A Deceptive Composition vs The Talleyrand Maxim: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Mystery
A Deceptive Composition
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Lady Kiera Darby and her dashing husband, Sebastian Gage, hope they’ve finally found peace after a tumultuous summer, but long-buried family secrets soon threaten to unravel their lives . . .October 1832. Kiera is…
The Talleyrand Maxim
“Linford Pratt, senior clerk to Eldrick & Pascoe, solicitors, of Barford, a young man who earnestly desired to get on in life, by hook or by crook, with no objection whatever to crookedness, so long as it could be performed in safety and secrecy, had once during one of his periodical visit to the town Reference Library, lighted on a maxim of that other unscrupulous person, Prince Talleyrand, which”
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The “Talleyrand Maxim” holds that “With time and patience, the mulberry leaf is turned into satin.” The adage has the character of guidance for life for an ambitious legal clerk, Linford Pratt. Unlike most people, he…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate A Deceptive Composition highest: A Deceptive Composition 4.4 · The Talleyrand Maxim 3.9.
- The Talleyrand Maxim is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for A Deceptive Composition.
- The Talleyrand Maxim has the widest readership — 180 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| A Deceptive Composition | The Talleyrand Maxim | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.9 (180) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (8) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (124) | 4.5 (13) |
Reception
| A Deceptive Composition | The Talleyrand Maxim | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 124 | 180 |
| Editions | — | 115 |
| Want to read | — | 102 |
| Reading it now | — | 28 |
| Written reviews | — | 30 |
| Pages | 385 | 195 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Deceptive Composition or The Talleyrand Maxim?
A Deceptive Composition has the higher combined reader rating across sources (A Deceptive Composition 4.4/5, The Talleyrand Maxim 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Deceptive Composition or The Talleyrand Maxim?
The Talleyrand Maxim is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Talleyrand Maxim (195 pages, ≈ 3 h 37 m); A Deceptive Composition (385 pages, ≈ 7 h 08 m).
Which is harder to read: A Deceptive Composition or The Talleyrand Maxim?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Deceptive Composition: Moderate; The Talleyrand Maxim: Challenging.