Margaret Macy really has no choice. Margaret's new stepfather, Sterling Benton, is plotting to gain control of the money Margaret will inherit from her recently deceased aunt by marrying Margaret off to his nephew Benton. With no one to turn to for help, Margaret runs away from her home in London. What little money Margaret brings with her is quickly exhausted, forcing her to accept a job as a maid at Fairbourne Hall. All Margaret has to do is quietly remain in hiding there as "Nora Garret" until she comes into her inheritance. But her new employer is none other than Nathaniel Upchurch, whose offer of marriage Margaret rejected years ago. Christy Award winner and RITA nominee Klassen delivers another impeccably crafted romance rich in fascinating details about life both upstairs and downstairs in a country estate. An excellent choice for fans of faith-based fiction and readers who miss traditional Regency romances.

Christy winner Klassen (The Girl in the Gatehouse) mines another gem of a story from the rich Regency vein. Margaret Macy, who is soon to inherit a fortune that will allow her to be independent, flees the home of her stepfather rather than be forced to marry his odious fortune-hunting nephew. Margaret literally becomes the poor little rich girl as she is forced to take a job as a housemaid, disguising herself as Nora Garret to work in the home of Nathaniel Upchurch, whose marriage proposal she had rejected, hoping to snare his dashing older brother Lewis instead. In a tale of disguise and transformation with echoes of The Prince and the Pauper and perhaps a dash of Shakespearean heroine, Margaret-s character and judgment are enriched as she works for a living-and it wouldn-t be a Regency romance without a suitable suitor for her. The upstairs-downstairs dynamic of the upper and serving classes puts meat on the story-s bones. The reliable Klassen has produced a well-realized genre winner in which Christian elements are subtle and historically appropriate. (Jan.)