An absorbing, inventive novel of love, death and aristocracy in inter-war London.

A novel of love, death and aristocracy in twenties London. Consider Vivien in November 1922. She is twenty-four, and a spinster. She wears fashionably droopy clothes, but she is plain and – worse – intelligent. Fortunately, Vivien is rich, so she can bribe a man to marry her. What nobody knows is that Vivien is pregnant, and will die in childbirth in just a few months...

"A romp of a read full of Weldon wit and wisdom, as well as sumptuous period detail" - Daily Mail

"Wise and witty... filled with sharp observations'" - The Times

"The quirky, singular writing style takes some getting used to, but this triumphs in the end with its unique characters and playfully ironic voice" - The Irish Sun

"A cool, sparkling, delicious book... This is one of those rare works of fiction that will make seasoned novelists gasp... while also offering the reader a breeze of a story'" - The Australian

"A daredevil combination of farce and satire... shades of Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh, P. G. Wodehouse and John Fowles" - TLS

"Looking down at her cast from amused heights, Weldon punctures their pretensions and double standards with piquant observations, keeps a detached eye on the power politics of their relationships, but also caricatures them" - Guardian

"Lively... wry social satire'" - New York Times

"Weldon, still at the top of her powers, serves up elegant prose that is witty, ironic - and emotionally distanced" - North & South magazine

"If I had to recommend just one name to the uninformed young woman who curls her lip at the word "feminist" today, I would tell her to read Fay Weldon. Not only for Weldon's vision of gender justice, but for her take-no-prisoners approach to fiction. Her plots move swiftly; her gaze is unsettlingly direct; her sentences can draw blood" - The Hindu.