The Magnificient Masquerade

by Elizabeth Mansfield

When Viscount Birkinshaw seeks to marry off his impertinent daughter Kitty to the Earl of Edgerton's equally spirited brother, it seems like the perfect match. But neither of the noble matchmakers could have anticipated the consequences of their scheme. For from the beginning of Kitty's journey to meet her husband-to-be, there seems to be some question as to which lovely young lady is the bride, and which is the conspiring domestic. For, as Kitty and her maid, are brought from the decorous Marchmont Academy for Young Ladies to the sprawling elegance of Edgerton Park, mischievous Kitty manages to convince to trade identities with her!

Genres: Regency, Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks

373 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Elizabeth Mansfield is the author of numerous regency romances. She is an intelligent and thoughtful writer, a hidden gem whose novels deserve to be more widely read and enjoyed.

Elizabeth Mansfield is the pen name of the talented Paula Reibel Schwartz. Ms Schwartz also wrote different genres under the pen names Paula Reibel, Paula Reid, and Paula Jonas.

Reviews

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone falls in love rather quickly here.
It's a fun romp and I enjoyed it.

[Adrianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really had a problem with who Mansfield decided to match up in this book; their personalities seemed strangely unsuited to whom they ultimately fell in love with. The romances were poorly fleshed-out as well, leading me to wonder why they even felt as strongly as they seemed to. I only liked one character- Lord Edgerton- and even he had serious flaws, such as arranging a marriage for his adult brother to a girl unseen. Mansfield also used a lot of Regency cant, very obviously à la Heyer, but it seemed forced and unnatural.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

At 18, troublemaker Kitty Jessup is pulled from school to visit the estate of an earl, with a view to pair her off with a second son who is equally wild. Her father made a deal with the earl, in the hopes that marriage would temper the two of them.

She takes Emily, the maid-of-all-work at the school, with her to serve as her abigail. On the way, Kitty concocts a scheme to switch places with Emily. I wondered how the author could handle the logistics of a maid-of-all-work switching places with the daughter of a viscount, but the situations and dialogue are handled believably.

This is intended to be a comedy, but some of the humor fell a little flat for me. There are issues of propriety that would have been handled as a compromise with forced marriage in any other Regency romance. There are also numerous odd spelling errors. Since the book was published over 30 years ago, I wonder if the errors might have come from manually digitizing the novel.

While still enjoyable, I was not as fond of the main characters as I was with other books by the author. The romances weren't believable. Head-over-heels in two weeks? And with conflicting personalities as well. It was difficult to suspend disbelief. 3.5 stars rounded up

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Mansfield's "The Magnificent Masquerade"  
The story is about a girl, Kitty Birkenshaw, who is good-hearted but rather spoiled and always up to scheming and mischief, in a good way. Her parents want to get her out of their hair, so they make a deal with a friend of her father's to marry her to the younger brother of the friend, sight unseen. Kitty is then taken out of school and shipped off to the estate of the friend (an earl), to meet his brother. Kitty, being spoiled and wilful, decides that this would be a fate worse than death and on the way to the earl's estate convinces her abigail (sort of the female equivalent of a valet) to switch places with her and pretend that the abigail is actually Kitty, and she will pretend to be the abigail. Lots of confusion and fun ensues until both Kitty and her abigail, and all three siblings in the earl's family, end up getting their HEAs. The whole story takes place in less than two weeks' time.
 
It's an enjoyable read, with a few anachronisms here and there, but the basic premise of the story is so far-fetched, and the age and maturity difference between the hero (35) and the heroine (18) is so great, that I can't rate it as a keeper.

[Elen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, light read. Fun. But since I expected Emily to end up with Greg, I just couldn't get into the romance. Kitty and Greg just don't suit. Nor do Emily and Toby. What common interests do they have? Sure, opposites attract, but it remains to be seen if the attraction remains. And for the said attraction to flourish, they should have something holding them together, to make them more compatible. I just don't see any solid basis for them.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

"THE MAGNIFICENT MASQUERADE" by Elizabeth Mansfield 1994
Lord Birkenshaw was tired of his daughter's antics at school and decided it was time for her to marry. While at his club he met up with Gregory Wishart, Earl of Eagerton who was complaining about his brother who was just sent down from Cambridge, again.
Lord Birkenshaw and Lord Edgerton decided the perfect solutionto their problem was that they should have Tobias ( the Earl of Edgerton's brother) marry Lord Birkenshaw's daughter, Miss Kitty Marchmont.
Now Kitty wasn't your quiet compliant miss. She was told she was to go down to the Edgerton's Estate and Kitty was to meet her new fiancé before the wedding. What if she didn't like him? Well she had a great idea... There was a charity student, Emily at the school. If she could talk the headmistress into letting Emily accompany her, Kitty could trade places with Emily and check out Tobias without him knowing who she was... Happy Reading! Reading Genie

[Allyson Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Mansfield has created a charming bit of Regency fluff in “The Magnificent Masquerade” working from the meme used by Mark Twain in “The Prince and the Pauper” (but probably older than that) where the high-born protagonist changes places with the low-born servant, and both learn from the experience. I had to suspend some disbelief in following the character of Kitty Jessup – surely no daughter of a Viscount would be quite so lacking in propriety – it was almost as if she were channeling Diana Gabaldon’s Claire Beauchamp and hopping into Regency England out of maybe the 1920’s. But the overall story was so entertaining I didn’t mind. I will certainly be looking for more by Mansfield.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp in Regency England. At a time when marriages were arranged, who would blame a young lady as she changed places with her maid in order to check out the new man and situation? Miss Kitty learns plenty below stairs, including proper etiquette, lest she give herself away. And what about the maid who is suddenly in the position of lady? Well, she had plenty to learn, too. Entertaining.

[Paschalis]

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[Patrizia · Rating 2 out of 5]

'Not my cup of tea'.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this one! It was fun and you got two romances in one book! Will read again in the future!

[Nenya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first one third was fantastic. I was hoping for a lovely but decent madcap romance....


Describe your choice (of wife) to me, Toby. Go on, describe her. Would she be someone like that lightskirt in Chelsea who ...Or would you prefer one like your so-delectable little opera dancer whom you found astride your friend Nelson...you've since undertaken the care and feeding of a certain Miss Lolly Matchin of Castle Tavern...

That would be Toby, the 2nd story lead, H's younger brother. That's who sweet Emily ends up with.

*************

Ugh, okay, so it wasn't bad, for a romance... I just don't like the fact that this kid who's not even 18/19 has had (read: used and discarded) 3 women, no matter the fact that they were actually selling themselves.

***************

Alright, so it was rather sweet. I'm just grouchy because other romances have managed to give me a bad taste of certain storylines.

[Liesl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not deep or angsty but a truly charming tale. I may read something else written by this author if I am in the mood for an evening of pleasant entertainment. It was a nicely paced old style regency. B-

[Beeface · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in 2016 and gave it 5-stars. A 2022 reread dropped its rating to 2 stars.

I don't know what I was thinking in 2016. The premise was promising but the characters...very disappointing.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this story. It is fun and well-written

Content: some swear words, talk of mistresses

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regency

[Brainorgan]

The Magnificent Masquerade (Regency Romance) by Elizabeth Mansfield (1994)

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

English historical chick lit. Very enjoyable and witty. I look forward to reading more from this author

[Imania Margria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet and romantic novel.

[Miriamgreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

another take me away from this reality read, definitely for teens
sufficient reviews cover plot and plus and minus

[Megan Kelosiwang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this regency romance and can see why the ratings are so high. All the corseted sexual tension of an Austen without the genius turn of phrase. Maybe a few twinges of anachronistic behavior but a enjoyable jaunt anyway. Nice when you feel lighter after reading a book.

[Navya Sri · Rating 4 out of 5]

awww was the word I kept thinking through the book. a very regency type novel, an easy and cute read!