Whether you enjoy historical fiction or not, you’ll probably enjoy this story about Beth, a young woman living in the 1700s who also looks to be on an intersecting path with the last Scottish rebellion. Well written and engaging, the story pulls you along easily by your curiosity and the conclusion is very satisfying. I enthusiastically started the next book immediately after finishing the first.
Despite being a historical fiction, many of the characters display modern sensibilities. Beth is fierce, determined, intelligent, and independent. One can imagine her as a modern heroine in a different setting because the themes that weave through the story are modern. Religious freedom, Women’s rights, patriotism, and the patriarchy are rarely overtly discussed, but they make frequent appearances.
The writing also reads modern. All of the dialogue is written very naturally, compared to authors like Austen and Bronte, who bring a sense of setting to their stories by how outdated the language their characters use reads to us now. While this might not suit every reader, I enjoyed a fresh perspective on a familiar time period. There are some occasional anachronistic words in the writing, but never the dialogue. If historical fiction can feel stuffy to you, this is a good book to try!
Mask of Duplicity
by Julia Brannan
"Great research and engaging stories!" - DIANA GABALDON
#2 - Best 1700s Historical Fiction (Listopia)
Following the death of their father, Beth’s brother Richard returns from the army to claim his share of the family estate. However, Beth’s hopes of a quiet life are dashed when Richard, dissatisfied with his meagre inheritance and desperate for promotion, decides to force her into a marriage for his military gain. And he will stop at nothing to get his way.
Beth is coerced into a reconciliation with her noble cousins in order to marry well and escape her brutal brother. She is then thrown into the glittering social whirl of Georgian high society and struggles to conform. The effeminate but witty socialite Sir Anthony Peters offers to ease her passage into society and she is soon besieged by suitors eager to get their hands on her considerable dowry. Beth, however, wants love and passion for herself, and to break free from the artificial life she is growing to hate. She finds herself plunged into a world where nothing is as it seems and everyone hides behind a mask. Can she trust the people professing to care for her?
The first in the series about the fascinating lives of beautiful Beth Cunningham, her family and friends during the tempestuous days leading up to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, which attempted to overthrow the Hanoverian King George II and restore the Stuarts to the British throne.
Join the rebellion of one woman and her fight for survival in...
The Jacobite Chronicles.
Reviews
LOVED THIS SERIES. GOOD READ.
Very wordy!!!! I had read to a point 3 times and forced myself to continue and very glad I did!
This book is excellent! I love the storyline and the characters I found were absolutely amazing! You either loved them or hated them! Exquisite in detail of each and every one. This is one of my favorite books of all time! It should definitely be made into a movie! It’s that good! Loved it!
There was no real ending so I assume there will be a serial. Whatever happened to the days before serial books, serial shows..
I really liked this book. There are such interesting characters, and the author keeps you guessing throughout the entire book. My only disappointment was that I didn’t want it to end when it did. Maybe there’s a sequel?
This is the best novel I have read in the past several weeks, and I go through one or two a day. The suspense was well handled, the characters well drawn, and the plot most engaging. There were also no syntactical or grammatical errors, which increases the reading pleasure. When the Main river was mentioned, the proofreader neglected to capitalize it, but the proofreader is perhaps not familiar with this German river. This is a book I most strongly recommend.
Physical violence and molestation towards women are not entertaining to me. I did not finish this book and do not recommend it.
