How to Fake It in Society

KJ Charles is to writing Regency romances what gross bodily fluids are to colour-making (ear wax yellow, anyone?)—the best thing for the job. How to Fake It in Society offers the perfect blend of romance, history, and intrigue, jam-packed with scandal and mini art history lessons.

Here’s the premise: obscenely wealthy elderly cougar Eliza Whitecross dies (with a little push from a money-hungry relative), and in a last-minute bid to evade her wily family’s greed, she leaves her massive fortune to Titus Pilcrow, a recently evicted colourist who just happened to be passing by. Unfortunately, Eliza had implied that her inheritance would be passed along to her “cicisbeo,” Nico, who is, in Titus’s words, “outrageously attractive.” What ensues is a shattering of the institution of heteronormative marriage: two unwed men sharing an older woman’s wealth, making a mockery of myriad legal and gender conventions.

Not only is this novel tons of fun, it also offers a fascinating historical backdrop, from the scandal of Marie Antoinette’s stolen diamond necklace to a slew of fun facts on how paints used to be mixed (golden “orpiment” was made, horrifyingly, from arsenic; “Egyptian brown” literally consisted of mummy parts). Read on for the jaunty escapades of a rakish dandy and a humble colourist, plus a dash of hot gossip on the fall of the French monarchy.

3/5 open door.