A charming and brilliantly entertaining novel... shot through with the light-hearted Nesbit touch Penelope Lively, from the introduction When did two girls of our age have such a chance as we ve got - to have a lark entirely on our own? No chaperone, no rules, no... No present income or future prospects, said Lucilla.
It s 1919 and Jane and her cousin Lucilla leave school to find that their guardian has gambled away their money, leaving them with only a small cottage in the English countryside. In an attempt to earn their living, the orphaned cousins embark on a series of misadventures - cutting flowers from their front garden and selling them to passers-by, inviting paying guests who disappear without paying - all the while endeavouring to stave off the attentions of male admirers, in a bid to secure their independence. To come upon any Nesbit today, hitherto unread... is like receiving a letter from a friend whom you have believed dead New York Times