr Darcy
Victoria Connelly

First impressions can last a lifetime . . .

Katherine Roberts is fed up. As a lecturer specialising in the works of Jane Austen, she has come to realise that the ideal man only exists within the pages of
Pride & Prejudice
.

Austen fanatic, Robyn Love, is blessed with a name full of romance, but her love life is far from perfect. Stuck in a rut with a bonehead boyfriend, she longs for an escape.

They both decide to attend the annual Jane Austen conference, hoping to cast their troubles away. But as chaos ensues, it seems an Austen weekend wouldn’t be complete without a little intrigue and romance along the way . . .

The ultimate treat for fans of Alexandra Potter, Katie Fforde and, of course, Jane Austen.

Coming Soon . . .

The Runaway Actress
by Victoria Connelly
Publishing July 2012

But if you can’t wait that long and want to find out more about Victoria, visit her website at
victoriaconnelly.com.

Discover news about events and signings, and you can also read about Victoria’s favourite books and musicals, see exclusive photographs and much, much more . . .

About the Author

Victoria Connelly was brought up in Norfolk and studied English literature at Worcester University before becoming a teacher in North Yorkshire. After getting married in a medieval castle in the Yorkshire Dales, she moved to London where she lives with her artist husband and a mad springer spaniel. She has had three novels published in Germany – the first of which was made into a film.

To find out more about Victoria please visit www.victoriaconnelly.com

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By the same author

A Weekend with Mr Darcy

Victoria Connelly asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

ISBN 978-1-84756-226-5

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