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Rules of the Heart
- Author
- Janice Hadlow
- Narrator
- Kristin Atherton
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 21 August 2025
- Run Time
- 15 hours 2 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
'Entertaining historical fiction with Jane Austen vibes' – Good Housekeeping
Inspired by real history, Rules of the Heart is the sweeping new novel from the bestselling author of The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow.
When I love at all, it is with my whole soul - my heart must be torn to pieces before it can forget . . .
England, 1794. Lady Harriet Bessborough seemingly has it all: wife to a lord and sister to a duchess, she is welcomed in all the most fashionable circles. Yet she yearns for something her marriage has failed to offer: true love.
When she meets the captivating Lord Granville, twelve years her junior and a famous heartbreaker, she at first dismisses his advances as opportunistic flattery. But then she sees another side to him – a side she realizes she cannot resist.
As she plunges into an all-consuming affair, Harriet finds herself torn between her duty and her deepest desires. For in a world where appearances are everything, each anxious but besotted step she takes leads her ever closer to scandal and ruin . . .
Praise for The Other Bennet Sister:
'Immersive and engaging' – The Guardian
'It’s difficult not to race through those final pages' – Jo Baker, bestselling author of Longbourn
'A novel that will delight Pride and Prejudice fans' – The Independent
Critics Review
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Hadlow follows the stunning The Other Bennet Sister with another richly detailed historical novel . . Rules of the Heart is a treasure . . . Fans of well-researched historical fiction will be transfixed
Booklist
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Sweeping and gorgeous tearjerker of a historical romance . . . a stirring portrait of a woman driven by her heart instead of her head. Readers should have tissues at the ready
Publishers Weekly
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Within the first few pages I was captivated by Harriet’s plight . . . this novel is compelling and absorbing
Stephanie Butland, author of Lost For Words
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Entertaining historical fiction with Jane Austen vibes
Good Housekeeping
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Impeccably researched, this lifts Mary from obscurity, as she breaks out of her mother's world and follows her own path
Daily Mail on The Other Bennet Sister
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Immersive and engaging
The Guardian on The Other Bennet Sister
-
A novel that will delight Pride and Prejudice fans
Independent on The Other Bennet Sister
-
It’s difficult not to race through those final pages
Jo Baker, author of Longbourn, on The Other Bennet Sister
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I absolutely love this novel – as will any young woman who has felt herself plain, shy, bookish and crushed
Amanda Craig, author of The Three Graces, on The Other Bennet Sister
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This gorgeous book pays homage to Pride and Prejudice – and follows Mary Bennet, the overlooked middle Bennet sister. It’s a wonderfully warm, comforting read – perfect on a winter’s night
The Sun on The Other Bennet Sister
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Puts Mary front and centre stage exploring why she was so heartbreakingly sidelined by Mrs Bennet and gives humour and sensitivity to the most overlooked of the sisters
Stylist on The Other Bennet Sister
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Janice Hadlow
- Narrator
- Kristin Atherton
- Duration
- 15 hours 2 minutes
- Release Date
- 21 August 2025
- ISBN
- 9781035073498
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Historical romance, Romance: the rich / famous / powerful, Historical fiction
Synopsis
'Entertaining historical fiction with Jane Austen vibes' – Good HousekeepingInspired by real history, Rules of the Heart is the sweeping new novel from the bestselling author of The Other Bennet Sister, Janice Hadlow.When I love at all, it is with my whole soul - my heart must be torn to pieces before it can forget . . . England, 1794. Lady Harriet Bessborough seemingly has it all: wife to a lord and sister to a duchess, she is welcomed in all the most fashionable circles. Yet she yearns for something her marriage has failed to offer: true love.When she meets the captivating Lord Granville, twelve years her junior and a famous heartbreaker, she at first dismisses his advances as opportunistic flattery. But then she sees another side to him – a side she realizes she cannot resist.As she plunges into an all-consuming affair, Harriet finds herself torn between her duty and her deepest desires. For in a world where appearances are everything, each anxious but besotted step she takes leads her ever closer to scandal and ruin . . .Praise for The Other Bennet Sister:'Immersive and engaging' – The Guardian'It’s difficult not to race through those final pages' – Jo Baker, bestselling author of Longbourn'A novel that will delight Pride and Prejudice fans' – The Independent
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