|
On a moonlit night on the outskirts of
London, Lord Geoffroy Loveall finds the answer to his prayers:
an abandoned baby, somehow still alive amid the junk of a
rubbish heap. Rescuing the infant from certain death, Lord
Geoffroy adopts her as his only child, heir to the fabulous
Love Hall fortune. He names her Rose in memory of his long-dead
sister and gives her a childhood of unparalleled gaiety and
unstinting pleasure.
But every house has a secret, and as Rose
approaches adolescence, the secret of Love Hall becomes impossible
to hide. As much as Lord Geoffroy wanted a daughter, the baby
he brought home is, in fact, a boy. As a flock of outraged
relatives circles, Rose has no choice but to flee. He must
abandon the safety of his beloved home and travel halfway
around the world in search of his rightful place.
This spirited and mischievous novel brims
with irresistible details of a bygone era and a host of larger-than-life
characters. Towering above them is the astonishing Rose, all
man and all woman at once, bursting with an unforgettable,
ravishing vitality. Misfortune - all the more remarkable
for being the work of a first-time writer - is an exuberant,
wholly original, and absolutely unstoppable feat of storytelling.
Born in Hastings, England, and educated
at Cambridge, Wesley Stace is a celebrated
musician and songwriter who performs under the name John Wesley
Harding. He is currently at work on his second novel and his
fourteenth album. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
|
