"An Anthology for Historical and Family Saga Fans"

ONCE UPON A PILLOW, a joint venture between two popular romance writers Connie Brockway and Christina Dodd, is an anthology of four novellas, each centered around one magnificent bed.

The Masterson Bed, the crown jewel in the Masterson Museum, is a huge structure that Laurel, the curator, is sure was a feature player in some very sensual, romantic tales from the family's history. The anthology itself tells the truth of three of these tales, and then brings Laurel her very own happy ending -- involving, of course, the Masterson bed.

THE BED IS MADE is set around 1200 AD, a time of battle- hardened knights and cloistered ladies. We meet Sir Nicholas, a man who is supposed to be dead, who has come to take the lands he has won control of through his marriage to Jocelyn Cabot. Unfortunately, though he remembers that he owns the land, he doesn't quite remember about the wife he married by proxy on the eve before his departure on the Crusades.

THE BED IS UNMADE, set in 1583, is the tale of Rion Masterson and the young woman he kidnaps by mistake -- Lady Helwin. He meant to capture her cousin, the heiress Bertilda, but Bertilda played them both an evil turn, leaving him falling head over heels for a girl who is sweet, kind, and utterly penniless.

THE LADY MAKES HER BED takes us to 1815, where Philippa Jones confronts Captain Ned Masterson in an attempt to save her brother's life. The only way she can see conquering him is to chain him to his enormous ancestral bed while he sleeps, but she doesn't count on her still-raging attraction to the handsome Captain, or his desire for her.

THE BED WINS ALL is the contemporary story where Laurel, the curator of the Masterson Museum wins her own happy ending with the help of the Bed. Though the Museum is closing because the house has been bought, Laurel still counts herself responsible for the collection of original antiques that it houses. When she finds out that some of the priceless pieces are being smuggled out in the dead of night, she has no choice but to find the person who is ransacking the house that she has come to love. Joining her in her quest is the handyman Max Ashton, a man with whom she once had a brief, steamy affair, an affair that she has never quite forgotten.

Brockway and Dodd have distinct styles -- so much so that some may find they like one half of this book better than the other. (Luckily, details are told at the back about who wrote which story for readers who want to find other works.) This reviewer can't actually comment on historical accuracy, but the stories were full of interesting characters and fun plots. Especially intriguing was the "truth" behind the stories that Laurel told to the visitors taking the museum's last tour -- a testament to the frequent blurring of history.

The stories in this anthology range in historical placement and tone, but all feature love affairs between strong men and spirited women, including the steamy details of how the Bed itself features in their lives. Though the Bed isn't always the centerpiece of the story, it is always lurking in the background, giving its blessing to the many generations of Mastersons who dwell in the manor. Historical romance readers, and those who like the concept of family sagas, would probably enjoy these stories.

Sensuality Level: Varies from story to story. There is mention of oral sex, but all partners are monogamous. Terminology ranges from softer details to blunter terms for organs. Sensual lovemaking, not just sex.

Reviewed by Ann Leveille
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted September 26, 2002

Summary

From two of romance fiction's most exciting and acclaimed authors comes the sizzling saga of a magnificent bed and the lovers who have shared it through the ages. Collaborating for the first time, Christina Dodd and Connie Brockway take readers on an unforgettable adventure -- from medieval times to present day -- that sparkles with love and laughter. Once Upon a Pillow Within a beautiful old English manor house lies a sumptuous antique bed, one of many Masterson family heirlooms that have been sold along with the house. As Laurel Whitney leads the last tour group through the house before it's closed to the public, she regales the visitors with romanticized tales of how this exquisite bed affected the lives of the couples who slept in it. The actual stories -- of a bawdy medieval knight trying to woo his reluctant bride; an insolvent Elizabethan aristocrat who plans to ruin a wealthy heiress but beds her impoverished cousin instead; and a feisty Regency lady whose scheme goes awry when she mistakenly manacles herself (and a dashing colonel) to the bedpost -- are funnier and certainly sexier than anything a tour guide could ever tell! Shocked to see her lover from the past on the tour, Laurel is even more surprised to find their love rekindled when a twist of fate leaves them no choice but to spend the night in the famed Masterson bed.