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Pride and Prejudice lives on in the pages of The Deception of the Emerald Ring, the third novel in Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation romance-spy series.
Parallel stories in present-day and 19th-century England pit prideful heroines against prejudiced men who, unsurprisingly, fall for the women by the final pages.
Narrator Eloise Kelly is a graduate student who is researching a Scarlet Pimpernel-like English spy dubbed the Pink Carnation.
The history of an 1803 plot by Napoleon to use a ring of Irish rebels to bring down England leads her to the letters of Letty Alsworthy.
Forced into marriage with Geoffrey Pinchingdale-Snipe, Letty follows her spy husband to Ireland. The reluctant couple works with the Pink Carnation to foil the rebels' attack.
Letty's story is sparingly interrupted by Eloise's efforts to win Colin Selwick, a spy descendant she met during her earlier research.
Romantic confusion keeps both sets of lovers temporarily star-crossed.
Anachronisms and forced phrases, including too many instances of characters quoting Shakespeare in common conversation, detract from a fun plot and likable characters.
Some unintentionally funny phrases -- "'He refused to fall prey to a pair of pantaloons,' thinks Geoff as he observes his disguised wife" -- don't help.
But fans of the series will enjoy the latest Pink Carnation adventure. A confection of chick lit and historical fiction, it's like a tasty dessert. Consume it quickly for a sweet treat.
The Deception of
the Emerald Ring
By Lauren Willig
Dutton, 387 pp., $21.95
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