{"id":5662,"date":"2016-02-23T18:42:50","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T23:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=5662"},"modified":"2025-08-11T21:20:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T01:20:27","slug":"and-only-to-deceive-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5662","title":{"rendered":"And Only to Deceive"},"content":{"rendered":"

And Only to Deceive<\/a><\/em> (2005) Tasha Alexander<\/a><\/p>\n

\"And-Only-to-Deceive\"<\/a>Set in England (and Paris) ~1889<\/p>\n

The first time I read this book (soon after its publication) I didn’t like it. I felt it was more romance than mystery, and I wasn’t interested in reading a kissing book.<\/p>\n

Upon later reading, knowing what I was going to be reading, I enjoyed it much more, and the mystery was much better than I had remembered.<\/p>\n

So after finishing the 2nd Lady Darby mystery, I wanted more historical mysteries, so I came back to this.<\/p>\n

Lady Emily was widowed soon after her marriage, and so had to go into deep mourning for a man she barely knew. But for a woman, widowhood was also a freedom–she was no longer subject to her family but instead could make her own decisions–within reason however, if she wanted to remain in the good graces of society.<\/p>\n

Why would this be a good situation for a woman?<\/p>\n

From the day the queen kissed me during my presentation at court in Buckingham Palace, I heard from Mother constant reminders that my looks would soon fade, and she admonished me to do my best to catch a husband immediately.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cNo one questions Philip\u2019s excellent character. I only ask that you remember he is dead.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that quite well,\u201d I said sharply. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s what makes him so appealing to you. After all, he\u2019s not here to tell you to keep within the confines of good society.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that certainly doesn\u2019t hurt,\u201d I admitted, my good temper slowly returning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cEmily, what Americans consider acceptable is often questionable at best. Miss Seward\u2019s influence on you is distressing. She is taking you down a path that can lead to no good. You have been attending lectures, child. Have you lost all sense of decorum?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My goodness! Attending LECTURES of all things!<\/p>\n

But I think that Emily’s relationship with her mother is a good reminder of precisely how society constrained a woman.<\/p>\n

Rating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by HarperCollins <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And Only to Deceive (2005) Tasha Alexander Set in England (and Paris) ~1889 The first time I read this book (soon after its publication) I didn’t like it. I felt it was more romance than mystery, and I wasn’t interested in reading a kissing book. Upon later reading, knowing what I was going to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[194,30,48,33,8,41,26],"tags":[242,241,557],"class_list":["post-5662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-5-10","category-british","category-female","category-historical","category-mystery","category-reread","category-romance","tag-lady-emily","tag-tasha-alexander","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-1tk","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3307,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3307","url_meta":{"origin":5662,"position":0},"title":"And Only to Deceive","author":"Michelle","date":"November 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"And Only to Deceive (2005) Tasha Alexander I read And Only to Deceive back in 2007 and found it a disappointment--I wanted a straight up mystery, but instead god a romance with elements of mystery. So how did I feel upon a re-read? I still very much liked the arc\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/and-only-to-deceive.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":364,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/364","url_meta":{"origin":5662,"position":1},"title":"And Only to Deceive","author":"Michelle","date":"April 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"And Only to Deceive (2005) Tasha Alexander The deception in this book? The text, \"A Novel of Suspense.\" I've been in the mood for historical mysteries, and so when this one came up recommend on Amazon--and on sale--I decided to try it. My feelings when reading this book kept swinging\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"And Only to Deceive","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.klishis.com\/Books\/images\/and_only_to_deceive.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5671,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5671","url_meta":{"origin":5662,"position":2},"title":"Tears of Pearl","author":"Michelle","date":"February 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Tears of Pearl (2009) Tasha Alexander Set in Europe in 1892 There are many problematic things with this story. I liked the historical bits, but the way Lady Emily was let into the Harem etc just seemed a bit far fetched, and I also had difficulty believing Emily actions regarding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tears-of-Peral","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Tears-of-Peral.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3130,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3130","url_meta":{"origin":5662,"position":3},"title":"A Fatal Waltz","author":"Michelle","date":"September 3, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A Fatal Waltz (2008) Tasha Alexander Lady Emily's marriage to Colin Hargreaves was put off when Lord Fortescue arranged to have Hargreaves sent overseas on a mission. Fortescue opposes Emily's marriage to Colin and will do everything possible to end their engagement. Thus it is with some surprise that Lady\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Fatal Waltz","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/a-fatal-waltz.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3116,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3116","url_meta":{"origin":5662,"position":4},"title":"A Poisoned Season","author":"Michelle","date":"August 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A Poisoned Season (2007) Tasha Alexander I read the first book in this series several years ago, and was singularly unimpressed. Not the the writing or the characters, but because it was (like this book) subtitled: A Novel of Suspense. I still disagree with that subtitle, but after enough time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Poisoned Season","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/poisoned-season.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5665,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5665","url_meta":{"origin":5662,"position":5},"title":"A Poisoned Season","author":"Michelle","date":"February 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Poisoned Season (2007) Tasha Alexander Set in London ~1890 The mystery here involves the supposed son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and a thief who seems to specialize in articles once owned by the former queen. I do enjoy the dialog in this series. \u201cAnd, Emily\u201d\u2014he grew serious\u2014\u201cif\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"A-Poisoned-Season","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/A-Poisoned-Season.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}