Synopsis
'Entertaining historical fiction with Jane Austen vibes' – Good Housekeeping
Inspired by the true story of Countess Bessborough, Rules of the Heart is the sweeping 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 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' –??????? Independent
Details
23 July 2026
9781509841998Reviews
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
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
Within the first few pages I was captivated by Harriet's plight . . . this novel is compelling and absorbing
Entertaining historical fiction with Jane Austen vibes
