What Maisie Knew is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Chap-Book and in the New Review in 1897 and then as a book later that year. It tells the story of the sensitive daughter of divorced, irresponsible parents. The book follows the title character from earliest childhood to precocious maturity. When Beale and Ida Farange are divorced, the court decrees that their only child, the very young Maisie, will shuttle back and forth...

Laura Grey, a veteran governess, joins the Selwick Spy School and her first assignment is serving as governess for the children of Andre Jaouen, right-hand man to Bonaparte's minister of police. Jaouen and his arch rival, Gaston Delaroche, are investigating a suspected Royalist plot to unseat Bonaparte, and Laura's mission is to report any suspicious findings. Soon, Laura and Jaouen are forced on the run with the children, and with the help of the...

As she arrives at Bridal Veil Island with the Bridgeport family, Callie DeBoyer's just received a letter from her parents, missionaries in coastal Africa, stating they are in dire need of more personnel. Should she give up her governess job and join their important work? When she enrolls young Thomas Bridgeport in golf lessons, Callie meets Wesley Townsend, who urges her to take lessons as well. Callie comes to care for Wesley - until she discovers...

Society dictates that a governess should be modest, quiet, and keep to herself. She should never contradict her employer. And, above all, she must not attract the attention of any male in the household. But Michael Severson doesn't see Isabel Halloran as a governess-he sees her as a woman, one whose lush curves cannot be hidden behind a dowdy gown ... and whose efforts at hiding her sparkling intelligence are betrayed by her wit. Years...

Rules of Engagement: Choose a bride from this year's debutantes. Decide on a proper settlement. Send an announcement to The Times. Inform the bride of her good fortune. Rules of Respectability: Devon Mathewes, Earl of Kerrich, has a plan that is sure to restore him to the Queen's favor. First, he must hire a sensible, unattractive governess. Next, he will see to adopting a properly grateful orphan, which will surely lend him a patina of respectability....

Anne Bronte's first novel, Agnes Grey , combines an astute dissection of middle-class social behavior and class attitudes with a wonderful study of Victorian responses to young children which has parallels with debates about education that continue to this day. In writing the novel, Bronte drew on her own experiences, and one can trace in the work many of the trials of the Victorian governess, often stranded far from home, and treated with little...

"The utterly charming Emily Leverton has a dark past and is determined to leave it behind in her respectable new role as a governess. But when she is recruited by a secret network of governesses who spy on the ton, it may just be a way to redeem the dark secrets of her past. Straddling the worlds of the ton and the working class, as an ex-solider turned railroad magnate, Zach hunts killers for the Metropolitan Police by day and dutifully attends balls...

Grim Wolds, England. Winifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect governess. But long, listless days within the estate's confines come with an intimate knowledge of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family--Mr. Pounds can't keep his eyes off Winifred, and Mrs. Pounds takes sickly pleasure in punishing Winifred for her husband's wandering gaze. Compounded with her disdain for the entitled Pounds children,...

As his employee, Mari is strictly off-limits. But what if she's the one breaking all his rules? In the game of governess versus duke, how can Edgar maintain his defenses when the only thing he wants to do is let the tempting beauty win...?

Emily wanted to be more than just a society wife. She came to the Idaho high country looking to make a difference. Gavin knows she would never make it in the rugged high country but his resistance makes her more determined to prove herself.