The Duke's Daughter

Following the events of Thirkell's County Chronicle, which saw the good folk of Barsetshire cheering the marriage of Lucy Marling and ironmaster Sam Adams, life proceeds apace in The Duke's Daughter. Lucy, deliriously happy at the birth of her ""divine"" Amabel Rose, remains troubled by one small blot on an otherwise clear horizon: her beloved brother Oliver has yet to find a bride. Then Lady Cora Palliser, the lovely daughter of the Duke of Omnium, arrives, enchanting virtually all of the local swains. Complications and a few misunderstandings ensue before a quartet of engagements is happily announced. Once again, Thirkell fills her pages with an assortment of parlormaids, butlers, crusty lords, formidable dowagers and all manner of local gentry. Fans will cheer this overdue republication of her charming addition to Anthony Trollope's Palliser series. (May) FYI: Moyer Bell is reprinting The Duke's Daughter simultaneously with County Chronicle.