V Books In Order

Publication Order of V Books

The V series are a series of contemporary and historical romances by prolific and popular British American writer, Jane Feather. Initially intended to be a standalone novel, the first book in the V series was the highly popular, Venus, first published in 1988.While initially intended to be afreestanding novel, the first novel in the series was so popular that Feather went on to write six more V series titles between 1993 and 1994. Most of the novels in the series are set in the latter period of the Elizabethan era and take place all over Europe. Even as the series is tied together by a similarity in name, given that all the novels have a title beginning with a V, these novels do not have a singular character like you would expect in a series. For the most part, the protagonists in the V series are female who are criminals or are on their way to becoming criminals. Some of the novels are written in the English Civil War Period, the Napoleonic Wars, Georgian England, and the Restoration, which gives the novels quite a rustic feel. The novels will take you on a roller coaster ride of intrigue, passion, romance, interspersed with some violence and treachery. Jane Feather goes from the glittering ballrooms of London to its rundown taverns, from Afghanistan to Russia and to the dangerous streets of Paris and the seemingly tranquil countryside that hide some explosive secrets.

Prolific a writer as Jane Feather is, the V series remains one of her most popular series of novels. Over the years, the novels have made the shortlist and won some of the biggest prizes in the literary world, in addition to attaining much commercial success. Feather asserts that a lot of research goes into the writing of the V series of novels given the variety of settings and the characters. One of the most important aspects of the series that has made it a fan favorite is the adherence to historical fact. In a recent interview, the author asserted that the secret to writing a great V series novel is looking for some fascinating historical fact that is just crying for a story. With most of the V series set in Elizabethan England or Napoleonic France, Feather says that she gets most of her historical facts from sources such as the Oxford History of England, David Chandler’s Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars and the Social Histories of England by Trevelyan. These are important in getting right not only the histories of the societies of the times but also the mannerisms and social interaction including how romantic liaisons went down during the times. Despite having eight novels in the series, all of characters seem to be unique with distinct motivations and voices. The series manages to achieve this by moving from one time period to another and including a range of interesting secondary characters that keep the narratives exciting.

Although the V series is mainly written in historical settings in which women had very little voice if any, most of the lead characters in the books seem more assertive than would be expected. Feather’s protagonists have more of an independent streak that could arguably be said to be more common in the more modern woman. There is a sense that these are not naturally anachronistic women but rather forerunners to modern women born before their time. While most of the novels are set in the late Elizabethan era, the theme of daring deception, forbidden passion, and unbridled romance is very strong. The explanation of the seemingly double nature of our protagonists such as portraying a fragile beauty yet having a tenacious and somewhat rogue spirit makes for some intriguing narratives. The female characters are definitely not your typical female figure as they are everything from ravishing beauties to lying wenches, spies, and secret service agents. Nevertheless, beneath all of the double personality, the theme of irresistible romance that overpowers the women and men of the novels makes for novels full of thrall for any historical romance buff.

The first novel of the V series by Jane Feather is a sensual tale of temptation and intrigue. The novel opens with a highborn Lord, Nicholas Kincaid lonely in a tavern in London. The last thing he expects to find in the gloom of such a tavern was a lovely woman that made him feel such deep emotion, he had never felt in years. The lovely woman is Miss Polly Wyatt a professional con artist who ran swindles on the rich and famous in London. When she flashes a come-hither smile and leads him to a bedchamber, he has no choice but to follow her, despite his reservations. Luckily for him, he quickly realizes that the ravishing Miss Wyatt was in cahoots with the landlord to render him senseless to make it easier for them to rob him of all he had. Despite the circumstances of their meeting, Lord Kincaid decides that the unwitting Miss Wyatt would make a perfect spy. He intends to make her an unwitting spy at the king’s court where he has been unable to get into the inner circle for years. But he never made provision for the likelihood of falling in love by the bewitching charms of the beautiful Wyatt.

The second novel of the V series is a story of Judith Davenport who works with her brother Sebastian to con unsuspecting English Lords of their hard-earned money in a technique they referred to as a “double act.” Using her ravishing smile to lure them to the card tables, she would use her fan to transmit an intricate code that told Sebastian of the strength of the hands held by his opponents, ensuring his luck never ran out. But the Davenports had never planned for the wit and scrutiny of Marcus Devlin. Devlin who held the title of marquis of Carrington had heard from his nephew of the beauty that had all of Brussels in thrall, and had come to town to meet the enigmatic woman. Unlike his peers, he is not for one second fooled by the innocent looking air and the flirtatious waving of her fan at the tables. Intrigued, infuriated and amused he sets to draw the scheming Judith into a daring gamble in which he intends to win nothing less than her heart.