Parsons, Eliza - The Mysterious Warning

Ferdinand, impetuous youth, marries the impoverished yet lovely Claudina, against the expressed wishes of his father, the Count.
He is swiftly disinherited, casting he and Claudina adrift in the cruel world.
The best course of action seems to join the Emperor’s regiment against the Turks.
Where, he is injured and imprisoned.
Meanwhile, half-brother Rhodophil pleads his case, or so he says, all while seducing the lovely Claudina, causing servants to whisper, “she’s now a-breeding”.
Sprawling novel thumps across the continent from manor to castle.
Barons and counts, thieves and rogues, misunderstood hearts and treachery.
While not what I would call a thumping good read, it does entertain, amidst a lot of soap opera revelations and tangled relations.
I blame Jane Austen for this, my initial entry into her “horrid novels”.
Read, if you have leisure, and a taste for extended prose.
Note: the observation of ancient Rome is unsettling.