A Mad, Wicked Folly - Hardcover

Waller, Sharon Biggs

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670014680 ISBN 13: 9780670014682

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers, 2014

Synopsis

In Edwardian London, a girl dreams of being an artist, despite her family's disapproval.

Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.
            After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?

About this title

About the Author

Sharon Biggs Waller grew up around artists and developed a passion for Edwardian history and the Pre-Raphaelites when she moved to England in 2000. She did extensive research on the British suffragettes when she wasn't working as a riding instructor at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace and as a freelance magazine writer. Her favorite painting is A Mermaid, by J.W. Waterhouse. She is a dressage rider and trainer and lives on a ten-acre sustainable farm in Northwest Indiana with her British husband, Mark. Visit her at sharonbiggswaller.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

With Will next to me, the fog no longer seemed ominous; instead, it felt peaceful. The fog blotted out the surroundings and any passersby, making it feel as though we were the only people about.
“So you believe in votes for women?” I asked as we walked.
“I don’t see the point in denying half the population the right to vote.” He shook his head. “It’s daft. So yes, the suffragists have my sympathies. I can’t work out which side you’re on, though.”
“With the women, of course.”
“But you don’t fight with them?” He looked at me, his eyes questioning.
“I’m going to help them with the artwork. I’m not the fighting type.” I twirled my beret around my hand.
He grinned. “And an artist can’t fight?”

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0670014680
• ISBN 13: 9780670014682
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 448