Katherine Ashe: “All the world’s a stage…”

Out next week on shelves near you:

A Secret Identity

When pirates storm Lord Steven Ashford’s ship upon the high seas, it brings him closer than ever to the nefarious criminal he seeks to ruin. Only one seductive detail threatens his victory: the scandalous beauty imprisoned with him, Lady Valerie Monroe. Temptation has never been so intoxicating or so forbidden, for Steven is disguised as a French priest. If they make it off the ship alive, to protect her from his enemies, he must never see her again…

An Undeniable Love

Back in England, and under the ton’s scrutiny for a reckless past she hasn’t escaped, Valerie dreams of the breathtaking “man of the cloth” with whom she shared her greatest adventure. Then he reappears in society under his true identity, Viscount Ashford, but despite the danger their consuming passion cannot be denied. Now standing in the way of their desire are Valerie’s wounded heart, Steven’s lone destiny, and a villain that will stop at nothing to crush them both.

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All the World’s a Stage

Have you ever worn a costume? I don’t mean for Halloween. I mean a serious business suit, team uniform, or ball gown and sparkly jewels. Something that takes you out of your comfort norm and makes you… different.

Or something even more concealing. A disguise?

In William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, to flee a plot against her family a duke’s daughter disguises herself as a young man. But Rosalind’s masquerade has an up side. As a man she is able to befriend Orlando, the object of her hidden love.

As You Like It is a comedy. So in true Shakepearian fashion hijinks ensue until secret passions are revealed and all the characters end up happily paired. But not before Rosalind’s disguise allows her to discover the truth in everybody’s hearts. Including her own.

Characters in disguise have always intrigued me. Take the 1934 film The Scarlet Pimpernel. In London high society, the hero is the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney. But upon the dark shores of the English Channel he is the daring Pimpernel, risking his life to save French aristocrats from the guillotine. Sir Percy’s reason for this dangerous pretense? He does it all for his wife, a Frenchwoman who despairs of the foolish husband she once loved and instead dreams of the dashing Pimpernel. When I first saw this film, I couldn’t imagine anything better than the moment she realizes he is one in the same.

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