Irene Iddesleigh

A standout romance title by Amanda McKittrick Ros. "Irene Iddesleigh" is a romantic drama novel published in 1897. The story follows Irene, an adopted noblewoman who marries Sir John Dunfern despite loving her tutor, Oscar Otwell. Her subsequent affair leads to imprisonment, escape, and elopement to America, where her new life takes increasingly dark turns. Since publication, the novel has been widely considered one of the worst books ever written, notorious for its excessive purple prose and earning both mockery and fascination from critics and readers alike.