Once upon a time in the 1880s . . .
Set against the lush backdrop of the New York countryside, Agnes Somersest brings to life the tumult of life in Victorian
America. Our heroine Agnes struggles to hold together the family estate
following the death of her parents. Now comes one magical summer, distinguished
by the arrival of young Lord Phillip, a failed missionary just returned from India, who
kindles in her feelings she cannot deny. But romance with this unusual man is
soon challenged by scandal and sabotage. What’s more, cousin Wilbur and his wife have done
something they refuse to discuss—but what? And all the while, Agnes
cannot know that her life is about to be changed forever by a shy Indian girl
who dances for a living in a caberet in Marseilles.
Crooked relatives, wicked neighbors, and creeping time
conspire to pull from Agnes her ancestral home, its beloved staff, and the love
of a lifetime that seems to have arrived just a little too late. Peopled by a
wide cast of characters, both honorable and evil, Agnes Somerset takes the reader down a winding road from
exhilaration to agony, then turns again. (Appropriate for both young adult and
adult readers.)