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Elizabeth Bailey
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The Count's Charade Kindle Edition

by Elizabeth Bailey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 out of 5 stars 338 ratings
A shot across the marshes heard by a lone, disabled woman.

The Frenchman in Grace’s lean-to is at death’s door. An enemy spy? Who are the men who seek him? What secrets lie in the papers Henri entrusts to her charge?

Living alone but for her faithful maid, Grace’s reputation is at stake. But Henri’s safety comes first. If he is to have a chance, she must hold the authorities at bay.

Barely has he recovered when his pursuers come calling. Pitting those who would interfere one against the other, Grace risks all to keep her Frenchman alive.

Will the truth emerge before Henri’s enemies manage to silence him forever?
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  1. Print length
    216 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    May 1, 2020
  4. File size
    1.9 MB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0874WK7Q7
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ self (May 1, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.9 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 216 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 338 ratings

About the author

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Elizabeth Bailey

Elizabeth Bailey

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Elizabeth Bailey grew up in Africa with unconventional parents, where she loved reading and drama. On returning to England, she developed her career in acting, theatre directing and finally writing.

Elizabeth's latest venture is The Lady Fan Mystery series, published by Sapere Books. The novels feature amateur sleuth Lady Ottilia Fanshawe and a cast of family members including her husband and champion Lord Francis Fanshawe. She originally published Regency romances with Harlequin Mills & Boon and has many titles in her Brides by Chance Regency Adventures series, now also published by Sapere, as well as standalone Regency and Georgian romances.

Elizabeth also writes edgy women's fiction: Her dual time novel Fly The Wild Echoes, which deals with past lives, and For One More Tomorrow, where the ghost of the real Macbeth returns, protesting his villainous portrayal by Shakespeare. And she has published a romantic suspense novella, Silence of a Stranger.

Elizabeth lives in Sussex, England. She is still an inveterate reader with eclectic tastes and she spends her spare time helping other writers improve their craft.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
338 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Élodie Nicoli
    5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of faith and resilience
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Will his true identity tears them apart ...

    While it is a re-release, this book is my opportunity to discover Mrs Elizabeth Bailey’s work.
    And I very much loved this tale, even if I am not fond of people beating themselves down for what they see as their insufficiencies, it was a lovely story.
    Grace has everything to be proud of, she has acquired a hard won freedom, and a mean to gain money with her work. And while she has decided her impediment forbids her to have a family of her own, she has found a way to feel needed.
    Still, with Henry’s input in her life, she discovers a new sense to her day. By disturbing her being, he fulfills a need she never knew she had. He gives her strength to fight for him.
    Henri lives in the shadows, alone for so long he does not know any more who to trust and how to trust. Yet he is a good man, why he seeks only to protect Grace, she has saved his life and he refuses to repay her with more danger than she might already be in.
    And as the tension builds around them as danger lurks from everywhere, I was in harmony with Grace, with a tattoo in my chest, my nerves fluttering while wondering how they might get out of the trap set for them.
    Their tale is one of resilience and faith as secrets must be kept and truth might not be easy.

    5 stars for this lovely story with two characters finding their right comeuppance.

    I was granted an advance copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • carol
    4.0 out of 5 stars nice read
    Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Henri is found on the premises of Graces home severely wounded and Grace makes up her mind that he will not die. Of course he is French and she is a single lady living alone with her maid which complicates the situation. So does his appearance and the many following circumstances that they must overcome to find their hea
    One person found this helpful
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  • Miss Muffet
    5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and romantic
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This book was not only filled with a sweet romance with plenty of twists to keep you entranced, but also a look into what it’s like to have a disability, especially at that time. Tender and exciting, a fine juxtaposition of emotions that will keep you reading.
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  • Kryswalker
    3.0 out of 5 stars An engaging romance in need of historical clarity
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
    Elizabeth Bailey is a dab hand with Georgian and Regency historical romance, offering us period detail, and engaging character development. Here she gives us Grace, a spinster whose psyche is deeply scarred from maneuvering through life with a congenital handicap — she wears a clumsy, thick-soled boot to even out a short leg. Little does Grace know how her life will change when she finds a handsome young Frenchman shot and dying in her laundry shed. What are the papers he’s hidden? Who are the French strangers lurking near, asking questions in the village about Henri? Why do they want him dead?

    The novel is really very enjoyable — from setting, to the H/h budding romance, to the supporting characters. Where it falters is in a technical plot detail. The French strangers claim Henri worked closely with Robespierre, who led the Terror, the wholesale slaughter via Guillotine after the start of the French Revolution. (At the time of this story, Robespierre has already been executed). These men also claim they are in England on a diplomatic mission, and thus have diplomatic immunity.

    From the start of the French Revolution through the Napoleonic Wars, diplomatic channels between the nations were severed. Which is fine, when you consider these Frenchmen hunting Henri are murderous liars. Which brings me to the point that blew my suspension of disbelief: the local authorities, including the magistrate, believe there ARE diplomatic relations between England and France.

    And that’s all it took to throw me out of the story, though I did finish reading the novel to reach the HEA. Do make a point of checking out Bailey’s other novels. (I have a soft spot for Mademoiselle at Arms, and have Bailey’s clever, atmospheric Lady Fan Regency murder mystery series in my reading queue.)

    I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
    10 people found this helpful
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  • SusanCz
    4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat uneven
    Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed the character growth, but their seeming naivety and general carelessness about personal safety didn't seem in keeping with the personality and background of these people.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Good character development, some suspense and danger, good supporting cast. Attractive protagonists not just in the usual way. Politics and history of period and place handled well.
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  • Aanna
    5.0 out of 5 stars For lovers of Georgette Heyer's more serious works
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
    How would you respond to love after surviving the distrust of the French Revolution?

    First off, I highly recommend this book. Ms. Bailey delivers, as always, an extremely well-written book that I did not want to put down. The physical adventure and emotional turmoil are compelling and balanced to make a sweet romance that still deals with some very serious issues.

    Henri is coming from a country at war with itself: where betraying one's friends is the only way to survive. Grace has grown up with a malformed leg, so convinced that she is "less" that it has become an integral part of her. The book's tone is darker than most of Ms. Bailey's other stories, but it always maintains a hopeful outlook. No grimdark here! Ms. Bailey does a marvelous job of making well-rounded characters with believable motivations -- a few times I wondered to myself about the characters' choices, but those same "odd" choices later showed themselves to be fully justified by the character's life experience. Very well done.

    I recommend this book to anyone looking for sweet historical romance. I received this book as an advanced reader copy, and I am delighted to be able to share my review. Get this book! You'll like it =)
    One person found this helpful
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  • Nelle Renn
    4.0 out of 5 stars Romance and mystery
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2020
    I always like a story with one of the main characters having a flaw. In this one it is the heroine, but it doesn’t stop her from living a good life and having a compassionate nature. The only fault I can find is in some historical inconsistencies, at least in my estimation. But it was a good read as it combined romance with a little mystery.
    I received an ARC for an honest review.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    This is a very good book that I first read in paperback years ago and was very pleased to find it at last on Kindle.

    After years of looking I recently found lots of my old favourite historical romances on Kindle and bought them all and am gradually working my way through them. I was worried that I would find them a bit tame as I'm now used to more modern sexy books (which I love) but I found that I still love these too because as long as the love is true and passionate it doesn't realy matter if the action is behind closed doors 😀
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  • Monique Harpignies
    2.0 out of 5 stars Not up to par for an author I have often enjoyed
    Reviewed in Italy on May 3, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    In French revolutionary times Grace is a club-footed English spinster living alone in a drab rural environment. How she saves and harbors a gravely wounded stranger laying senseless at her back door and develops a fiercely defensive passion for the mysterious handsome Frenchman forms the core of a tale that drags along, as if mired in the local marshlands. The fakely frenchified utterings of the reticent hero are embarrassing to a truly bilingual reader.
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  • cheryl
    4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Grace Dovercourt was an independent, resourceful and brave lady. Not only did she live on her own but supplemented her income by taking in writing for the community. Henri Rouselle is a handsome French man, who appears on her property and is injured. All Grace’s caring instincts come into play as she fights for his life. Henri has a number of secrets but this doesn’t stop their attraction to each other. However, Grace has a poor opinion of herself due to her disability and doesn’t think herself worthy of a handsome man like Henri. Elizabeth Bailey certainly captures the essence of the time. The speech of the country folk and the ideas of propriety are exactly right. This was an enjoyable sweet romance.
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  • Christina M
    3.0 out of 5 stars Pleasing HEA
    Reviewed in Australia on March 20, 2025
    Verified Purchase
    This pleasing romance features a mysterious Frenchman and a lonely spinster who meet under unusual circumstances. There's a wide cast of secondary characters, nicely written, and the plot is a surprise.
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