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Miss Cheney’s Charade

by Emily Hendrickson



      Emma Cheney is keen on archaeology, so how can she resist the invitation to be present at the unwrapping of a mummy?  Trouble is, the invitation is actually for her brother Richard, but they look so much alike that she is tempted to dress up in some of his clothes and pass herself off as him.  The mummy is being unwrapped in Sir Peter Dancy’s house. Even if the other men present don’t look closely at her, he does, and instantly suspects that "Richard" is actually a girl.  But he is strangely keen to keep up the deception...

If other Regencies seem a trifle thin and you’ve read Georgette Heyer too many times already, go pick up a novel by Emily Hendrickson (aka Emily Johnson) and you won’t be disappointed.  They aren’t necessarily longer, but they seem to contain more and this one is no exception.  There is not only the subterfuge of pretending to be Richard, but Emma’s London Season, with all that entails, as well as a mysterious housebreaker and more than one problematical love affaire, all set against the background of Napoleon’s escape from Elba.  This is another thing that sets this book apart from the common run of Regency romances, an attention to detail in not just fashion and the Season but in what people would have been talking about.   Current news topics of this importance would have been discussed by everybody everywhere so they ought to be a vital part of historical fiction but, too often, they’re omitted.  If you like this type of fiction then you ought to love this.

The Book

Robert Hale
31 October 2008
Hardback
0709082738 / 9780709082736
Regency Romance / 1815 London, England
More at Amazon.com UK
Excerpt
NOTE: Not yet up on Amazon US site

The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2008
NOTE:
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