Lady Jenny's Christmas Portrait
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4.4 • 153 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A freshly wrapped Regency Christmas romance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes.
What Lady Jenny wants for Christmas…
For Christmas, soft-spoken Lady Jenny Windham craves the freedom to pursue her artistic ambitions, though it will mean scandalizing her ducal parents and abandoning all hope of a family of her own. She confides her plans to successful artist Elijah Harrison when he’s commissioned to paint a portrait of her small nephews, because assisting Elijah will bring Jenny that much closer to her heart’s desire--won’t it?
...Will break both their hearts
Elijah Harrison finds in his unlikely assistant not only an inspiring muse and unappreciated talent, but also a lovely and passionate woman. If Elijah supports Jenny’s career, his own professional interests will suffer, but more significantly, he will lose Jenny forever. Both Jenny and Elijah must choose between true love and a lifelong dream.
Windham series:
The Heir (Book 1)
The Soldier (Book 2)
The Virtuoso (Book 3)
Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish (Book 4)
Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal (Book 5)
Lady Louisa's Christmas Knight (Book 6)
Lady Eve's Indiscretion (Book 7)
Lady Jenny's Christmas Portrait (Book 8)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The eighth and final book in Burrowes's Windham Regency series (after Lady Eve's Indiscretion) embraces the spirit of Christmas and the power of love to draw families together. Lady Jenny Windham's parents and siblings have always smiled indulgently at her little painting hobby, but Jenny takes it seriously, longing to move to Paris and pursue art training. As she's preparing to leave, she meets Elijah Harrison, Earl of Bernward, a skilled portraitist. He hopes that painting Jenny's nephews will boost his career and free him to return to his estranged family. The two connect immediately over their shared love of art, but since one is seeking to leave home and the other to return to it, compromises will have to be made. Burrowes describes the journey more than the destination; while not breaking new ground, the well-told story is elevated by warmth and intimacy.
Customer Reviews
So realistic!
The characters came alive on the pages for me, read it twice during Christmas vacation. Another favorite.
Husband & Family over Art
Love and art and family can co-exits; in our modern world we know this to be true. But the story still carries the implications that a female artist, wanting to travel, see art, study art, might be conveniently fooling herself; that she will realize that she'd happily sacrifice all for marriage to her true love and lots of kids. Because our heroine has this sentiment, the book made me sad. Women artists have had to work twice as hard as men to just be able to paint or sculpt. And they've had their ideas and innovations stolen from them by the artistic men they supported and loved, the credit for their work given to those male artists. This truth makes any tale of a female artist willing to sacrifice her art for her one true love (even if he rejects such a sacrifice)...painful. But that's the lesson of all Burrowes' tales. Women long for love, marriage and lots of kids...and anything else they may want (to paint, write poems, etc.) is gravy--they get it all, thanks to loving husbands who won't hear of them giving up their art. Not because the heroines can and will and are determined to get it on their own.
Is this really the end?!
From The Heir to Lady Jenny and everything in between, the Windhams are a delight to read. Picking up this book was like catching up with a dear friend. It was cozy, familiar, and even sad. The last book in the series? I certainly hope not! Each of the Windham siblings are distinct and engaging. Lady Jenny was an absolute delight. I couldn't help the feeling of wanting to race to the end but also in dreading it concluding. She is a strong and talented woman in a family that is fun, meddlesome and a pure joy. Their fondness for each other reminds me of The Cosby Show. There's so much I could say about the book but I'd be giving it away. I spent a few hours reading this book because I'd reached the inevitable point that comes when reading books penned by Grace Burrowes where I just couldn't put it down. It's a perfect book to curl up with. It has romance and family, determination and historical context. What more can you ask for?!