imposture

• The delusion grows upon himself; he succeeds triumphantly, but in the very moment of triumph he loses faith in himself, the imposture is all but discovered, and he dies, a victim of what was wrong in him, while the salt of his noble and successful purpose keeps alive his memory among his people. —  An Introduction to the Study of Browning
• Yet after the manifestation of Bianca's imposture, the Duke continued to recognize Antonio as belonging to the Medicean family; and his successor was obliged to compel this young man to assume the Cross of Malta, in order to exclude his posterity from the line of princes. —  Renaissance in Italy, Volumes 1 and 2 The Catholic Reaction
• The sentence was not, however, carried into effect; for the imposture was deemed too transparent to merit the infliction of the extreme penalty. —  Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur Orton
• To give a greater semblance of truth to their imposture, they succeeded in persuading Marina to abet them; and not only did she openly assert that the new Dimitri was her husband, but she embraced him publicly, and actually lived with him as his wife At the time that this impostor appeared, Sigismund declared war against Russia, and his marshal Tolkiewski succeeded in inflicting a terrible defeat on Schnisky. —  Celebrated Claimants from Perkin Warbeck to Arthur Orton
• He said that the whole thing was an imposture, and that it was of no use to put himself on his trial, for every trial had ended in a conviction,--which was the fact. —  Great Epochs in American History, Vol. II The Planting Of The First Colonies: 1562—1733

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