Amanda's sister Isabella is engaged to marry a wealthy nobleman, one Charles Barsett. It is a marriage approved of on all sides, on the Barsett's side because Isabella is a very wealthy young woman and on Isabella's parents side because Charles, though he has a dodgy reputation, is also wealthy, but mainly he is one of the upper crust and that alone has a lot appeal. Nevermind that Isabella is already in love with another man, a young fellow who lived next door. And never mind that the gossip about Barsett paints him a very unsavory man, mixed up in all kinds of unseemly goings-on.
All this does not sit well with Amanda. She believes that Isabella should be marrying her true love, the old boyfriend from back home. And she has heard the gossip about Barsett and she declares he is too depraved and debauched to be a fit husband for Isabella. So she determines she will get the goods on Barsett and expose him to Isabella and open her eyes to the unsuitability of the match. Isabella will then reject her wealthy, titled suitor and return to her more humble, honest country beau. So Amanda sets forth with her scheme to expose the debauched Barsett and in the process discovers that appearances can be misleading, that polite, mannerly people can be evil through and through and that a black reputation can hide a heart of honor.
This was an OK story. At times, it was rather predictable and somewhat boring. The two heroines, Amanda and Isabella are not real appealing. Isabella is ready to marry for money and position and Amanda is too quick to condemn a man based solely on gossip. So I didn't really like either of the two girls the story is centered around. Also, at the beginning of the story, as I said before, it is rather predictable and a little boring. However it picked up very quickly and became more interesting further on. It was a pretty good read after that, if you can get past the flaws of the two heroines.
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