Prince Nicolo of Vienz is irritated by his family and his Prime Minister continually begging him to be married for the sake of his country and to prevent it being taken over by a neighbour. He finally agrees to meet Princess Marziale, the daughter of the ruler of Bassanz. However when she arrives, the Prince learns by accident that she is very much in love with the Comte who had been sent to escort her to Vienz.
Because the Prince has no wish to marry anyone, least of all someone who is in love with another man, he runs away to Venice without anyone, except his faithful valet, Texxo, knowing that he is leaving the Palace. He orders Texxo to look after the horses at a hotel, while he hires a gondola to explore Venice. On his way down one of the canals the Prince is suddenly aware that a young girl is leaning out of the window of a grand house. Then he sees to his surprise that she is deliberately letting herself down by a rope into the canal. Thinking quickly he moves his gondola so that she falls into it and she begs
him to take her away before anyone sees what has happened. How the Prince then finds that the girl he has rescued is incredibly beautiful and extremely intelligent.
And how they set off on a thrilling adventure, knowing only each others’ Christian names and how they eventually fall in love is all told in this unusal romantic story by BARBARA CARTLAND. Barbara Cartland was the world’s most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages. As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation. Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world. She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven. Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed. Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone’s life."