Roseanna M. White has made her way to the forefront of my "to read" list when it comes to historicals. Because she creates vivid imagery with her words and opens the door to actually "see" into the past, created wonderful characters that you can't help but want to get to really "know" and includes mystery and intrigue true to the times, her stories are ones that keep me turning pages to see what will happen. Though her stories always include romance, the romance elements are always well done enough for this non-romance lover to even enjoy. A Beautiful Disguise is among my favorites in the romance department and the hero of this novel is among my favorites as well. Here's a bit about the story:
1909
Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father’s death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm marketed to the elite . . . to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society when they want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend’s father as a potential traitor.
Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the most elite guard, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they’re creating a new secret intelligence branch, he’s intent on showing his worth. He suspects a man of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries but needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.
Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend’s sake, and she’s more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can’t possibly be as noble as he seems.
As part of the author's launch team, I was able to do a Q&A session with the author herself. Here's how that went:
1. What was the inspiration for this story/series?
The original idea for the Imposters series actually came to
me in a dream! Only one I can say that about. ;-) I woke up knowing there was a
story about investigators who moved among the elite and called themselves The
Imposters, Ltd. I had an image of some derring-do and hijinks and knew a
brother and sister were involved. Took me a couple years to flesh it out from
there, but I took the sibling-aristocrats part for book 1 and saved another
aspect of that original dream for book 2, introduced some circus aspects that
were SO much fun, and then got excited too when I realized MI5 (England’s first
intelligence branch that combined military and police) was founded then as
well, giving me the perfect way to have a hero involved in it.
2. Who was your favorite character to write and why? Which
character do you best relate to?
Honestly, my favorite character is Leonidas, a retired
circus lion. Not that I relate most to him, but how can I resist a lion
character? Otherwise, in this story I really loved developing the siblings
relationship between Yates and my heroine, Marigold. So I’m going to cheat and
name the two of them. I don’t think I’m really like any of the characters per
se, but I enjoyed writing them all!
3. What was the most interesting thing you learned in your
research for this story?
There was so much new-to-me stuff in this one! But I think
the most fascinating tidbit was learning that there was a genuine spy-mania
going on in England in the first decade of the 1900s, and it was all because of
a novelist! William Le Queux’s books, all about German spies invading England,
were so popular that the general populace was constantly reporting “suspicious”
activity…which is turn was part of what forced England to up its intelligence
game, to counteract all these false reports. How cool is that?
4. What are you hoping readers will glean from this story?
One of the themes through the book is Lady Marigold
choosing and crafting a public persona that she at once enjoys and resents. She
needs that mask to protect her family…but she also just wants to be seen
and understood. My prayers is that through her, we can all see that we do
that—everyone. Everyone picks the “them” society will see…but everyone wants to
be truly known too. How can we make an effort to know people better—and how can
we open ourselves up to be truly known?
5. The Imposters reminded me a bit of the American
Pinkerton agency in that they were well known for getting results. Did England
actually have such an organization?
The Imposters are 100% fictional (so far as we know, mwa ha
ha ha), but the country certainly has a history of private investigators like
the Bow Street Runner in the 19th century, and the popularity of the
fictional Sherlock Holmes proves that investigators remained a fascination well
into the 20th century.
6. Is there any "behind the scenes" fun or trivia
you'd be willing to share with my readers?
Well in addition to spy mania and the formation of MI5 that
I’ve already mentioned, I also had a blast incorporating high fashion. Haute
couture was just entering the scene around this time, with Coco Chanel opening
her first boutique in Paris in 1909. This is when we first really began to see
extravagant styles on runways that then had “accessible” counterparts for most
women to wear. Lady Marigold sets herself apart, however, by wearing the
extremes…only hers don’t come from Paris. They come from her own attic, with
the help of a retired circus costumer.
7. Did anything surprise you in the story as you were
writing? Or did anything you learned change the trajectory of the story?
Two big things happened during the editing process,
actually. First, my villain changed. I can’t tell you how, exactly, but
originally it was all laid out in very straight lines and there was no
surprise. That bugged me even as I turned it in, and when my editors asked for
some work to the ending, I said, “Okay, let’s just totally rewrite this part.”
And I did. The other rather hilarious one is more the trajectory of the whole
series. One of the main secondary characters, Lavinia, was originally only
intended to be in this book…but my editors “can’t wait for her story in book
3.” Uh…well…okay then. Sure. Lavinia in book 3! LOL. (I’d originally intended
to introduce a whole new female lead, but their assumption about Lavinia led me
to a new idea I absolutely adore.)
8. What is coming next and when can we expect it?
Next up is book 2 in The Imposters, A Nobel Scheme,
which focuses on the two Imposters who are clearly at odds in book 1—Gemma and
Graham. We learn their history as they work together (under duress) to rescue a
kidnapped boy. It will release in March 2024. And then, between that and book 3
in the series, I have a Christmas story coming as well! The Lady of Sugar
Plum Manor is a Nutcracker-meets-Downton-Abbey sort of story and will be
coming in time for the 2024 holiday season.
So excited for both of these upcoming releases!
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award winning author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary.
This book is set to release August 22, 2023. Check it out wherever you buy your books! For more information, check out the following links:
Roseanna M White's website: https://www.roseannamwhite.com/
Roseanna M. White's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RoseannaMWhite
My full 5 star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5247140983
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