A Most Ineligible Suitor
Florence, Italy, 1897. Wealthy debutante Marjorie Mayweather arrives at Pensione Ferretti ready for a sunny Italian vacation away from England. Right away Marjorie befriends the handsome, moustached Captain Edward Grainger. He accompanies her as she and her companions explore Piazzale Michelangelo with its spectacular panorama of Florence and the church of San Miniato al Monte. She finds Grainger alluring and mysterious, yet he is below her in class. Her peer, the lively Frederick Clive-Bickerton, pursues her also, yet he offends by taking her to a strange wine bar after the opera. He leaves her there, causing her to pay for two glasses of wine with a ring he had given her.
The romance and mystery deepen with numerous twists and turns as we find out Grainger’s real role and his pursuit of the thief with international repercussions. Author Sarah Richmond deftly handles the historical backdrop of Florence and the tension-filled relationship between Marjorie and Edward. The series of red herrings keeps us guessing until the last page of the novel when the real thief is revealed. A compelling romance, especially for lovers of Italy.
