Description

Few of those Philippa loves in London return her affection. Not the love of her life, who has a new bride. Not even her widowed mother, Makepeace Burke. So Philippa decides on a marriage of convenience to a prudish, if kind, man.

Across the Channel in France, the Reign of Terror is causing the beheading of thousands from the French nobility. Among those in danger is Philippa's friend, the Marquis de Condorcet. Not only has Philippa the means of rescuing him from the guillotine, she's got the courage. And as fate would have it, Philippa will find love where she least expects it-while staring death in the face.

About the Author

British journalist Diana Norman also writes asAriana Franklin.Born Mary Diana Narracott, she grew up first in London and then in Devon, where her mother took her to escape the blitz. At the age of 15, she left school, but with journalism in her background (her father had been a Times correspondent)and her hardy intelligence, the lack of formal education proved no barrier and by 17 she was n London, working on a local newspaper in the East End.Headhunted at 20 by the Daily Herald, Norman became the youngest reporter on Fleet Street, covering royal visits, donning camouflage to go on exercise with the Royal Marines, and missing her 21st birthday party because she was covering a murder on the south coast. When she protested about this to the news editor, she was told: "Many happy returns. Now get down to Southampton." Diana Norman became, at twenty years of age, the youngest reporter on what used to be Fleet Street.She married the film critic Barry Norman in 1957, and they settled in Hertfordshire with their two daughters. She began writing fiction shortly after her second daughter was born. Her first book of fiction, Fitzempress's Law, was chosen by Frank Delaney of BBC Radio 4's Bookshelf as the best example of a historical novel of its year. She is now a freelance journalist, as well as a writer of biographies and historical novels.She died at the age of 77 on January 27, 2011. She was best known for her historical crime series featuring the 12th-century medical examiner Adelia Aguilar, written under the pen name of Ariana Franklin. The first book in the series, Mistress of the Art of Death, was published to critical acclaim in 2007 and won the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger award in the UK, as well as prizes in the US and Sweden.Norman is survived by her husband, their daughters, Samantha and Emma, and three grandsons. Mr. Norman wrote awonderful tribute to his wife.• Diana Norman, writer, born 25 August 1933; died 27 January 2011