The Ambitious Stepmother - Softcover

Morgan, Fidelis

3.97

95 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007134274 ISBN 13: 9780007134274

Publisher: Harpercollins Pub Ltd, 2003

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Next in Fidelis Morgan's hugely entertaining series featuring the irrepressible Countess Ashby de la Zouche and her stupendously bosomed former maid, Alpiew The Countess Ashby de la Zouche would not be every parent's choice of chaperone for a beautiful teenager, and still fewer would entrust her with finding the girl a suitable husband - in France, of all places. The second Mrs Alderman Franklyn-Green, however, is willing to go to any lengths to get rid of her unwanted stepdaughter Virginia. And the promise of 100 guineas and a sojourn in the land of gay balls and all-night gambling is sufficient to secure the Countess's services, even if the girl is a complete shrew. Sadly, the exiled English Court at St Germain is far from the den of iniquity the Countess and her maidservant Alpiew were hoping for. Worse, any hopes of enjoying fine French cuisine are dashed when a fellow guest is poisoned. Once more the Countess and Alpiew are plunged into a dangerous investigation In addition to unravelling plots against three kings and negotiating the culinary eccentricities of the Court of Versailles, our sleuths encounter the Bastille's most mysterious prisoner, and discover - among other depravities - the peculiar employment Lord Whippingham has devised for young women with strong teeth.

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About the Author:

Fidelis Morgan is an actor and an expert in Restoration comedy. Acclaimed for her stage plays, Pamela and Hangover Square, she also collaborated with Lynda la Plante on Channel 4's tense, psychological thriller Killer Net. She has written non-fiction studies of charismatic female figures from the 17th and 18th centuries, and contributed to the bestselling Virago anthology Wicked. In her first novel, Unnatural Fire, she combined historical interest with her lifelong passion for crime fiction.

From AudioFile:

In a series of tongue-in-cheek novels, the impecunious Countess Ashby de la Zouche and her maid servant scramble for a living and solve mysteries in lusty Restoration England. In this rollicking episode, the two are hired (or gulled) to chaperone an eligible and waspish maiden as she hunts husbands among exiled British nobles in France. Author Fidelis Morgan also happens to be an actor. In both capacities she contributes considerable zest, adventure, wit, suspense, and delightful characterization to her heroines' trials and tribulations. Is she over the top? Yes, but in a way controlled by her excellent performance technique. Her fondness for and extensive knowledge of the period and its theater inform even her (intentional) anachronisms. Altogether an unusually literate and unique contribution to the genre of detection. Y.R. � AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright � AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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