On a Fated Night — Dorothea Malm

ON A FATED NIGHT tells the fascinating story of a young and beautiful American who marries a charming and wealthy French aristocrat only to discover that what for her had been a love match was, for him, an instrument of vengeance…

On one level this novel is a superbly entertaining love story, rich in mystery and suspense. On another, it delves into the deceptions of memory, the fatal impediments to a meeting of human minds, and the worlds within that collect such treacherous reflections of the world without -- and impose their tragic errors on it. Elisabeth, an unconventional and open-hearted American girl, has come to Paris to study art, but marries instead a wealthy Parisian, the elegant Remy, who dabbles dangerously in hypnotism. When they go to live at his family's estate northeast of Paris, a series of terrible events occurs which will change Elisabeth's life and those of the intriguing characters around her.