Jarrett, Miranda

(Susan Holloway Scott)

PERSONAL:

Born in Washington, DC; married; husband's name Jay Scott (a musician); children: two. Education: Brown University, B.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—PA.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked variously in college communications for a number of institutions, including Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Bryn Mawr College.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Romantic Times award nominations, 1996, for Sparhawk's Angel, 2000, for Starlight, 2001, for The Very Daring Duchess; Romantic Times award, 1999, for Wishing; finalist for two Romance Writers of America RITA awards.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE NOVELS

Gift of the Heart, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1996.

The Captain's Bride, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Cranberry Point, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Star Bright, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2000.

The Very Comely Countess ("Napoleonic Wars" series), Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2001.

The Very Daring Duchess ("Napoleonic Wars" series), Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2001.

The Silver Lord, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

The Golden Lord, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

April Moon, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

Princess of Fortune, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Terri Brisbin) The Betrothal, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

The Lady's Hazard, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

Rake's Wager, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2005.

The Duke's Gamble, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2006.

Seduction of an English Beauty, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2007.

"SPARHAWK" SERIES ROMANCE NOVELS

The Sparhawk Bride, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Sparhawk's Lady, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Sparhawk's Angel, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1996.

The Secrets of Catie Hazard, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1997.

"FAIRBOURNE" SERIES ROMANCE NOVELS

Wishing, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Moonlight, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Sunrise, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2000.

HISTORICAL FICTION; AS SUSAN HOLLOWAY SCOTT

Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill, New American Library (New York, NY), 2006.

Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and King Charles II, New American Library (New York, NY), 2007.

The King's Favorite: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II, New American Library (New York, NY), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

With a dozen books that have sold over two million copies, as well as numerous awards to her credit, Miranda Jarrett—the pen name of Susan Holloway Scott—has enjoyed considerable success as a writer in the area of historical romance. Her first published works—Sparhawk's Lady, The Sparhawk Bride, and Sparhawk's Angel—center around a single family in colonial-era America. In The Secrets of Catie Hazard, the heroine becomes pregnant by Anthony Sparhawk, a young soldier on his way to England. She marries an innkeeper, but eight years later Sparhawk returns—now as a British soldier fighting the rebellious colonials. Kristin Ramsdell in Library Journal called the book "a powerful story that transcends its historical setting."

The colonial era—specifically, the year 1721—also provides the setting for Wishing, which begins with a sea captain making a promise to the gods. Samson Fairbourne vows that if he finds "a young woman sweet in temper and without vanity, modest and truthful in words and manner, obedient and honorable," he will marry her, and after writing these words on a piece of paper, he seals the promise in an empty rum bottle and throws it in the ocean. In time Polly Bray, desperately struggling to survive after her father's death, finds the bottle and eventually winds up in Fairbourne's arms. Wrote Melanie Duncan in Booklist, "Jarrett fashions a winning nautical tale that is sure to appeal to all fans of colonial-era romances."

Moonlight and its sequel Sunrise also concern members of the Fairbourne family. In Sunrise, widower Daniel Fairbourne rescues Juliette LaCroix from the sea and nurses her back to health. A romance between them grows, but as the amnesiac Juliette gradually recovers the details of her past, the facts of her life seem to preclude any future relationship between the two. According to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, "Jarrett evokes the era with accuracy and draws her protagonists vividly and with charm."

The Napoleonic wars provide the backdrop for The Very Daring Duchess and its sequel, The Very Comely Countess. In the first installment Edward Ramsden, a dashing officer in the Royal Navy, comes ashore in Naples and visits a gallery featuring pornographic paintings and forged masterpieces. He is quite taken with the proprietress, Francesca Robin, who is half English and half Neapolitan. When the French threaten to invade the Italian city, Edward offers to marry Francesca to ensure her safe passage to England. "Jarrett's sex scenes are steamy and descriptive," noted a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, while Kathe Robin, in the Romantic Times Online, concluded that "you can always count on Ms. Jarrett to gift us with something intelligent, new, and vibrant."

In 2005, Jarrett branched out and began to publish additional novels under her own name, as Susan Halloway Scott. Set during the Restoration period and the reign of Charles II in the seventeenth century, the books include far more historical detail than her historical romance novels, while still remaining fiction. Each features a historical figure and major historical events, yet the stories themselves are imagined, creating a type of fictional biography. At the same time, Scott is able to write longer stories with more depth and complexity in addition to indulging herself in the detailed historical research she enjoys. The first of these titles, Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill, follows young Sarah Jenkins from age thirteen and an obscure life of poverty to rising political star at the English court as the wife of John Churchill to a powerful woman who, with her husband, risks accusations of treason—and with them the threat of execution—in an effort to put Anne Stuart on the throne. The pair, both born commoners, eventually rise to the titles of Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. Scott tells the tale in first person from Sarah's point of view, adding intimacy to the narrative even as she crams historical details into the book. The story has added interest for admirers of the late Lady Diana Spencer, as Sarah Churchill is her ancestor as well as the ancestor of Winston Churchill. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked of Scott's depiction of both Sarah and John Churchill that, "if each is a bit too good to be true … [it] is easy to overlook with two such interesting and able characters." Cynthia Johnson, writing for Library Journal, found Scott's novel to be an "elegantly crafted story of two charismatic soul mates."

Scott followed up Duchess with her second work of pure historical fiction, Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and King Charles II. In this novel, she introduces readers to the life of Barbara Palmer, Lady Castlemaine and wife of Roger Palmer, who due to her husband's politics and access to court, eventually became mistress to King Charles II, a position she held far longer that many of his other dalliances and that gained her much notoriety. Scott depicts the infamous court life of the time in all its debauchery, though she avoids over emphasizing the sexual side of her story. She offers readers a glimpse at the political machinations of the day on all levels while providing an entertaining tale of an ambitious woman of the period and, according to a contributor for Publishers Weekly, "not salvaging her as a sinner, bur giving her something of a heart under all that reputation."

The King's Favorite: A Novel of Nell Gwyn and King Charles II is Scott's next work of pure historical fiction, and she continues to write historical romances as Miranda Jarrett as well.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1999, Melanie Duncan, review of Wishing, p. 841.

Library Journal, May 15, 1997, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Secrets of Catie Hazard, p. 66; June 15, 2006, Cynthia Johnson, review of Duchess: A Novel of Sarah Churchill, p. 59.

Publishers Weekly, December 20, 1999, review of Sunrise, p. 62; August 27, 2001, review of The Very Daring Duchess, p. 62; May 1, 2006, review of Duchess, p. 32; May 28, 2007, review of Royal Harlot: A Novel of the Countess of Castlemaine and King Charles II, p. 39.

ONLINE

Romance Reader Web site,http://www.theromancereader.com/ (September 16, 2003), Jean Mason, review of The Very Daring Duchess.

Romantic Times Web site,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (September 16, 2003), biography of Miranda Jarrett, and Kathe Robin, review of The Very Daring Duchess.