smartflutist661
If you want Machiavellian political machination with a realistic historical backdrop, this is the book for you.
Obviously the Masquerade never intended to let the rebellion succeed. I am left to wonder, though: Baru was brilliant, despite her tendency to overlook the agency of those around her. Could she have made the rebellion succeed anyway? Yes, the Masquerade would just come back, but had the rebellion succeeded in throwing them out for even a decade, the Aurdwynni had seen enough to learn many of their most valuable techniques (sanitation and healthcare, technological advances, etc.). Especially if they were aligned under a powerful queen, with an alliance with the renascent Stakhieczi mansions (who are implied to have relatively high technology of their own), they could have rejected future overtures of the Masquerade and had enough clout to make it stick. Which then gives Baru a powerful base from which to maneuver in order to bring down the Masquerade and free Taranoke.