At Dark of the Moon

At Dark of the Moon by Alice Chetwynd Ley. Sapere Book, 1977 & 2019.

After suddenly and unfairly losing her governess position, Emma switches careers taking on a three-month acting job under an assumed name so the actress that had been hired could accept a better, longer role.

Rupert, an ex-military officer, has reasons not to explain why he wants Emma to play his wife as they relax among the elite in a coastal seaside town. Emma becomes increasingly alarmed by a growing suspicion that she has joined a household of French spies.

I read this well-written and engaging book in several hours late one evening. It is a better than average historical romance with a spy subplot; quite different from others that I’ve read.

I liked Emma and Rupert and the supporting characters the author intended readers to like (and disliked some, as intended). But Somewhere around the 4/5 point, when Rupert suddenly found Emma was an imposter, the author started rushing to wrap it up. The ending was a bit rough, less believable, disappointing not because of what happened but because it did not do justice to the book. I enjoyed the book and recommend it and will look for more by this author.


Disclosure: I received a review copy of At Dark of the Moon via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

May 1804, and Emma Harcourt is unfairly dismissed from her post as a governess only to be rescued and offered a bed for the night by actress Antonia Maleverer. Antonia offers her hope via an acting job, where she soon meets Rupert Wynford. The position is to act as his wife for three months and to be very adequately rewarded. But can Emma trust him, who can she really trust in this game of espionage.
An enjoyable mystery and romance story.

Emma, a governess, is fired because her employer's older son treats her inappropriately, leaving her alone in the world, with no references and little money to support herself. Then her luck changes: going to the local inn for the night, she is befriended by an actress who is on her way to a temporary job in amateur theatricals, but convinces Emma to take her place as she herself has had a more permanent opportunity that she was going to have to turn down. Emma agrees to the substitution reluctantly, because she is desperate - but is horrified to discover on arrival at her place of employment that she has actually been hired to act as a gentleman's wife! No explanation for this is given, but she gradually formulates one: that he is a French spy who wants her as part of his camouflage, and to help him keep in unobtrusive contact with a modiste, who passes him messages. But what should she do about it?

This book grabbed me from the start and kept me interested all the way through. Far from straightforward, but not overly convoluted either, the characters are interesting, the plot intriguing, and the romance more hinted at than overt - which makes for a nice change. Clean and well written, this is one that I would highly recommend to readers who don't like the romance to be so much 'in your face' as it often is.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

Well written historical romantic suspense novel, that ends a bit abruptly.

I really enjoyed this. Governess Emma Harcourt is in trouble, cast out by her employer one night, because she has been accosted against her will, she has very little money, and nowhere to go. She makes her way to the local village inn, where an actress Antonia Maleverer, helps her to get a room, and passes on a unusual, three month acting job. Emma agrees to masquerade as Antonia, and finds she is topretend to be married to Rupert Wynford. He won’t tell her why, but her promises her enough money to give her some security, so she agrees.

They practice for a couple of weeks, and then head to Weymouth, Emma soon confesses her real name, and her true background as a lady and not an actress soon asserts itself. She is more and more concerned about Rupert’s purpose, and eventually she suspects he is spying for the French, the truth is, of course, that he is involved in counter espionage for the Crown, however, Emma’s misunderstanding leads to discovery of her true identity, suspicion from Rupert, and a daring escape and rescue.

The fist three quarters of this book were well paced and really held my interest, the denouement when it came, felt very rushed, and I would liked to have seen a little more romance between Rupert and Emma. It also seemed to end a bit abruptly.

Would recommend.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book and all opinions are my own.

Also posted on Goodreads

I found this book to be delightful never sure what might happen to Emma next when we first meet her she has to fight off her employer's son when his mother walks in she is given 20 minutes to leave. When she reaches the village and tries to get a room the innkeeper refuses which is when she meets Antonia who offers to share her room with Emma. Emma explains what has happened Antonia makes an offer of a job taking her place as an actress to perform privately playing the part of a gentleman's wife for several months at first she refuses but ends up taken the part Antonia lends her a dress and fixes her hair so she looks like a governess and before you know she is in carriage on her way to who knows where. She ends up in a small cottage in the woods she is met by a young woman who explains that it is her brother who is hiring her to play his wife. Emma meets Rupert as he explains what he needs from her, she is never to be out of character and to report to him all gossip she may hear. They take up a residence on the coast were everyone fears spies or invasion from France. Spies could be anywhere even Rupert could be one and Emma becomes sure he is, now what should she do.

Happenstance leads Emma Harcourt to an interesting situation of pretending to be an actress, who's role is to pretend to be Rupert Wynford's wife for three months. Being as this is set during the Napoleonic wars, obviously there are French spies involved, which is where the adventure part of the story comes in.

This was an enjoyable and easy read. However, I didn't find the writing as polished or witty as some of her other books. Also, after having read a handful of novels by Alice Chetwynd Ley, I'm beginning to see a pattern in her writing. Namely that she sets up a very interesting plot and characters with just the right amount of details, and then when you are approaching the conclusion, she just rushes through the happily ever after in a matter of a few pages. It can be very anticlimactic.

On a side note (likely as a result of poor digitizing of a physical book), the digital edition I was reading had a significant amount of spelling errors.

What a story!!! Kept me at the edge of my seat and had me turning page after page so I could chase the story. This is moderately paced most of the time and then from time to time the action pick up more quickly. There is a lot of suspense, intrigue and danger. The characters were well worthy of my reading time. They elicited a range of emotions from me like annoyance, frustration, panic as well as a little humor between the lead male and female characters. The bickering between Rupert and Emma was entertaining. What a merry chase Emma lead Rupert on without even trying. Rupert kept Emma in the dark which lead her to the worse conclusions based on half-truths. In the end all the confusion and tension between them came to a head. Rupert had the wrong impression of Emma and vice versa. Emma had the wrong impression of Rupert. Oh my... what a conundrum. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I do recommend it.

Miss Emma Harcourt has been unjustly turned off from her position as a governess. She meets an actress, who kindly offers to allow Emma to take her place in a small acting job for a gentleman. When Emma realizes she is to pretend to be Rupert Wynford's wife, she is hesitant but agrees. What has she gotten herself into?

This was an absolutely delightful story! Emma is a lovely heroine to take the lead. Her hesitations and how she allows herself to get involved is realistic. Her interactions with Rupert and the other characters she meets were enjoyable.

The plot moves at a good pace, until about the last quarter. Then, in my opinion, things are wrapped up a little too quickly. Besides that and several typos (which I assume must have happened when this was converted to a digital version, I had no complaints with how the story was written.

For readers looking for a historical fiction read with romance and adventure, this is an excellent pick! I received a copy from NetGalley and am reviewing it voluntarily.

Alice Chetwynd Ley is just a treat for anyone who loves old-fashioned, romantic stories with strong leads, a touch of mystery and, of course, HEA. Emma Harcourt is a governess who becomes enmeshed in a spy story, playing the part of Rupert Wynford's wife. He's a perfect stranger, and the emphasis might be on the "perfect." He's a wonderful hero, smart strong and kind, which doesn't mean the two don't have the occasional spark because of a clash. The mystery and love story complement each other, and the story rolls along swimmingly. Ley is a master, and this shows. (I received an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions are mine.)