History Literature / MistressOfMyFate

Mistress of My Fate is a fictional memoir set in 18th century England. The story focuses on the romance between young, sheltered Henrietta Ingerton and her unlikely love interest, George Allenham. Henrietta was adopted by her uncle and aunt, the Earl and Countess of Stavourley. Her destiny turns out quite different than she had first thought when romance, tragedy, and her mysterious past unravel all at once in this novel.

!!Tropes Appearing in Mistress of My Fate:

* TheMistress: [[spoiler:Henrietta's Mother, Kitty Kennedy to Lord Stavourley and many others, then later Henrietta herself to George Allenham. John St. John, and Philly Quindell, and almost all of Henriett's female friends after she goes to London]]

* ArrangedMarriage:[[spoiler:Lord Stavourley arranges a marriage between Henrietta and Mr. Pease, a churchman with a meager salary who Henrietta does not love]]

* HopelessSuitor:[[spoiler:'''Allenham:''' ''What am I to do? I have resolved to write these words to you in the hope that you will put me beyond my misery, that you will confirm to me your shared affection, or else deny me and send me into a life of desperate unhappiness. I am, madam, your most tormented servant.'']]

* RunawayFiance:[[spoiler:Henrietta, after she is told she is to be married to Mr. Pease]]

* BlueBlood:The majority of the main characters have a noble title
* BookEnds:The scene when [[spoiler:Henrietta runs away from her home is compared to the scene where she runs away from her life as Quindell's mistress by the narrator, as a way of showing how she is no longer the naive ingenue she started out as.]]

* DancesAndBalls:Many of these are held for the purpose of young nobles meeting marriage candidates
* DanceOfRomance:How Henrietta and George fall in love

* HowWeGotHere:The book starts with [[spoiler:Henrietta running away from home]], then explains all the events leading up to that, and then tells us the rest of the story. Well, we're actually sort of LeftHanging.

* LeftHanging:Who is Lord Dennington? [[spoiler:What caused Allenham to go to Paris? How will he react when Henrietta tells him how she's been living, and about their son?]] These will all hopefully be revealed in the sequel.

* HopelessSuitor:[[spoiler:'''Allenham:''' ''What am I to do? I have resolved to write these words to you in the hope that you will put me beyond my misery, that you will confirm to me your shared affection, or else deny me and send me into a life of desperate unhappiness.I am, madam, your most tormented servant.'']]

* HopelessSuitor:[[spoiler:''What am I to do? I have resolved to write these words to you in the hope that you will put me beyond my misery, that you will confirm to me your shared affection, or else deny me and send me into a life of desperate unhappiness.I am, madam, your most tormented servant.''
--'''Allenham''']]

* HopelessSuitor:[[spoiler:->''What am I to do? I have resolved to write these words to you in the hope that you will put me beyond my misery, that you will confirm to me your shared affection, or else deny me and send me into a life of desperate unhappiness.I am, madam, your most tormented servant.''
-->--'''Allenham''']]

* HopelessSuitor:[[spoiler:
->''What am I to do? I have resolved to write these words to you in the hope that you will put me beyond my misery, that you will confirm to me your shared affection, or else deny me and send me into a life of desperate unhappiness.I am, madam, your most tormented servant.''
-->--'''Allenham''' ]]

* HopelessSuitor:[[spoiler: ->''What am I to do? I have resolved to write these words to you in the hope that you will put me beyond my misery, that you will confirm to me your shared affection, or else deny me and send me into a life of desperate unhappiness.''
->''I am, madam, your most tormented servant.''
-->--'''Allenham'''

->''"And the sublime, the sublime is greater than beauty. It overwhelms the senses. It consumes us. It is the pure fury and power of nature. It must be felt to be known. An artist must feel in order to paint, and of that madam, you will never learn from reading Sir Joshua's dry Discourses.''
--> '''George Allenham'''

-->--'''Henrietta Ingerton'''

* LeftHanging:Who is Lord Dennington? [[spoiler:What caused Allenham to go to Paris? How will he react when Henrietta tells him how she's been leaving?]] These will all hopefully be revealed in the sequel.

* BreakTheCutie: Happens to [[Spoiler:Henrietta]]
* BreakTheHaughty: Happens to [[spoiler:Catherine]]

* GoodIsDumb: Henrietta is often portrayed as the only character without harmful ulterior motives, but her absurdly naive world view causes her to make some questionable decisions

* HeroicBSOD: When Henrietta [[spoiler:finds out she is pregnant]]
* TheIngenue: Henrietta [[spoiler:starts out as this]]

* TheMistress: [[spoiler:Henrietta's Mother, Kitty Kennedy to Lord Stavourley, then later Henrietta herself to George Allenham. John St. John, and Philly Quindell]]

HeroicBastard: [[spoiler:Henrietta]]

* AlphaBitch: Henrietta's cousin, Lady Catherine

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: When Henrietta [[spoiler:runs away and cannot find Lord Allenham,]] she experiences this

* RockBottom: When Henrietta [[spoiler:gives up on finding Lord Allenham, she becomes a drunk and gets raped, then has to drink medication to rid herself of a possible child]]

* Rock Bottom: When Henrietta [[spoiler:gives up on finding Lord Allenham, she becomes a drunk and gets raped, then has to drink medication to rid herself of a possible child]]

* Finagle'sLaw: The drama in the novel is often caused by this

* NaïveEverygirl: Henrietta is this [[spoiler:for the first half of the novel]]

* GoodIsDumb: Henrietta is often portrayed as the only character without ulterior motives, but her absurdly naive world view causes her to make some questionable decisions
* TheIngenue: Henrietta

* GoodIsDumb: Henrietta is often portrayed as the only character without ulterior motives, but her absurdly naive world view causes her to make some very bad decisions

TheIngenue: Henrietta
GoodIsDumb: Henrietta is often portrayed as the only character without ulterior motives, but her absurdly naive world view causes her to make some very bad decisions

TheIngenue: Henrietta

[[quoteright:350:http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1339196312l/15018709.jpg]

Mistress of my Fate
Book One of the Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot