Wicked Pleasures

“Set in the glamorous worlds of an American banking dynasty and the British aristocracy . . . this is Dynasty meets Downton Abbey.” —Booklist None of them are the children of Alexander, Earl of Caterham, who was married to their mother for almost twenty years. A family saga that takes the reader right from the 1950s to the end of the twentieth century, and set between the Hamptons summer homes of New York’s elite and the English countryside familiar to any fan of British period drama, Wicked Pleasures is a tale of the power and greed of the mega-rich, as the great banking business upon which the family’s fortunes are won and lost comes to the brink of ruin. Intense relationships, both old and new, are tested to the utmost in this grand and unputdownable summer read. Praise for Penny Vincenzi “The doyenne of the modern blockbuster.” —Glamour “Soap opera? You bet—but with her well-drawn characters and engaging style, Vincenzi keeps things humming.” —People “Nobody writes smart, page-turning commercial women’s fiction like Vincenzi.” —USA Today “Vincenzi does it again with another captivating and entertaining family saga that combines power, riches, lies, and greed . . . For fans of Barbara Taylor Bradford and Danielle Steel.” —Library Journal

The seven deadly sins have provided gossip, amusement, and the plots of morality plays for nearly fifteen hundred years. In Wicked Pleasures, well-known philosopher, business ethicist, and admitted sinner Robert C. Solomon brings together a varied group of contributors for a new look at the old catalogue of sins. Solomon introduces the sins as a group, noting their popularity and pervasiveness. From the formation of the canon by Pope Gregory the Great, the seven have survived the sermonizing of the Reformation, the Inquisition, the Enlightenment, the brief French reign of supreme reason, the apotheoses of capitalism, communism, secular humanism and postmodernism, the writings of numerous rabbis and evangelical moralists, two series in the New York Times, and several bad movies. Taking their cue from this remarkable history, the contributors, including Thomas Pynchon, allowed one sin apiece, provide a non-sermonizing and relatively light-hearted romp through the domain of the deadly seven.

It's just a simple surveillance job, right? Former marine and FBI agent Linc Williams is monitoring his target's ex–girlfriend, Regina Dodson. But nothing is simple when he's watching a woman who makes him forget everything except for the need to know Regina as thoroughly and wickedly as possible. After all, the best way to observe someone is to get as close as possible. And Linc can't get any closer; the sex is absolutely mind–blowing! Unfortunately, Regina has had her share of bad luck with guys. So what will she do when she discovers that these wicked pleasures started as deceptive measures?

Expect nothing less than complete surrender . . . Jaci Wright has been fighting her desire for Chase and Cam Falladay for seven years. Fear of the feelings the brothers aroused in her - and the type of relationship it would be - spurred her to run away from her dilemma and seek a new life travelling the globe. But a new job means Jaci is now under the same roof as Chase and Cam at the Sinclair mansion. And it's only a matter of time before she submits herself to them and begins a relationship with both men. Gossip and secrets fill the society she now moves within. Can she face the world knowing she's a lover to two brothers, or will hesitancy and fear destroy her chance of happiness for ever?

Former marine and FBI agent Linc Williams is monitoring his target's ex-girlfriend, Regina Dobson. But nothing is simple when he's watching a woman who makes him forget everything-except for the need to know Regina as thouroughly as possible.

All families have secrets. In Sunday Times bestseller Penny Vincenzi's WICKED PLEASURES lies a family secret that will tear it apart. 'Penny Vincenzi is the doyenne of the modern blockbuster' Glamour. Sexy, glamorous and fun, WICKED PLEASURES is the story of a brother and two sisters who find out that they all have different fathers: none of them Alexander, Earl of Catherham, who was married to their mother for almost twenty years. It is the story of the power and the greed of the mega-rich, as the great family banking business upon which fortunes are won and lost comes to the brink of ruin, and family ties are tested to the utmost.

Wicked schemes are afoot at Westwood Hall this Christmas. And lovely, innocent Adeline Osbourne will be ensnared by dark, dashing Grant Leighton and a scandalous assignation.... Betrothed against her will, Adeline had been resigned to a loveless marriage. At the mercy of her father's wishes, she had lost all hope of experiencing what life really had to offer. But now a scandal has altered her destiny! Adeline secretly thanks the festive season for working its magic—promising pleasures long denied her....

Noble Dreams, Wicked Pleasures explores complex American attitudes toward the Near East--as revealed in collected paintings, interior design, and multiple vernacular forms--at the formative moment of industrialization and the crystallization of a truly mass culture. Published to coincide with the multimedia exhibition that opens at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and travels to the Walters Art Gallery and the Mint Museum of Art, this catalogue considers how urban, mercantile, Protestant America represented the Islamic world of the Middle East and North Africa in ways that say more about itself than the foreign culture. This gorgeously illustrated volume first looks at the use of Orientalist stereotypes by some of the country's most important high art painters of the nineteenth century: Frederic Edwin Church's treatment of the exotic terrain through a lens of deep religiosity; a more cosmopolitan reading of the harem girl by John Singer Sargent; the perfumed alternative to industrial capitalism conjured in the landscapes and market scenes of Samuel Colman and Louis Comfort Tiffany; and interpretations of the Orient as emancipatory by Ella Pell, the only major woman Orientalist. The book next traces the popularization of Orientalism in the decorative arts (including a few treasures from Olana, Church's Moorish-style home on the Hudson), on Broadway, and in Hollywood, as well as through advertising that linked consumer products with visual suggestions of exotic sexuality and through cultural objects, such as the Shriners' fez. The generous color plates show both an innocent romanticization of the Orient and a darker, heavily eroticized version of Oriental "otherness." An excellent chronology and bibliography, in addition to expert essays by both Americanists and Islamicists, give context to absorbing images. Though a perfect companion for visitors to the exhibition, Noble Dreams, Wicked Pleasures is also for anyone seeking an uncommon take on the development of American self-understanding. Exhibition Schedule: The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Williamstown, Massachusetts June 11-September 4, 2000 The Walters Art Gallery Baltimore, Maryland October 1-December 10, 2000 The Mint Museum of Art Charlotte, North Carolina February 3-April 22, 2001