Books like 'Cranford'
Readers who enjoyed Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical funny victorian small town
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The River Girl by Tania Crosse
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsDartmoor, 1858.Elizabeth Thornton has every reason to want to escape from home — a ramshackle farm in the middle of nowhere on the wilds of Dartmoor. Since her father’s death, she’s been trapped here, in the clutches of her lascivious uncle.When a position opens up at Rosebank Hall, she jumps at the chance. She will be a domestic drudge at the beck and call of the house’s cantankerous master... -
The Importance of Being Earnest and Other Plays by Oscar Wilde
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsLady Windermere's Fan/Salomé/A Woman of No Importance/An Ideal Husband/A Florentine Tragedy/The Importance of Being Earnest'To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness'The Importance of Being Earnest is a glorious comedy of mistaken identity, which ridicules codes of propriety and etiquette... -
The Gunpowder Girl by Tania Crosse
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsOriginally published as Cherrybrook Rose and A Bouquet of Thorns.A GRIPPING TALE OF LOVE AND SELF-SACRIFICE SET ON WILD DARTMOORDartmoor, 1875. Rose Maddiford, beautiful, vivacious and intelligent, could have her pick of men across Dartmoor. But she is in no hurry to marry unless it is for true love — and certainly not while she can help her father manage the Cherrybrook Gunpowder Mills... -
The Railway Girl by Tania Crosse
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsOriginally published as The Wrong Side of Happiness.A STRUGGLE TO FIND LOVE AND HAPPINESS AGAINST THE ODDSDevon, 1887. Life has not been kind to dairymaid Tresca Ladycott. She can’t rely on her flighty farmhand father, Emmanuel, so she relies on herself.Then comes a devastating blow. Tresca is sacked from the dairy and the pair lose their home... -
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Women of Straw by Carole Llewellyn
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn 1865, Luton in Bedfordshire is famous for manufacturing straw boaters worn everywhere, although times and fashions are changing. Kate Devlin, the eldest of three children, helps her mother, Rose, run the Devlin plait-school at 10 Plaiters Way. The plait produced there is sold to the Stratton Hat Company, and Kate’s ambition is to become a hat-maker... -
Entranced by the Earl by Jillian Eaton
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSometimes love is hiding in the unlikeliest of earls . . . Evelyn Thorncroft wants to marry a duke, but she'll settle for an earl. The Earl of Hawkridge, to be precise. The only problem? Weston cannot stand the sight of her. At least, that's what he says. Their passionate kisses, however, tell a very different story . . -
The Quarry Girl by Tania Crosse
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsOriginally published as A Dream Rides By.August 1883. The future for Ling Southcott, a quarryman’s daughter, seems to be already mapped. Marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Barney, a cluster of children, a life contained to the hamlet of Foggintor Quarry. For Ling, with her sharp, enquiring mind and love of books, it is an accepted, if unwelcome fate... -
An Irish Country Practice by Patrick Taylor
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAn Irish Country Practice is the twelfth heartwarming installment in New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Patrick Taylor's beloved Irish Country series.Once, not too long ago, there was just a single Irish country doctor tending to the lively little village of Ballybucklebo: Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. Now his thriving practice is growing by leaps and bounds... -
Remembering Jamie by Nichole Van
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMiss Eilidh Fyffe always assumed her life would follow a predictable pattern—meet a charming man, fall in love, marry, and live happily ever after. But when an accident damages her memory, she is left with only questions. Has she already fallen in love and married? If only she could remember...Master Kieran MacTavish has spent six years searching for his lost wife... -
Kiss of the Lyon: The Lyon's Den Connected World by Meara Platt
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsHe was only supposed to win the high stakes game of chance, not a bride along with it.Lord Matthew Lyon is often called upon by the Crown because of his mathematical brilliance, and participating in a high stakes game of chance at the notorious Lyon’s Den should have been the easy part of his assignment...only it goes terribly wrong... -
The Hidden Hand: Love, Intrigue, and Gender Roles in Victorian Fiction by E.D.E.N. Southworth
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsEmma Southworth's 'The Hidden Hand' is a captivating novel that delves deep into the themes of mystery, romance, and intrigue. Set in the 19th century, this work of literature features a powerful narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats... -
The Sinner's Tempting Captor by Caroline Lee
He might have killed her brother, but this sinner is now the only man who can save her.Lady Honoria Lindsay is the daughter of a duke and the sister of three-too-many dead brothers. She’s learned to armor herself against inconvenient emotions like grief with propriety and charity…until an altruistic favor to a bereaved old man offers her a way to absolve her guilt... -
Murder at the Country Club by Helena Dixon
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsKitty Underhay is playing doubles… with death.Kitty Underhay is accompanying her fiancé, Matthew Bryant, and Bertie, his new cocker spaniel, on an outing to Torbay Country Club. However, the delightful day soon turns to disaster... -
The Duke's Wicked Widow (Surprise! Dukes) by Caroline Lee
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThey call him the Duke of Death, but he’s her last chance at a life worth living!To Society, Fawkes MacMillian is a nobody; a hanger-on at the edge of respectability with a murky past and an even murkier lineage. But to Lady Danielle Aycock, he is her only hope of salvation before a horrible Christmas deadline... -
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A Matchmaker for a Marquess by Christi Caldwell
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBe prepared to smile, swoon, and sigh in Christi Caldwell's latest 'Heart of a Scandal' installment where a matchmaker firmly on the shelf is about to fall head over heels for her best friend's younger brother. She lived by a strict set of rules… Meredith Durant believes those who won’t marry, matchmake, and she’s made a notable career for herself helping young women find the perfect mate... -
An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea by Patrick Taylor
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsLong before Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly came to the colourful Irish village of Ballybucklebo, young Surgeon-lieutenant O'Reilly answered the call of duty to serve in World War II. Fingal just wants to marry his beloved Deirdre and live happily ever after... -
Hellion at Heart by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSifting through the sands in the Middle East while learning of ancient cultures and buried civilizations is all Miss Hallie Evans dreams about. But when an impending scandal forces her back to England, her hopes and dreams are destroyed. Now, as a hired archaeologist for the rich, Hallie explores and studies the ancient ruins excavated on their properties... -
There Goes the Groom by Esther Hatch
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsCatching a husband has never been so complicated.Matthew Harrison has only one task in life: to marry money. After failing miserably in London, his family takes matters into their own hands by arranging his marriage to the wealthy Lucy Bateman. But when he meets Lucy for the first time, his resolve to save his family from ruin crumbles... -
Earls Just Wanna Have Fun by Merry Farmer
Lady Shannon O’Shea has seen all of her sisters married off by their brother, Fergus, in order to keep them out of trouble, and she is determined not to encounter the same fate. She has far too many other things on her hands, including her secretive, scandalous, and growing beer brewing business... -
Surrender to the Duke by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSurrendering to the Duke will be easy. Not losing her heart to him is another matter entirely… Miss Lila York should have refused her sister’s request. But since she didn’t, she’s now in the unfortunate position of traveling to London, pretending to be her sister, and rejecting a man—a man she’s long coveted from afar for herself... -
For the Love of Catherine by Carole Llewellyn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratings14 April 1912.The RMS Titanic hits an iceberg.At 11:40 p. m. Mair Parsons wakes up, heart thumping. A loud noise vibrates through the ship.The Titanic is sinking.Chaos ensues.The disaster will change her life for ever.Mair awakes in a Manhattan hospital confused and afraid. And ready to face her past... -
Marguerite and the Duke in Disguise by Alicia Cameron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of feel good Regency Romance comes the story of the last Fortune sister to meet her match.Soon after her twin Leonora's marriage a bereft Marguerite Fortune is going home to Castle Fortune, with only her self serving male relatives for company. But Baron Fortune, her papa, has a diversion planned on the journey ... one that concerns getting his last daughter wed... -
Naomi and the Purloined Journal: A feel-good Regency Romance by Alicia Cameron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA brand new series of joyous Regency Romance from the bestselling author!When a dully dressed family arrive at Tremaine Towers , home of Cedric Marchmont, Earl of Tremaine, the other residents are shocked, thinking them some poor relations... -
The Mysterious Mr. Oliver by Emma Melbourne
Emma Melbourne returns with the highly anticipated second book in the Miss Fleming series!Isabelle Fleming has many admirers, but she would trade them all for a sensible man . . .Miss Isabelle Fleming is the beauty of the season, but she’s ready to escape from the ton... -
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A Pocket of Stars by Laura Rollins
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsShe’s always dreamed of catching the eye of the earl next door.But is he the man her heart truly desires?Miss Annabella Pettiford has long dreamed of capturing the attention of the undeniably handsome Lord Waverly. Now, returned from finishing school, she is no longer a gangly wallflower, but a poised and confident woman ready to turn heads wherever she goes... -
Kiss Me Duke by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMolly Clare is living her dream. Being a guest in a gorgeous villa while she explores Rome is everything she could’ve hoped for and more. The man who owns the villa is equally charming—and entirely too tempting. At least, that’s what he appears to be. The truth of who and what he really is…well, that’s infinitely more complicated.Lord Hugh Farley is living a nightmare... -
The Duke's Bride by Erica Ridley
Single father and confirmed bachelor Jack Skeffington is the mastermind behind an international smuggling ring, yet unable to control his rambunctious ten-year-old twins. What he needs is a stern, experienced, no-nonsense governess. What he gets is his business partner’s untouchable sister, whose delectable body Jack yearns to pull close... -
Dare To Be Scandalous by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAfter inheriting a small fortune, Willow Perry has everything she’s ever wanted. Except a husband, that is. But not just any husband will do. She’s looking for a grand love—someone who will challenge and excite her. It’s just her folly that the one man who interests her is a notorious rake. He’s as wild and passionate as Willow is sheltered and staid... -
A Bride's Guide to Marriage and Murder: A Brilliant Victorian Historical Mystery by Dianne Freeman
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 28 ratings“Pure unadulterated fun” ( Publishers Weekly ) for fans of Ashley Weaver, Deanna Raybourn, and Tasha Alexander, the Agatha Award-winning Countess of Harleigh Mysteries are a witty romp through the high society of Victorian England with a touch of romance, an independent female lead, and rich historical detail... -
A Duke Never Forgets by Bianca Blythe
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen the duke trying to evict Genevieve and her family from their cottage gets amnesia, Genevieve’s mother declares that the duke and Genevieve are… married. Sebastian, the Duke of Sandridge, has been looking forward to holidaying at his cottage in Cornwall... -
Brazen Rogue by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen the past and present are standing in the way of happiness, it’ll take brazen act to save the day…Miss Reign Hall has resigned herself to being a spinster. Her disastrous season in London left her with little opportunity (or desire) for anything else. But when she’s offered a governess position, she knows it’s her best chance for a fresh start away from small country village life... -
Defying the Earl by Erica Ridley
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEnjoy a fun, flirty guardian-and-ward forced proximity romp from a New York Times bestselling author!Miss Matilda Dodd refuses to be any man’s property. She’s a month shy of her majority, and cannot wait to live life on her own terms. Rather than meet her unwanted new guardian as instructed, she attends a ball and comes kiss-to-kiss with an adorably befuddled handsome lord instead... -
Can't Stop the Feeling by Janet Elizabeth Henderson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe local branch of the Scottish Women’s Institute want to use Kintyre Mansion to hold their annual fundraising ball. There’s only one problem—its owner. Duncan Stewart is a young widower, still reeling from grief two years after losing his wife, and making the town suffer while he does it. The artist doesn’t paint anymore—he’s become a bad-tempered recluse... -
I Kissed an Earl by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsLady Marie O'Shea lives life by her own rules...But her days of running free end when her brother, Lord Fergus O'Shea, returns from England, intent on marrying his sisters off to keep them from being the scourge of the county. And when Marie lands herself in a scandalous amount of trouble, she ends up as the first sister doomed to whatever marriage of convenience her brother can arrange... -
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Miss Hilversham and the Pesky Duke : Wishing Well Seminary Book 1 by Sofi Laporte
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsA strict schoolmistress. A degenerate duke. One house standing between them.Weary of his decadent life, the wicked Duke of Rochford arrives in Bath with every intent to turn over a new leaf. But when the prim, meddling, feisty headmistress of the neighbouring school unleashes her outspoken opposition to Marcus’s presence, he decides to turn his new house into a gambling den, if only to vex her... -
A Romp with a Rogue by Tammy Andresen
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsHe’s no Prince Charming.Lord Rushton Smith is as rough as he is hard. His only wish is to leave London and the ton behind. He just wants to live a simple life of mind numbing work away from family and the crime that has shaped him into this beast of a man. But one small favor is burning down his dreams one by one and threatening to reshape his entire life... -
Katerina and the Reclusive Earl by Alicia Cameron
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe London Season! Glittering balls, society, handsome beaus. Every Regency lady’s dream. But not Katerina Fortune’s. And she takes drastic, shocking action to avoid it …In an inn, on the way to her first London Season, Katerina Fortune hears something that gives her a chance to escape her fate... -
Moving On: From the Irish bestseller comes a brand-new warm-hearted romance for 2024 by Roisin Meaney
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe average person moves house eight times in their lifetime. But are you moving closer to your destiny or further away?This is Ellen's story.. -
An Inconvenient Arrangement by Callie Hutton
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsDante Rose, along with his two brothers, splits his time between their very lucrative gaming hell and working undercover for the British Government on sensitive matters. He is also quite the rake, and as his father’s by-blow, has no title, and therefore no need to ever marry and produce an heir. He loves the ladies and his life exactly the way it is... -
What a Nobleman Needs by Merry Farmer
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsHis adolescent infatuation is back, but will Mac get Ellis into trouble, or will the rake need rescuing himself?Seven years ago, Ellis Copeland had his eyes opened when he stumbled on his Uncle George with one of his flings. Lord MacKenzie Young, Baron Fulbright, has lived in Ellis’s fantasies ever since... -
Only a Viscount Will Do by Tamara Gill
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLady Alice Worthingham never conforms to Society’s norms. Ever. She loves adventure, new experiences, and approaches life with a sassy attitude Society can take or leave. But even for her, robbery by a highwayman is a bit much.Lord Arndel, Lady Alice’s neighbor, is playing a dangerous game—acting the proper viscount by day and the Surrey Bandit by night... -
The Duke's Deceitful Governess by Caroline Lee
Love is a luxury he can’t afford… For years, he was known only as Blackrose’s Blade, an elite assassin in the employ of the Crown. But after a mission cost him the use of his leg, Rourke Lindsay has unexpectedly inherited a dukedom…and along with it, the headache of a pair of hellion twins... -
A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder by Dianne Freeman, Sarah Zimmerman
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsSet in Victorian England, this witty and lighthearted cozy historical mystery from award-winning author Dianne Freeman will delight fans of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, as an American-born amateur sleuth investigates misdeeds among the British aristocracy.For Frances Wynn, widow to the late Earl of Harleigh, life has a cosmopolitan flavor of late... -
The Honourable Lucas Kincaid: A Regency Historical Romance by Emma Melbourne
Her guardian's a gentleman. She wishes he wasn't.Felicity Taylor and her guardian, Lucas Kincaid, don’t see eye to eye on many things, but they both agree that her twenty-first birthday can’t come quickly enough. Felicity is an heiress, but she’ll lose her fortune if she marries without Kincaid’s consent... -
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The Earl She Ruined by Jessie Clever
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRansom Shepard, the Earl of Knighton, has never known love. When his father died tragically young, his mother refused to care for Ransom, leaving him in the care of the help as she descended into the grief of losing her husband. Abandoned by the one person who should have loved him unconditionally, Ransom chose a life as far from love as possible... -
Lords Of Night Street Collection: Books 1-4 by Wendy Vella
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsLORDS OF NIGHT STREET COLLECTIONBorn into wealth and privilege, the Lords of Night Street have vowed to serve those most in need. They navigate the glittering ballrooms of society and London's criminal underworld with equal ease, leading the fight for love and justice.LORD GALLANTNicholas, Earl of Attwood wanted a docile wife, instead, he ends up with the scholarly Grace Esseltte... -
Surrender to a Devil by Wendy Vella
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsHe does not believe himself capable of loveForrest Howarth did not have the capacity to love a woman. His daughter, yes, and the cousins who had welcomed him when he’d arrived from India, but a woman, no. Joining Alexius and using his knowledge to protect the Monarch was the next step he needed to take in his life. But before he does that, Forrest must find someone to educate his daughter... -
A Note of Change by Esther Hatch, Nichole Van
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCan a single note change a life, start a romance, or drive two people apart? Join us for three Victorian romance novellas by bestselling authors Esther Hatch, Nichole Van, and Annette Lyon... -
A Scottish Highland Surprise: The brand new feel good escapist read for armchair travel in 2022 by Julie Shackman
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDiscover the secrets and surprises that the scenic Scottish town of Briar Glen has to offer…‘A warm beautiful read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐NetGalley Reviewer‘A great story . . -
Allow Me to Tell You: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Monica Fairview
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen Fitzwilliam Darcy makes a complete mess of his proposal at Rosings Park by writing a letter, there is more at stake than his hurt pride. The letter starts off a chain of events that have an immediate impact on the people around him, including Elizabeth. And adding insult to injury, Elizabeth is now threatened with ruin.But Elizabeth will not be intimidated so easily. She insists Mr...
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