Peter O'Donnell (1920–2010)

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/moonrakers-bride-by-madeleine-brent/

It’s a romantic adventure story about young Lucy, abandoned in an orphanage in China, who finds herself sucked into a bizarre English feud between two neighbouring families over lost Chinese treasure. There are some vey effective fish-out-of-water moments for Lucy when she first arrives in England. The plot twists are pretty absurd, as hidden relatives turn up everywhere and Lucy returns to China to skip through the Boxer Rebellion, and yet I kept on being sucked back into it to find out what would happen next. I’m sure that the Chinese details are as wobbly as I know the English historical details are; but I admit that I was entertained anyway.… (more)

2nd, 3rd or 4th reading? Not sure. I read this book back when I was a teenager when I was first discovering romantic fiction.
I came to Madeleine Brent via Merlin's Keep, which I loved so much I immediately devoured the rest of her books. Imagine my surprise when I learned decades later that Madeleine Brent was a pseudonym for Peter O'Donnell. He wrote such strong female leads, young women who weren't afraid to break the rules and who saved the day - and often their male love interests.
Moonraker's Bride is my second favorite of his romance novels (second to Merlin's Keep). A young English woman, born and raised in China at the turn of the 20th century, is burdened with running a mission orphanage. She meets two dashing young Englishmen, desperate rivals in pursuit of a hidden treasure, and her life is turned upside down. The story includes mystery, intrigue, and adventure, and is an utterly compelling read.… (more)

3rd or 4th reading? Not sure, but the first time in many, many years. I first read this book as a teenager when I first discovered romantic fiction. I absolutely loved it then, and my opinion hasn't changed over the decades. I became an instant fan of the author Madeleine Brent, and devoured all of her books.
I was very surprised to learn some years ago that Madeleine Brent was a pseudonym for Peter O'Donnell. He had an amazing gift for writing strong female characters, women who find strength through their suffering and overcome the obstacles thrown their way - and oftentimes they even rescue their own male love interests.
All of the books follow the same basic pattern: Young girl grows up in some disadvantaged environment but where she finds her strength, meets her love interest (typically at an early age, but not always), stumbles upon a patron of sorts who changes her circumstances for the better, then some event happens that brings her back to her roots where she proves her bravery and rescues one or more people, including her love interest.
Merlin's Keep is my favorite of Madeleine Brent's novels. While it adheres to the above pattern, it includes additional elements which have made it stand out to me: the supernatural, the mysteries of the East, a radiant best friend (whom the main character must rescue), the best friend's love interest (who is also a dear friend), the most evil of all of Brent's villains, the scrappy main character who can talk to animals (and who ends up being an actual princess), and the charismatic man she falls in love with.
There are some things about this book, published in 1977, that modern readers may find offensive, e.g., the way natives in Nepal and India are spoken of by the English. While unfortunate, Brent is merely staying true to the period in which the narrative takes place, which is the turn of the 20th century; the British Empire was at its height, the Great War was still ten to fifteen years off, and Europeans in general considered themselves vastly superior to the rest of the world's inhabitants. It would be anachronistic to present the British (in general) in any other way.
I'm really glad I made the effort to rediscover this book after so many years.… (more)