Lady Thief
by Kay Hooper

A Kay Hooper fan must-have, Lady Thief is the very first book ever published by this dazzling author and has been out of print for twenty years. Also included is a bonus historical novella, "Masquerade," which originally appeared in the anthology Hearts of Gold.

Dear Reader,

As most of you know by now, I was lucky enough to begin my career writing contemporary series romances. What you may not know, however, is that my very first novel was historical—a Regency romance.

The setting of Regency England is favored among romance writers, because we view it—thanks largely to Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer—as an age of lords and ladies, of glittering balls and high fashion, where the rules of Society were very carefully set out and were expected to be obeyed. Love stories fit that mannered, sparkling age like a glove.

Being me, of course, I had to tweak both the rules and conventions of Regency England for my own forays there. And so, in Lady Thief, I give you Jennifer Courtenay, whose lovely face hides a dangerous secret both Society and the Duke of Spencer are determined to uncover. A secret that could cost her her life.

And in the Regency-set novella "Masquerade," I offer Cassandra Eden, who hides a far different kind of secret from the infamous Earl of Sheffield when fate lands her unexpectedly on his doorstep one snowy evening.

I hope you enjoy Lady Thief, written in 1980, and "Masquerade," a novella written almost fifteen years later—both presented here exactly as they were originally published. I ask only that you please remember that I was a tiny child when I began my writing career, hardly tall enough to reach the keyboard.

Seriously.

Kay Hooper

Other Books by Kay Hooper

Fear The Dark
A Bishop/SCU Novel Book 4

A Deadly Web
A Bishop Files Novel #2

Haunted
A Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Novel #3

Hostage
A Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Novel #2

The First Prophet
A Bishop Files Novel #1

Haven
A Bishop/Special Crime Unit Novel #1

Blood Sins

Gifts of Love

Sleeping with Fear
A Bishop/Special Crimes Unit Novel

The Haviland Touch

Enemy Mine

Chill of Fear

The Real Thing

Hunting Fear

Elusive

Show all >

Kay Hooper's Bio

Kay Hooper was born in California, in an air force base hospital since her father was stationed there at the time. The family moved back to North Carolina shortly afterward, so she was raised and went to school there.

The oldest of three children, Kay has a brother two years younger and a sister seven years younger. Her father and brother are builders who own a highly respected construction company, and her mother worked for many years in personnel management before becoming Kay’s personal assistant, a position she held until her untimely death in March 2002. Kay’s sister Linda works as her Business Manager, Events Coordinator, and is playing a major role in the creation and operation of The Kay Hooper Foundation.

Kay graduated from East Rutherford High School and attended Isothermal Community College — where she quickly discovered that business classes did not in any way enthrall her. Switching to more involving courses such as history and literature, she also began to concentrate on writing, which had been a longtime interest. Very quickly hooked, she asked for a Christmas typewriter and began seriously working on her first novel. That book, a Regency romance titled Lady Thief, sold to Dell Publishing in 1980. She has since published more than 60 novels and four novellas.

Kay is single and lives in a very small town in North Carolina, not far from her father and siblings. Deigning to live with her are a flock of cats with various personalities who all like sleeping on manuscripts and whatever research happens to be spread across Kay’s desk. And living amongst the many felines are two cheerfully tolerant dogs, a shelter rescue, Bandit, who looks rather like a small sheepdog, and a Sheltie named Lizzie.