Mistress of My Fate by Hallie Rubenhold

Mistress of My Fate: Book One of The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot; A Novel by Hallie Rubenhold --- 452 pages

The first in a series of fictitious "memoirs" describing the life and adventures of a successful courtesan. The innocent seventeen-year-old Henrietta Ingerton, forced to flee from her home, must learn to survive by her wits amid the debauchery of eighteenth century London. Separated from the one man who swore to love her forever, Hettie vows to do whatever she must to preserve the child of their love and to be reunited with the husband of her heart.

Rubenhold says that while Henrietta, her family, Lord Allenham and Philip Quindell are fictional, they "are drawn from a composite of historical figures," and "grew out of the many eighteenth century diaries, memoirs, letters and autobiographies I have read over the years." The majority of the supporting cast, places and events however, are real, "subjected to a bit of artistic license," as allowed when writing historical fiction --- as opposed to works of historical fact. Rubenhold's authentic recreation of the substance and sensibilities of the period will satisfy those who demand historical credibility, and counteract the more predictable elements of the plot.

The author is a historian specializing in eighteenth century British social history, with two previous nonfiction books to her credit: The Covent Garden Ladies and The Lady in Red: An Eighteenth Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce. 

Island of Bones by Imogen Robertson

Island of Bones by Imogen Robertson --- 367 pages

The third book in the mystery series featuring Mrs. Harriet Westerman and the irascible Gabriel Crowther, set in 18th century England.

Mrs. Westerman and Crowther are summoned to Cumbria in the Lake District to investigate when an extra body is found in the crypt of the first Earl of Greta and his wife on the Isle of Bones. Who was the man and how did he die? And how did he get into the three hundred year old tomb?

These questions are of more than academic interest to Crowther, for his own bloody past is caught up in the mystery. Crowther's father bought the Greta land when the last Earl of Greta fled the country with a price on his head for supporting the cause of the last Stuart pretender. His father was awarded the title of Baron Keswick for unspecified services to the government not long after the last Earl's brother was captured and hanged as a traitor --- and rumor says he was betrayed by someone who coveted the Greta wealth and holdings. When his feckless elder brother was hanged in his turn for murdering their father, Crowther renounced his tainted heritage, sold the land and made a new life for himself under an assumed name. Now thirty years later, he finds himself drawn back into the twisted fate of his family.

Well plotted and rich with local history and folklore, this series will appeal to fans of Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries, combining the novel of manners with the sensibility and mysticism of the early Romantics.