Mary Rose Clayborne is as well-protected by her four adoptive brothers as any woman in Blue Belle, Montana could be--until Lord Harrison Stanford MacDonald comes to town and she finds herself falling in love. How can Mary Rose keep her family together and learn to accept Harrison's questionable past? This story of love and adventure in the Old West will keep you turning the pages.


From Publishers Weekly
This romance set in mid-19th-century Montana spent two weeks on PW's bestseller list. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
When a gang of New York orphans discovers baby Mary Rose inside a picnic basket in a trash bin, they travel to Montana to establish a more suitable home for their new charge. Headed up by an escaped slave and peopled with would-be juvenile delinquents, the family that results is unique, to say the least. But it works for 19 years?and then Harrison MacDonald appears, sent by an English nobleman to reclaim the long lost Mary Rose. Filled with humor and appealing characters and neatly punctuated with letters to the absent "Mama Rose," Garwood's (Prince Charming, Pocket Bks., 1994) lively and charming romance is essential to most romance collections.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
When four streetwise boys, one of whom is a runaway slave, find a baby girl in a New York City alley, they make a pact to raise her the way they should have been raised. Christening the child Mary Rose, the children form a family under the adopted name of Clayborne and head West to protect Mary Rose from the people who abandoned her. Eighteen years and several thousand miles later, Harrison MacDonald tracks down a rumor about a young lady who could be the daughter of his employer, a wealthy British lord. Harrison confirms that Mary Rose, whom he has fallen in love with, is the missing child, stolen as an infant and believed dead, and immediately makes plans to reunite her with her "family" as his wife. In England, Mary Rose soon realizes love is stronger than blood and returns to America and her "brothers." The conclusion to all this is quite satisfying. A surefire hit with fans of the historical romance and the best-selling Garwood. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Melanie Duncan


From Literary Times
Thrown into a trash heap in New York City, a tiny baby is found by four boys. Adam, Douglas, Travis and Cole name her Mary Rose and make her part of their unusual family. The boys aren't related-- in fact, Adam is a run away slave-- but they are a family in the ways that count. Together, they will move to Montana Valley and raise Mary Rose. Out west no one will question their relationship and they will have the kind of peaceful life they've always wanted. Until someone shows up looking for that little lost baby. Harrison Stanford MacDonald arrives in the town of Blue Belle to find out about the Claybornes. Hired by Lord William Elliot of England, he has heard rumors that Mary Rose Clayborne bears an uncanny resemblance to Lady Agatha Elliot. Could it be that Mary Rose is the long lost daughter of Lady Agatha and Lord William? He intends to find out. When he sees the beautiful Mary Rose, he knows there is no mistake-- no matter who she says she is, this girl is Lady Victoria Elliot. But before he can return her to her real family, Harrison must gain her trust as well as convince her brothers. He concocts a plan that is sure to endear him to Mary Rose. Mary Rose has always had a soft heart for bumbling misfits. Harrison MacDonald certainly seems to fit that description. He obviously has no experience with guns and he doesn't understand the ways of the west. Convinced he will get himself killed, Mary Rose takes him under her wing and brings him to her brothers' ranch so they can teach him how to defend himself. It doesn't take long for Mary Rose to lose her heart to the man who will change her life forever. But will she be able to forgive him for deceiving her? When she finally returns to England to meet the family she has never known, Mary Rose finds herself in a world that is foreign to her. Her father and aunt want to forget the past and turn her into the Lady Victoria she should have been. Before she can have a future with Harrison, Mary Rose will have to deal with her new identity and the past. She may have been born Lady Victoria, but in her heart she will always be Mary Rose.Julie Garwood writes the most wonderful books! Her stories are imaginative, passionate and always special! I couldn't put this book down! Charming and romantic! For The Roses is a winner! You will fall in love with these characters! Once again, Julie Garwood proves that she is one of the best in romance fiction! Her books just keep getting better and better! If you haven't read a book by Julie Garwood, you don't know what you've been missing! Once again, a winner!Kristina Wright -- Copyright © 1994-97 Literary Times, Inc. All rights reserved


Book Description
The Clayborne brothers were a rough gang of street urchins -- until they found an abandoned baby girl in a New York City alley, named her Mary Rose, and headed to Blue Belle, Montana, to raise her to be a lady. They became a family -- held together by loyalty and love if not blood -- when suddenly a stranger threatened to tear them apart...Lord Harrison Stanford MacDonald brandished a six-shooter and a swagger, but he soon proved to be a gentleman to the core. The brothers taught him frontier survival, while Mary Rose touched his heart with a deep and desperate passion. But soon, a shattering secret would challenge everything Mary Rose believed about herself, her life, and her newfound love.


Simon & Schuster
No one ever knew what kind of strays, from animals to weary travelers, Mary Rose Clayborne would bring home next. Sometimes her four brothers‹ runaway slave Adam, ax-pickpocket Douglas, gunslinger Cole, and con man Travis -- wondered whether her boarding school education did a lick of good now that their beautiful, impulsive little sister was back in Blue Belle, Montana. Of course, everyone in town knew better than to mess with the Claybornes. The brothers, four of the toughest hombres in the West, had once been a mismatched gang of street urchins. But they had found an abandoned baby girl in a New York City alley, named her Mary Rose, headed West, and raised her to be a lady. Through the years the Claybornes had become a family, held together by loyalty and love if not by blood -- when they suddenly faced the crisis that could tear them apart. That crisis came to town with Lord Harrison Stanford MacDonald. In his fine clothes, he looked every inch a dude. Mary Rose figured that if she didn't interfere, this handsome Englishman would get himself killed, so she took him home to the Clayborne ranch to ask her brothers to turn him into a cowboy. She didn't suspect MacDonald was a chameleon, not the greenhorn he appeared to be. He'd prove fast with a gun, quick with his fists, and capable of commanding the Claybornes's respect -- if not their trust. He'd also soon be desperately in love with Mary Rose. She returned his affection blissfully and wholeheartedly...until MacDonald revealed a secret that challenged everything she believed about her love, herself, and her life. Now Mary Rose's search for identity and meaning would begin, sending her to England, to the family she lost long ago. Her soul hungered for the freedom of the American West, but she was being drawn away from all she cared about by the need to know her past...and by her uncertain but still potent love for MacDonald. Torn between conflicting loyalties, Mary Rose wasn't sure who she really was, or where she belonged...questions that could only be answered if she listened to the truth within her heart.


About the Author
With more than 13 million books in print and 13 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, Julie Garwood has earned a solid position among fiction's established stars. It's clear why she has risen to the top -- her talent as a novelist keeps readers laughing, crying and thoroughly entertained with each new book. One force that shaped Julie's life and work is her Irish heritage. "The Irish are great storytellers who relish getting all the details and nuances of every situation. Add in the fact that in my family I was the 6th of 7 children. Early in life I learned that self-expression had to be forceful, imaginative and quick," Julie says. Julie Garwood's phenomenal success is not only a result of her outstanding writing ability, but also her determination. Her early elementary education was interrupted by illness, and as a result, she didn't learn to read until she was almost 12 years old. She's been a champion of literacy ever since -- as a tutor, a classroom storyteller and an author of two children's books. Julie visits schools as often as possible to talk to children about the joys and rewards of reading. "I treasure the written word," she explains, "and I want everyone to love books as much as I do." Julie Garwood's first historical novel, Gentle Warrior, was published by Pocket Books in 1985. Since then, her popularity among readers has grown with each new publication. She is currently working on her next novel.

ANNOTATION

Mary Rose's brothers never knew what kind of stray she would bring home next. Her latest is an Englishman in need of training in frontier living. 2 cassettes.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Of course, everyone in town knew better than to mess with the Claybornes. The brothers, four of the toughest hombres in the West, had once been a mismatched gang of street urchins. But they had found an abandoned baby girl in a New York City alley, named her Mary Rose, headed West, and raised her to be a lady. Through the years the Claybornes had become a family, held together by loyalty and love if not by blood - when they suddenly faced the crisis that could tear them apart.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This romance set in mid-19th-century Montana spent two weeks on PW's bestseller list. (Feb.)

Library Journal

When a gang of New York orphans discovers baby Mary Rose inside a picnic basket in a trash bin, they travel to Montana to establish a more suitable home for their new charge. Headed up by an escaped slave and peopled with would-be juvenile delinquents, the family that results is unique, to say the least. But it works for 19 years-and then Harrison MacDonald appears, sent by an English nobleman to reclaim the long lost Mary Rose. Filled with humor and appealing characters and neatly punctuated with letters to the absent "Mama Rose," Garwood's (Prince Charming, Pocket Bks., 1994) lively and charming romance is essential to most romance collections.

BookList - Melanie Duncan