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The Marriage Masquerade
Cheryl Anne Porter Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Marriage Masquerade
"

St. Martin's, Mar 2002, 6.50, 352 pp.
ISBN: 0312978960

    In 1876 Chicago, Allan Pinkerton worries about the safety of one of his best female operatives. Too many recent incidents in which the cover of Sarah “Yancey” Calhoun has been blown have occurred. Allan and Yancey consult and she explains to him about the letters from England and the death of another Chicago resident with her name. Since all roads lead back across the Atlantic, Allan sends Yancey to England to straighten out why someone wants her dead.

    Sarah journeys to the remote estate of Lord Samuel Treyhorne, husband to her dead namesake and son to the letter writer. Samuel distrusts Yancey especially when she claims his mother sent for her. As they struggle with one another love blossoms between them, but a killer wants both of them dead. Unless they learn to trust one another, Sarah and Samuel may fulfill their unknown assailant's fondest wish.

    Fans of Cheryl Anne Porter's western romances (see WILD FIRE) need to understand that though the novel starts in the 1870s the Pinkerton Office, the plot is a romantic Victorian mystery. The author easily transitions into the genre with this wonderfully written tale. The lead couple is dynamic, as the aristocratic Samuel and the working class Yancey battles one another as much as they war with their enemy. The romance lightens yet embellishes the who-done-it of THE MARRIAGE MASQUERADE because the audience understands the lead couple so that their efforts make for a stronger story line. Ms. Porter's current fans will want more novels like this one while a horde of new admirers should surface.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Marriage Masquerade
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story - Victorian england
Seduction/coercion/force Yes
How seduced/forced? - loving persuasion
Action/suspense subplot? Yes
Action: - chased by/chasing kidnapper/killer
Hidden Identity/Secret Motive Yes
Is really... - poor/lower class
Who seduces whom? - woman seducing man

Main Male Character
Profession/status: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Age/status: - 20's-30's
How sexual is this person? - very picky
How romantic is this person? - somewhat romantic
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Female Character
Age/status: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - private investigator
How sexual is this person? - very picky
How romantic is this person? - somewhat romantic
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - Fancy Mansion

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
What % of story is romance related? - 60%
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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