The Disgrace of Kitty Grey

Kitty lives a carefree life in the country, working as a dairymaid. She loves caring for the cows, working in the peaceful dairy, and spending her free time with handsome Will, the young river man, who she hopes will one day ask her to marry him. But then one day Will disappears without a word, leaving Kitty responsible for his small sister Betsy. Beginning to believe he did not truly care for her, she suspects he has gone to London to make his fortune, forgetting about her completely.

An unexpected chance to run an errand to London gives Kitty the chance to try and track down Will - but with no idea of how vast the city is, or how  careful must be, she is there for barely a few moments before a pickpocket has relieved her of all her money and belongings. With no means of returning home, she and Betsy are cast adrift on the unfamiliar streets of London. Alone and vulnerable, Kitty faces the prospect of turning to crime if they are going to survive.

Set in the time of Jane Austen, this unusual historical novel creates a vivid contrast between Kitty's happy country existence and the hardships of London poverty, taking in Newgate prison and the ships deporting prisoners to the New World along the way. With an engaging heroine in the naive, gentle yet courageous Kitty, and a thread of romance running throughout the story, young fans of historical fiction will be kept guessing about the final resolution of this gripping tale.