Between the amorous antique dealer Humphrey and his good-looking nephew James glides the magnificent Leonora, delicate as porcelain, cool as ice. Can she keep James in her thrall? Or will he be taken from her by a lover, like Phoebe ...or Ned, the wicked American? 'A highly distinctive and - ultimately - charitable novel' - "Financial Times". 'Faultless' - "Guardian". 'Her Characters are all meticulously impaled on the delicate pins of a wit that is as scrupulous as it is deadly' - "Observer". 'A coldly funny book' - "Sunday Telegraph". 'Highly distinctive ...the critics who have recently insisted on Miss Pym's too long neglected gifts have not been wrong' - "Financial Times".