By Nancy Moser
Published by Bethany House
Life for Charlotte Gleason had always been charmed, but on her nineteenth birthday, all that changed. With rumors flying, friends and society shunning her family, Charlotte is told she must marry in order to secure her future. A match has been made between her parents and a wealthy family in New York City. Charlotte is to wed the Tremaine heir Conrad, and will be accompanied to America by her ladies’ maid Dora Connors.
Naive and unfamiliar with the realities beyond her own backyard, Charlotte begrudgingly agrees to travel to America, secure in the knowledge that her dear friend Dora will be by her side. Charlotte is determined to pass Dora off as her companion and when she discovers that Dora is an immediate hit with the passengers on their ship, she concocts a plan to have them switch identities when they arrive in New York. Dora will marry Conrad and Charlotte will have a chance to make a whole new life and live a grand adventure of her own.
Dora is less enthusiastic about Charlotte’s grand plans. Although reluctantly, Dora agrees to the charade and embarks with the Tremaine’s under the assumed name, Charlotte Gleason, bidding a fond farewell to her mistress and friend, the newly invented Lottie Hathaway.
Both girls soon find themselves in uncharted territory: Charlotte, in the role of lady amidst a formidable upper class, watchful of her every move, and Lottie thrust into poverty, saved only by the grace of a kind Italian family living in New York’s worst slum. Desperate to make a life for themselves and find a purpose worth living for, they each set out to establish a future. Unfortunately for Charlotte and Lottie, their challenges were just beginning.
Often painful to witness, Masquerade revolves around two characters whose vulnerability and naiveté endears. Moser’s style is both entertaining and poignant evoking both laughter and tears.
I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own.
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