Stacey Halls is an excellent author and I enjoyed her previous novel, The Familiars, very much. This is another historical novel with two strong female protagonists. Bess and Alexandra both live in London, in the 1750's. They inhabit very different worlds. One is genteel, refined and safe. The other is rougher, exposed and raucous. As the story unfolds their lives entwine and gradually we see further into the events that have shaped them,making them the people that they are. Brilliantly written, the story transports you into the 18th century and opens our eyes to the way women were treated and had to live. There are lots of twists and turns in the story and it keeps you gripped all the way to the final word. Stacey Halls has done her research once again with a wonderful, realistic and tender novel that grapples with questions about love, family, motherhood and loyalty. I whole heartedly recommend.