The Marmaduchess of Pontefract by Susan Ashe

A sly, quirky parable about the journey from obscurity to fame, narrated with a decidedly female and feline twist. Violet of Huddersfield accidentally arrives in Rome, where she is snatched up by an assortment of rough-neck gangsters and hoodlums. Their snobbery takes her for something she is not and has never claimed to be - a Duchess or, as her admirers would have it, a Marmaduchess. The Duchess soon becomes the focus of a rival gang of kidnapping mobsters. As the action ensues, it is this foreign 'aristocrat' who brings peace and wisdom to the Roman underworld. Who is this book written for? Who cares? Read it to your child or read it to your grandmother, read it for your own pleasure. The fluent style and subtle wit are guaranteed to charm you.