Lady of Quality

A dark and thrilling novel from the author of The Secret Garden sees a strong-willed heroine defy conformity, lunging head first into a world filled with violence, manipulation, passion, and murderSet in late 17th-century England, amid the ribbons and romance of courtship, this gothic tale tackles violence and manipulation, blackmail, and even murder. When Clorinda is born, the odds seem stacked against her. First and foremost, she is a girl like all her sisters before her and her father wants only a son. Furthermore, her mother dies in childbirth, and her father, considering all his daughters worthless, refuses contact. Despite this, Clorinda Wildairs manages not only to survive, but to grow up into a very remarkable and strong-willed child. Thus when father and daughter happen to meet for the first time, he is astonished and amused to learn that this little six-year-old girl, who is lecturing and scolding him freely, is in fact his youngest child and so develops a close bond between them. The hot-headed young girl grows up to be a beautiful young woman with a sharp tongue and a will of iron. But being able to have anything you want can be dangerous, and surely Clorinda's good fortune cannot last forever. When the dark side of her personality causes her to lash out in anger and violence at someone she loves, she may be forced not only into a dramatic whirlwind of events, but also into reassessing what it means to be a Lady of Quality.

From the author of the children's classics The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy comes this richly atmospheric novel for adults about a tempestuous heroine in the days of Queen Anne. Sir Jeoffry Wildairs is disappointed once again with the birth of yet another girl. Unmoved by the death of his wife in childbirth, he consigns the baby to a remote wing of his stately home. There, Clorinda Wildairs grows up neglected and rebellious, quick to attack anyone who stands in her way. Unlike her timid sisters, the sharp-tongued, defiant girl forces Sir Jeoffry to acknowledge his fatherhood. As the two of them form a growing bond, Clorinda devises a scheme to enter fashionable society. Determined to forswear her outrageous behavior and establish herself as a lady of quality, Clorinda sets her sights on finding an eligible husband. The young beauty encounters no shortage of eager suitors, but no sooner has she settled on a promising fiancé when a handsome stranger enters her life - one whose passions and indomitable will prove a match for her own turbulent nature. Their illicit attraction threatens to ruin Clorinda's carefully laid plans, plunging the lovers into a whirl of desire, secrecy, and violence.