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In eighteenth century Paris, status is everything. Anadea, though poor, has used her family’s noble status to secure a marriage to a wealthy cavalier. One night, she meets the roguish Count Blessure, who causes her to question everything. Witty and tragic, The Fatal Secret: Or, Constancy in Distress is a story of identity and desire by Eliza Haywood.
Info autore
Eliza Fowler Haywood (c.1693-1756), was a writer, actress and publisher, now understood to be one of founders of the novel form, as well as an avant-garde publisher of important authors.
Riassunto
The Fatal Secret: Or, Constancy in Distress (1724) is a novel by Eliza Haywood. Blending tragedy and comedy, Haywood explores the intersection of ambition, family, and desire to reveal how women so often fall victim to the whims of villainous men. The Fatal Secret: Or, Constancy in Distress is considered a prime example of the popular genre of amatory fiction, which often used love triangles to expose the imbalance between male and female desire in a patriarchal society. “Nothing is so generally coveted by Womankind, as to be accounted Beautiful; yet nothing renders the Owner more liable to inconveniences.” Getting by on looks alone, young Anadea has managed to secure herself a marriage proposal from a wealthy gentleman. Pressured by her father, she believes it is up to her to renew her once-prominent family’s fortune and status in eighteenth century Paris. One night, she falls in love with the handsome Count Blessure. Although he reciprocates her feelings, he is keenly aware of his own family’s prejudice against the poor, no matter the nobility of their ancestors. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Eliza Haywood’s The Fatal Secret: Or, Constancy in Distress is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
