The Masqueraders

 

By Georgette Heyer

Anyone who supported the Pretender in the recent Scottish rebellion is going to end up dead if they fall into the hands of the English government. So perhaps this reason enough for Prudence and Robin to switch their genders and for Prudence to pose as young Peter Merriot and for Robin to pose as her sister, Kate. Anyways, this is what their enigmatic father has commanded them to do and he further wants them to travel to London and stay with a friend of his, Lady Lowestoft, and to be introduced to London high society. But on their way, they encounter a young woman in distress. The woman, Letty Grayson, set out to elope with Gregory Markham. But she has changed her mind and wants to return home to London. But Markham is a scoundrel and Prudence and Robin overhear him threatening young Letty. So they step in and rescue Letty and send Markham off on a false trail. Shortly after he is gone, Sir Anthony Fanshawe appears. He is a friend of her father's and set out to stop the elopement. He discovers she no longer needs rescuing, thanks to Prudence and Robin, who he believes are Peter and Kate Merriot. This chance meeting will change the lives of all four of these travelers on the London road.

The logistics of this masquerade are a bit problematic because it requires Prudence and Robin to remain in disguise continually without let up. Prudence is described as a tall woman, who is passing as a beardless youth. Her brother, Robin, is a short man with rather feminine features. At the time in which the story is set, the late 1740s, male and female clothing was bulky enough to make such a fraud possible, perhaps. 

Basically, the story is a romance novel, with Robin and Letty falling in love, and Prudence and Anthony falling in love. The Robin and Letty plot line is a bit more believable because Letty falls for Robin when he is in his masculine persona, not knowing he is also Kate. But Anthony falls for Prudence without ever seeing her dressed as the woman she is. He sees through her disguise and decides she is the woman for him. 

Anyway, it's a pretty enjoyable read although it does have some grim undertones: the threat of execution if Prudence and Robin are caught and Markham's continued plot to capture Letty and force her into marriage. 

Here is a review by Austenprose.