It had begun to rain an hour ago, a fine driving mist with the sky grey above.
I am surprised by how much I LOVED The Masqueraders. I think reading Lorna Doone last year helped me place this Heyer into context. It is not a Regency romance (none of her early novels have been Regency romance). It is set shortly after the 1745 Jacobite uprising. The main characters are siblings with Jacobite leanings. (The brother and father having fought on the Jacobite side.) The father is mysterious, arrogant, a clever schemer. He always seems to be miles ahead of everyone else--in terms of scheming and plotting and getting things to go his way. The brother and sister are something as well, perhaps because of the way they've been brought up. Robin, the brother, has become KATE Merriot. He's become the sister so his Jacobite past can stay hidden. Prudence, the sister, has become PETER Merriot. Readers first meet this pair in disguise. The novel opens with the rescue of a lady in distress. Letitia is being kidnapped by Gregory Markham. It is an elopement gone terribly wrong. I believe at first she agreed to run away with him--to elope--but hours later began to change her mind. By the time Peter and Kate meet her, Letty hates Markham and is struggling to escape. They manage just fine...the adventure even ends with the arrival of Sir Anthony Fanshawe, a friend of the family--Letty's family.
I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED Anthony Fanshawe!!! Peter/Prudence falls for him too. Fanshawe shows great concern for Peter, often worrying about him; he definitely wants to make sure that his new friend doesn't come to harm since he seems a bit young and innocent and inexperienced in the world. Meanwhile, Kate/Robin has fallen in love with Letty....
I enjoyed so many of the characters. My favorite, of course, being Sir Anthony Fanshawe! I loved the scenes between Fanshawe and Peter/Prudence. I especially loved the scene where she learns that he has figured out about the masquerading! But I also loved the father. I loved watching the plot unfold. The book was very exciting, plenty of dueling action, blackmail attempts, kidnapping attempts, daring escapes, etc.
Read The Masqueraders
- If you enjoy historical fiction
- If you enjoy historical romance
- If you like Georgette Heyer
- If you enjoyed Lorna Doone
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