Spotlight Review:

A GRAND DECEPTION – Shirley Marks
A Gentlemen of Worth Novel
Avalon Books (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-8034-7471-0
June 2012
Regency Romance

London – 1815

Lady Muriel Worth, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Faraday, is in London under false pretenses. Theoretically she is there for her first Season. In reality Muriel wants to continue her long-distance Latin studies with her tutor who is in the City. Pretending to go along with all of the requirements to being in the Marriage Mart, she plots continually to complete her academics by dutifully attending all that society demands of a girl, and then attending to her own wants surreptitiously. The young men who dance around her are tolerated, then pushed aside. That is until one appears on the scene, one newly minted earl who is well-known to Muriel.

Sherwin, the new Earl of Amhurst just wants to read. He could care less about the ton. His mother, however, has other ideas. Sherwin needs an heir, and therefore a wife must be chosen. Silently he endures the endless dancing and rides in the park, dressed by his mother and valet. Then he realizes that childhood friend Muriel Worth is out and about, and he wonders if she feels the same as he does about all of this folderol? Their initial reunion doesn't go well, though. And then rumors begin to fly about his relationship with Muriel.

A GRAND DECEPTION is a humorous look into life in Regency London where the fold of a cravat can make or break an evening, or the amount of color on a girl's white dress can tell what kind of a lady she is. It's also a study of just how little say a woman has in her life. Muriel is a scholar, but has to hide that fact. Her only role in life is to be a wife and mother. But is that all there is? Sherwin's “coming out” happens when Muriel's brother starts guiding him behind Sherwin's mother's back.

With a plethora of secondary characters who add both humor and heart to this tale, two endearing lead players, and Regency England to round out the story, A GRAND DECEPTION is a delightfully entertaining and quick read.

Jani Brooks