Rules of the Heart

Author: Janice Hadlow

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945)

Published on 4 June 2026 by PAN MACMILLAN (Pan Books) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 480 pages
130 x 197 x 32 | 322g

'Entertaining historical fiction with Jane Austen vibes' – Good HousekeepingInspired 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