There is always more to the story than just what
ends up between the pages. This page takes a behind the scenes look
at No Marriage of Convenience including
research I did while writing the book, character tidbits, and more.
Happy reading! ~Elizabeth
avon books
ISBN: 0-380-81534-6
Sept 1, 2000
This
book was originally slated as the follow-up to Brazen
Angel, and was to
be the story of Emma’s illegitimate daughter, Riley. However, my editor
at the time passed on the idea and wanted me to write Brazen
Heiress instead.
When Avon asked me if I had anything I would be interested in doing for
them, I immediately proposed this book, the one I had been waiting three
years to write. Of course, by changing publishing houses I had to take the
Brazen connection out of the book, but I think it turned out better for
the challenge to make it a standalone. This is my only book that hasn’t
been linked in some way or fashion to any other of my stories.
- Riley Fontaine -- is the woman all London knows as the seductive and beautiful actress, Madame Fontaine. She knows nothing about her family or her past, but has managed to build a successful theatre company. However, her business is being threatened by a serious of strange and possibly deadly mishaps, and now there is also the problem of the money she owes the Earl of Ashlin. Once she gets her debts repaid, then she’ll take care of that other problem—the fact that someone is trying to kill her.
- Mason St. Clair, the Earl of Ashlin -- had been happily ensconced in a teaching position at Oxford when his madcap and rakish older brother, Freddie, dies and leaves not only the earldom to Mason, but also a pile of debts and Freddie’s three unmarried daughters. If Mason wants to get his life back in order and the Ashlin name restored, he needs to get his house in order, and the first thing to do is find husbands for his nieces—and for that he hires Riley to teach them the grace and charm that might convince a man, any man to take these three harridans off his hands.
- Agamemnon Bartholomew Morpheus Pettibone the Third -- is Riley’s business partner, aging leading man and con artist, and those are on his better days. Aggie has a nose for money, and he thinks Cousin Felicity is the answer to all his problems. Much to Riley’s chagrin, Aggie decides to court Cousin Felicity.
- Cousin Felicity -- is the penniless relative no one in the St. Clair clan is too sure how she is related, but they love her anyway. Her harebrained advice and spendthrift ways get Mason and Riley together, but not quite the way dear lady intended. And then there is the matter of Cousin Felicity’s battling suitors, Lord Chilton . . . and Aggie.
- Lord Chilton -- has never been one to make a hasty decision and certainly his intentions toward Felicity are in the right place, but he just suffers from a little problem called indecision. His claims on Felicity’s heart are about to shaken by an aging Lothario that forces Lord Chilton to take a drastic step.
- Beatrice, Margaret, and Louisa, Mason’s three nieces -- A trio of more ungainly, ill-mannered and unfashionable girls London has never seen. And it is up to Riley to teach them the ways of style, grace and charm.
- Boobs, Boys and High Heels, Or How to Get Dressed in Just Under Six Hours, by Dianne Brill. What a hilariously fun book on flirting and picking up men. This book was my bible in creating Riley’s outrageous and flirtatious persona as Madame Fontaine. It is out of print now, but if you can find a copy, Dianne Brill is hilarious and really, really understands how to get a man to notice you.
- Regency Etiquette, The Mirror of Graces (1811), a reprint of an original Regency guide to manners and elegance. It is quite fun to read and I used it actually as a guide for the deportment book ";A Graceful Distinction"; that Riley reads from in hopes of finding something to teach the girls about elegant society.
- What was the Countess's motive in telling Elise to name her baby Riley? And why, given the resentment Elise had of her mother, did Elise go ahead and do so?
- Was Mason's attempt to restore his family name back to respectability realistic? Why or why not?
- How were the social values of late 18th century England similar to those in England today? How are they different?
- How was the character of Hashim important to the story?
- How important was "The Season" to a young woman in late 1700s London?
- How soon did you, the reader, know who was behind the death threats to Riley? Show soon did you figure out why she was wanted dead?
- What do you see as Riley's vulnerabilities? Her strengths?
- What qualities did Riley and Mason have which complemented each other?
- What made this time period appealing to the reader? Would the story have been just as effective set 50-100 years earlier or later? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Riley was not, at first, felt to be a proper role model for the St. Clair sisters?
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No Marriage of convenience
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