An untested teacher. A wealthy benefactor. When their attraction becomes undeniable, will they open their hearts to each other?
Colorado, 1910. Quinn Cooper can’t help feeling uneasy. But securing a job as a schoolmarm in a tiny frontier town was the only way to save her family from starvation back in Boston. And her nerves aren’t eased by a stray gunshot that spooks the sleigh horses, casting … the sleigh horses, casting her into the snow… until she’s rescued by a handsome stranger.
Lord Alexander Barnes knows better than to believe any pretty young woman would willingly become a mother to five children. But the lonely widower finds himself charmed by the lovely newcomer and her easy rapport with his offspring. And after his disgruntled nanny quits, his heart melts at the sight of her joyfully taking over the role.
Determined to prove herself in the schoolhouse and as a governess, Quinn fears her near-poverty will prevent any possible courtship with the affluent Englishman. And between their age difference and prejudicial violence in the town, Lord Barnes is certain this second chance at happiness just cannot be.
Will their love go unspoken, or will their persistence reward them with a lasting passion?
The School Mistress is the delightful first book in the Emerson Pass Historicals sweet romance series. If you like gallant nobles, resilient heroines, and hints of mystery, then you’ll adore Tess Thompson’s Edwardian adventure in the Old West.
Buy The School Mistress to study reading, writing, and happily ever after today!
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This is a wholesome blend of “The Sound of Music” and “Jane Eyre” with poor Quinn Cooper traveling along to Colorado to take a teaching job to support her mother and sister. Alexander Banes has five children who instantly fall in love with Quinn and Alexander’s attraction put few if any obstacles in their path to a romance. Alexander’s wife had bipolar mental illness, and a murder may have been racial motivated, but the issues are dealt with lightly. It’s a story appropriate for younger readers who want a lovely, little romance.
If it’s a book written by author Tess Thompson, whatever the genre or time period, you can count on sweetness, an easy, comfortable flow of action, a compelling cast of characters, and a more-than-satisfying conclusion. The School Mistress, the first in the Emerson Pass Historicals series, combines all those elements in what promises to be a heart-warming saga. The School Mistress adds an interesting twist: it’s an Edwardian historical romance, but it’s set in the American West at the turn of the 20th Century. An English Lord in a mining town? Sounds like an odd match, but it works perfectly.
Also an odd match on the surface is Lord Alexander Barnes and Quinn Cooper. He’s a widower with 5 young children. He built the town of Emerson Pass, Colorado to provide a safe, stable life for his family and others, and his life is a combination of English civility and tradition and taming the American wilderness. He doesn’t have time to realize he is lonely and yearning for a wife. She is a schoolteacher who has come to Colorado hoping to build a life and provide and eventually send for her widowed mother and baby sister, who are teetering on the brink of poverty and disaster back home in Boston. She isn’t looking for a husband but rather a way to escape the constraints and shame in Boston and gain some independence and freedom. She was expecting the Mayor of Emerson Pass, not a Lord. He was expecting an old spinster, not a beautiful, spunky young woman. They are both surprised, but very pleasantly so. The children take to Quinn at once and the feeling is mutual. However, they think she is the new mother for them and wife for Barnes provided by providence, not just their teacher.
As already noted, this story is full of sweetness, love and wonderful people. That’s not all, though. This is the West in 1910 – times are tough, prejudices are strong, danger is present. Thompson has filled the story with not only love and family and hope but cruelty and mystery and intrigue and some exciting action-packed sequences.
This is a wonderful start to the Emerson Pass stories, which are intended to have both an historical path and a contemporary one. I can’t wait to read the next entry and see where this saga goes. Highly recommend.
Wow! So deserves more than 5 stars. Its a great kick off to a new series. The characters in this book are just as strong and as real as ever. I loved it!
I loved this story! Enjoyed it more than anything I’ve read in a long time. As soon as I finished I got the next book. Can’t wait to read this author’s other books. She has a way of making the characters truly come to life. Excellent.
This book is an interesting story of a woman, Quinn Cooper who travels from the city of Boston to Emerson Pass Colorado to be a teacher in a small town run by an English Lord, who gave his inheritance to his brother in England and started life in U.S.A. Ms. Cooper is destitute, traveling to make money to send back for her family. She arrives in the middle of a snowstorm, hungry and inadequately clothed for the weather. As she travels by wagon to meet her employer, she is involved in a wagon accident as horses are frightened by a gunshot. This is the twist to the story. (Lord) Alexander Barnes, her employer discovers that she is not the matronly schoolmarm he was expecting. It is a development of a (clean) tender romance as Quinn settles into her job teaching. There are good supporting characters in the story as the mystery becomes solved, new likeable characters appear, leading to the happily ever after. Each chapter in the book is headed by the name of Quinn or Alexander and told in the first person, (which I usually don’t like), but the book was excellent and not boring.
A delightful, easy-to-read page-turner with a lovely HEA ending. Plenty of incidents and romance to keep the reader on board and such a great setting!
I really enjoyed reading this book! The star of the story is a young lady who travels out west to teach school. The man in the story is an Englishman who has made his home in a burned-out town which he brought back to life and now is hiring a school teacher for the town. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read western romance books!
I loved this romantic story about a widow with 5 kids who hires a school mistress for his town. Great characters and sweet story. Great read.
This formulaic western romance story provided relaxing reading with engaging characters. The story is very predictable but still entertaining.
Very easy to read and fall in love with the characters. Makes you feel like it could really happen and also like you are right there with them. Has a very good build up to a great ending to the story. I recommend it very highly!
I haven’t read historical romance in a long time. This really took me back to why I love them.
I love living with Quinn and her journey. She is a strong woman with the grit and determination I love in a main character. How this family pulls together and moves forward to happiness just fills your heart. I found myself chocking up several times and cheering for this family. I cannot wait to read more from this family in the future.
Miraculously well connected and innovative story of deepest love and courage!
The English lord conquers the west is a bit of a stretch, but the story is still an enjoyable and clean romance.
The book was family infused. The interlocking secondary characters added charm and interest. However, I was sorely disappointed that there were blank pages throughout my e-book (Kindle) reading. This was the first time this happened to me on my Kindle. Perhaps there was something wrong with the download–don’t know if it stemmed from Book Bub or Amazon. Otherwise, the book was delightful.
All the characters –Quinn, Alexander, his children, the staff and townspeople were well drawn and you felt part of their community. That said, the narrative was a bit plodding and sometimes slow.
The School Mistress of Emerson Pass is the first book in Tess Thompson’s Emerson Pass Historicals. Ms. Thompson has written a wonderful sweet romance / historical story which drew me right in, making me forget everything else and did not let me go until I turned the last page. I did not want to put this book down. The book is very well written and the characters are well developed and likeable. This book is a wonderful start to a new series. Once you sit down to read you don’t want to stop. I highly recommend this series. I can’t wait to read the second book The Spinster of Emerson Pass.
Just a nice story and nice characters. a pleasant change.
Very enjoyable with a feel good ending.
Very good!
I enjoyed this book very much. The characters were well rounded and enjoyable.
I like a happy ending.