Andrew Carrington is the ideal Regency gentleman: heir to an earldom, wealthy, handsome, athletic—and gay.
When he decides to do his duty to his family, he wants marriage on his terms: an honest arrangement, with no disruption to his way of life.
But in the penniless, spirited—and curvaceousv — Phyllida Lewis , a self-educated author of romances, Andrew gets more than he bargained for, perhaps even love.And when he meets honorable, shrewd—and hunky — Matthew Thornby , son of a self-made baronet, Andrew seems to have everything a man could desire, until a spy and blackmailer tries to ruin him and his friends.
The fragile understanding developing between Andrew and his bride is shattered when Phyllida is attacked, and her assailant threatens to denounce her husband if she tells. She must deceive Andrew to protect him. But Andrew discovers the truth and, devastated by his first experience of failure, seems in danger of losing his wife, his lover, his very manhood itself.
Only with Matthew’s help can Andrew and Phyllida acknowledge their feelings and find their way to lasting love.
"Phyllida" introduces an intrepid heroine and an engaging and sympathetic group of characters , members of an exclusive establishment for gentlemen who prefer the company of their own sex. A diverse assortment of personalities, the Brotherhood of Philander is bound together by sexual preference in a world where the law brands gay men as outlaws and leaves them vulnerable to extortion.
Moving from familiar scenes of society balls, theater parties and midnight suppers, to the witty conversations, games of chance and intimate pleasures at London’s most aristocratic "madge club," "Phyllida" takes the reader into a little-known side of Regency life .
In this unusual romantic comedy, a bisexual man makes the best husband — for both his wife and his lover!
Photo by Fred Gary
About the Author
A native New Yorker and lifelong resident of Brooklyn, Ann Herendeen has worked as a researcher for an urban planning consultant; an advertising media planner; a public and academic business reference librarian; a trademarks monitor for an intellectual property law firm; and a cataloging librarian specializing in natural history.
Ann is a graduate of Princeton University, where she majored in English while maintaining a strong interest in English history.
She enjoys reading—and writing—for escape.
In “Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander,” Ann has put a new twist on a traditional form, creating the ultimate love story she always wanted to read: a bisexual historical romance.