Mary Anne (Virago Modern Classics)

'This novel catches fire' NEW YORK TIMES DISCOVER THIS THRILLING STORY OF DESIRE AND AMBITION FROM THE AUTHOR OF REBECCA Men did as they pleased, and women suffered for it. There was only one way to beat them, and that was to match your wits against theirs and come out the winner. Raised in the squalid backstreets of Regency London, Mary Anne Clarke develops a sharp wit and a ruthless ambition. With her manners polished by a few years of education, and her heart hardened by a disastrous early marriage, she is determined to use all her charms to climb the social ladder - and soon catches the eye of the Duke of York. But Mary Anne aims higher than the role of a royal mistress. As her taste for luxury and power grows, the scandal she provokes will rock the government, scandalise a nation, and threaten to destroy everything she holds dear. As vivid and seductive as its unforgettable heroine, Mary Anne is a glittering reimagining of the life of du Maurier's own great-great-grandmother. 'Like its heroine the book is possessed of such unforgettably vivid charm that one is seduced' LS HINTON 'With unfailing du Maurier skill, the author has coupled family interest with dramatic sense' ELIZABETH BOWEN 'Likely to rank as the author's best book' SATURDAY REVIEW