A Counterfeit Betrothal/The Notorious Rake: Two Novels in One Volume

The first story begins as if the partners in the betrothal are the focus of the plot. They are not, and thank goodness, as they are shallow, immature and birdbrained. The real story follows the bride to be’s parents, but it is rather humorless and frustrating. The second story, which is a sequel, also deals with wasted lives/time, but again there is little humor and the characters are rather stilted. Not her best work, but probably one of her earliest. I have seen her use similar devices to much better effect in later work.