A Dangerous Engagement
Felicity Mayson, twelfth of thirteen children living in early 19th-century England, will have no dowry to marry, but she’s a feisty gal studying Chinese and dreaming she will perhaps be a missionary someday. Abhorring her lack of financial backing and suitors, she yearns for something more. She often quotes Hannah More, an early suffragette advocating equality for all. Imagine Felicity’s surprise when she is invited to the home of an aunt-by-marriage, Lady Blackstone, to meet a special man, Mr. Ratley. The slow pace of the novel amps up here as Felicity learns that this group of mostly men is planning a violent overthrow of the King, Parliament, and the aristocracy. One young man, Philip Merrick, is actually a spy seeking to discover the plot and destroy it before its inception.
Mr. Ratley seems a stereotypical villain, excessively forward to Felicity and anxious to become engaged to her. The forcefulness of Mr. Ratley and Lady Blackmore seems contrived but real, resulting in Felicity becoming increasingly alarmed and distraught that she has so innocently been drawn into a group of obsessed insurrectionists. Felicity spends a great deal of time being upset and worrying herself almost to the point of illness, but displays notable courage and determination when she’s not fainting.
The story raises questions for any astute reader, such as how does one support royalty when so many of the commoners are starving to death and suffering from horrific working conditions? The double play on the word “engagement” first deceives the reader, but then turns to intrigue as the plot thickens in this cleverly plotted work of historical fiction.
