Frances Brooke is one of the many witty and engaging eighteenth-century women writers who have long languished in the shadow of Jane Austen. This new edition of her novel offers a well-deserved opportunity for Brooke to steal some of the spotlight back from the illustrious Austen. Her heroine, Maria Villiers, will delight literary readers with her naive ambition to win fame and glory as a dramatist and author in the London market. Maria's adventures in the city, her near misadventures with seduction, and her blossoming romance with the "brave, generous, sincere" Colonel Herbert are all sure to amuse readers who have long enjoyed Austen's works, and the introduction provided by this edition offers an excellent sense of the context in which readers should view the author and her work. The Excursion is a great, quick, fascinating read!

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