This entertaining romp through Parisian society of 1818 is second in the Matches Made in Scandal series. The first book, set in St. Petersburg is called FROM GOVERNESS TO COUNTESS. In this second offering, Lady Sophia Acton will journey not only from one country to another, but FROM COURTESAN TO CONVENIENT WIFE.

Jean-Luc Bauduin from the region of Cognac finds himself in a fix. The prosperous wine-merchant has no immediate desire to marry, but Juliette de Cressy turns up at his door and demands he wed her. To deter the lady, Jean-Luc tells her he is already married, requiring him to produce a wife. Enter a matchmaker (of sorts) and the English lady, Sophia, who is tasked to play his dutiful wife. The only way to acquire a fake bride is to find someone who needs money, is an actress, or is escaping scandal and wishes to leave her own country. Lady Sophia isn't an actress, but she fits the other categories.

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Author Marguerite Kaye has carefully researched the hungry, turbulent years preceding her story, and provides excellent reasons for Jean- Luc's lack of documents or relatives. The Tuileries Gardens, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the uncompleted Arc de Triomphe are the backdrops as our characters stroll; their conversation covers the immediate history of the Revolution, Napoleonic era and tentative restoration of the monarchy.

I was delighted to read about a trapeze act called the Flying Vengarovs, previously featured in another book by Marguerite Kaye. As the wife of a wealthy member of the bourgeoisie, Sophia experiences many wonderful entertainments, purchases gowns, enjoys dinners. But none of it is real, and she starts to fear the ending of this little slice of heaven. The tensions arising from Juliette de Cressy's claims pursue the couple, and a growing tenderness for her French "husband" awakens all kinds of longings in Sophia. Gradually, we get to know about her previous life as a courtesan. She is a most unusual heroine for a historical romance. Women were treated as possessions at this period, with few means of supporting themselves. If they accepted protection from a man, society despised them; this undeserved condemnation sours Sophia's memories and probable future.

Marguerite Kaye has once more found an outsider, two outsiders, in fact, to enlist our support in her adult love story. FROM COURTESAN TO CONVENIENT WIFE is a snapshot of history, a romance by the light of stained-glass windows and wax candles, a portrait of people who struggled to live in freedom. Vive la France, vive la vin.

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