Keeping up Appearances

I recently read and watched the Ballad of Snakes and Songbird, and something that I found interesting was the lengths the protagonist and his cousin went to keep up appearances, to have the protagonist appear as a scion of a prestigious, wealthy elitist family that the rest of his society and peers expected. I also liked how much it was mentioned in the book. There was so much feeling hungry and focus on food, resentment of things/certain people, and making sure he did x, y, and z because it was expected and how it’d be perceived.

I want to read a book that some aspect of that. It doesn’t have to be similar in any other sense, but it would nice for it to begin like that.

Some things I’d like to avoid are a burglary sort of plot line and thief disgusting themselves, a spy thing like the Americans TV show, and generally an assumed identity(unless there’s a personal connection to the identity).

by Friesandmayo2665