Prospects are limited for a lady's maid in the late eighteenth century, even for one as fiesty and ambitious as fourteen-year-old Nan Smithen. But when Nan is attacked by drunken sailors in a dark corner in Yarmouth one night, Fate takes a hand, sending businessman William Henry Easter to her rescue. Enchanted by Nan's youth and high spirits, William Henry begins to court her, and when he proposes Nan is quick to accept. For what better opportunity could a lady's maid have than to marry a gentleman? Appalled by the match, William Henry's family disown their son, and he can offer Nan only a tiny house in Chelsea. But such reduced circumstances are still a luxury to Nan, and for a while she rejoices in the delights of being mistress rather than servant. Then, after the births of three children, her loving husband takes her on a trip to France, where the Revolution is in full swing. And there Fate again casts Nan's life into chaos. In a brief and brutal incident, as the pair witness the execution of Louis XVI, William Henry is killed. Returning to England, Nan faces a battle for survival, for no charity is forthcoming from William Henry's relations.
A newswalk in Mayfair, selling the new Tuppenny Times alongside the more established newspapers, offers her one slim chance. Seizing it, she swiftly turns the walk into a profitable business; soon she is expanding. Full of ideas, undaunted by the opposition of the Easters, Nan cuts a swathe through the city and beyond, transforming the newspaper world. Then Nan meets Lieutenant Calverley Leigh, a handsome, rakish cavalry officer. Passions William Henry had never disturbed are awoken. And the empire Nan fought so hard to establish begins to take second place in her life as she discovers the pleasures of love...
- ISBN10 0712678832
- ISBN13 9780712678834
- Publish Date 17 July 1997
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 23 March 2009
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Cornerstone
- Imprint Century
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 480
- Language English