Fortune’s Slave - Hardcover

Morgan, Fidelis

4.18

73 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 000713424X ISBN 13: 9780007134243

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2004

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Fourth in Fidelis Morgan’s hugely entertaining series featuring the irrepressible Countess Ashby de la Zouche and her stupendously bosomed former maid, Alpiew

Unlikely as it may seem, the Countess Ashby de la Zouche finds herself with cash to spare when her gossip column and a lucrative sideline in sleuthing begin to pay dividends. Unlikelier still, she is determined to do the sensible thing and invest it, caught up in London society's new craze for speculation in bonds and patents.

Against the advice of an aspiring novelist with a grievance, the Countess and Alpiew seek sound investment tips from those bastions of respectability, bankers and brokers, and land themselves in all sorts of trouble. Supposing a treasure of unimaginable worth to be secreted in the ladies’ run-down abode, burglars of every description – from hirsute fez-wearing dwarfs of amazing agility to runaway highwaymen and dusty Black Guard boys – are soon beating a path to German Street and leaving a trail of corpses in their wake.

Clueless, the ladies turn to Cupid for help. And as their quest takes them on a whirlwind tour of seventeenth-century London’s more unsavoury attractions – Tyburn Tree, the Clink and Ludgate, not to mention Laura’s Lace Emporium – with all manner of villains in pursuit, the Countess and Alpiew need all the help they can get.

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Review:

Praise for The Ambitious Stepmother:

‘Fun never came so lusty’ The Guardian

‘This is a fun read’ The Tablet

Praise for Unnatural Fire:

‘A lusty, audacious historical romp ...all the bawdiness of London at the turn of the 18th century is brought to life’ Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian

‘The perfect autumn read’ Marie Claire

‘Thigh-slapping, exclamatory stuff ... loudly, lustily, enthusiastically done’ Literary Review

‘A rollicking tale of alchemy, murder and heaving bosoms’ The Times

Praise for The Rival Queens :

‘A perfect historical menu of crime and mystery, with the bonus of laughs aplenty’ The Guardian

‘Hilarious 17th century romp, which combines an authentic slice of history with a tantalising storyline. An authority on the era, Morgan has created an inventive book which wears its learning lightly. Colourful turns of phrase and witty descriptions – like a bawdy P.G. Wodehouse – leave you with a keen sense of the period’ Daily Mail

Synopsis:

Fourth in Fidelis Morgan's hugely entertaining series featuring the irrepressible Countess Ashby de la Zouche and her stupendously bosomed former maid, Alpiew Unlikely as it may seem, the Countess finds herself with cash to spare. Unlikelier still, she decides to do the sensible thing and invest it, caught up in London society's new craze for stocks and shares. Overnight, fortunes are being made, wealth amassed from nothing in a frenzy of speculation. And with these new-found riches anything can be bought: commodities, monkeys...even people. But as the Countess and Alpiew learn to their cost, investments can go down as well as up -- helped along by a little embezzlement from those bastions of respectability, bankers and brokers. Soon banking leads to begging, burglary, and strange bedfellows -- including an aspiring novelist with a grievance and a hirsute dwarf of astounding agility.

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