Imitation of love (by Sally Quilford)

(Amazon UK link)

It has become something of a tradition that I read one of Sally Quilford’s novellas on my Kindle each time I travel to the UK. They’re usually light-weight but well-written, with interesting plots. This year I decided to read ‘Imitation of love’, which, I quickly discovered, is historical fiction. Apparently I downloaded it nearly twelve years ago, when it was offered free on Amazon. 

The main character is a strong-minded independent young woman called Catherine, and most of the story is told from her point of view. She is very close to her brother James, and they have a younger sister, Alyssa, who’s rather more frivolous. The book is set at some unspecified date around the French revolution, and it’s clear from the start that James and Catherine are involved in forging documents that enable people to escape.

Most of their work is done for a legendary, unknown character known as ‘The Captain’, who pays James well for the documents he receives. James sometimes travels with him, and his earnings just about support him and his sisters. They have recently lost their father, so James owns the family home. But Alyssa longs for nice clothes, and a ‘season’ where she might find a husband. She’s very beautiful and would like to marry someone wealthy enough that she could have some of the luxuries currently denied to her. 

James would also like more disposable income, so that he can attend parties and other gatherings hosted by his wealthy friend Mr Oakley. We learn in the first chapter that Mr Oakley is also ‘The Captain’, but Catherine has no idea. She idolises the Captain, as many women do, but rather despises Mr Oakley. And Mr Oakley, it’s clear, is equally dismissive of women in general, believing that they are shallow, mercenary and unable to keep secrets. 

In the hope of some extra money, James takes on another commission which he hopes will pay well. And then tragedy happens, unexpectedly, forcing Catherine and Alyssa to leave their home. Mr Oakley was asked by James to look after his sisters if anything happened to him, so they go to stay at his home, chaperoned by his aunt. 

There’s quite a lot that happens in this short novel, and I found myself drawn in very quickly. Sally Quiford has a gift of characterisation, and I found Catherine a likeable and sympathetic character. Mr Oakley seems rather an enigma - sometimes kind and generous, sometimes abrupt and distant. He has a reputation for being something of a womaniser and Catherine has heard anecdotes that imply that he is not to be trusted.

But as she gets to know him, and hear his side of the story, she realises that he’s honourable and courageous. And, inevitably, she starts to fall for him. Alyssa, meanwhile, loves her new wardrobe and meeting people in society, but instead of finding a rich husband, she starts to fall for Mr Oakley’s impecunious friend Mr Harrington…

In such a short book, there’s little time for subplots or the kind of ironic humour that characterises my favourite historical fiction of this era. But it’s still quite a gripping book, with several of the plot elements that feature in some of Georgette Heyer’s novels. I’m  not sure that the style or conversation is entirely authentic for the era, but it reads well on the whole, and there wasn’t anything that jarred when I read it.

Once I was about a third of the way through, I became quite engrossed in the storyline and found it difficult to put down. The ending is predictable, but nicely done after a dramatic climax and a few tense pages where it’s not clear what is going to happen. 

All in all, I enjoyed ‘Imitation of love’, and would recommend it to anyone wanting a quick light read, and who likes this kind of historical fiction set mainly amongst the upper and upper middle classes. Only available, as far as I know, in Kindle form. It's no longer free, but very inexpensive. 

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