Publisher's Weekly Review
Rubenhold's first novel reads like a very pleasing and well-researched game of dress up. All the hoped-for characters appear, from innocent ladies and dashing heroes, to scheming cousins and rakish rogues. The story is set in 18th century Britain and follows Henrietta Lightfoot, nee Ingerton, from her sheltered upbringing as the orphaned ward of a weathy uncle, into love and loss of reputation, and the difficulty of surviving in London as a lovely young woman without means of her own. The details of scene and costume are rich and engaging, and everyone does mostly what you expect of them to very satisfying effect. If the prose drags in places, Rubenhold makes up for it with a knack for keeping familiar types from slipping entirely into the two-dimensional. Rubenhold has also authored critically-acclaimed works of non-fiction, and her expert knowledge of the period and its literature is apparent in her novel. The richness of historical detail provides a good leavening against the more predictable elements of the plot: a good-natured romp among beautiful dresses, gothic turns, willful lovers, dastardly plots, lusty bon vivants, and even a ghost. Agent: Tina Bennett, Janklow and Nesbit. (Jan) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
After her cousin's death, orphan Henrietta Ingerton flees horrible suspicions promoted by the vicious staff of her uncle's estate and seeks protection from the only person who cares for her: her deceased cousin's fiance, Lord Allenham, from whom Henrietta has received amorous secret correspondence. Allenham welcomes her generously, setting her up in a cottage of her own, but he too has secrets, and when he suddenly disappears, Henrietta follows him fruitlessly to London. There, completely out of funds, she is forced to support herself the only way a woman could at that time, i.e., by becoming Henrietta Lightfoot, a mistress and a rising star of the stage. VERDICT Historian Rubenhold (The Lady in Red) captures the end of the colorful, hard-living, hard-drinking Georgian age as it fades into the tender, sublime sensitivity of the Romantic era. The wonderfully authentic tone will captivate devotees of Walpole, Richardson, and Defoe but may fail to resonate with modern readers who struggle to relate to the heroine. Purchase only for die-hard historical fiction fans.-Cynthia Johnson, Cary Memorial Lib., Lexington, MA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.