Talk of theTown Author:Joan Smith In her youth, Effie Pealing was the toast of London Society. Her sensational divorce trial rocked all England thirty years before, and she was forced to flee Society's notoriety for the Continent. As she wended her way from France to Italy, she picked up such a throng of male admirers that it soon because necessary for her to rem... more »arry, for her own safety.
After the untimely death of her second husband, Effie returned to London a rich widow. With surprising speed, Effie's friends returned to her. She hosted lavish parties, supported friends who squandered her money on bad debts and put friends' sons through school. Her generosity knew no equal.
When her wealth disappeared, so did her friends, and it was at a quite unfashionable address that her niece, Daphne, visited her some twenty years later. After Daphne's arrival, Effie received a request from an editor to publish her memoirs. Daphne is quick to see the possibilities in her aunt's colourful diaries, and when word gets out that they are soon to become published, all Regency England is an uproar.
Effie's former friends return once more -- this time to buy her silence. Effie and Daphne soon find themselves reintroduced into London Society. Daphne is thrilled by her initiation into the ton and is swept away by the dashing Lord St. Felix, Beau Brummell and the Prince Regent himself!
What Effie's diaries contain, and whether she will indeed publish them makes for many a mishap and misconstrued motive in this fast-paced, witty comedy of manners. « less