Fixing Shadows

Book excerpt: Picture the scene: a stormy evening in the 1870s. A hush descends at Fainhope Hall as the duchess goes into labour - will she be delivered of a male baby who will continue the Fainhope line? A boy is indeed born to the duchess, but a sickly one - and on that night, in an attic bedroom, an illegitimate, but healthy son is also born to the governess. Only four people are party to this secret, and to the duchess's shocking decision, which will shape all their destinies. FIXING SHADOWS is a novel about the twilight of the aristocracy, the birth of photography and the unstoppable rise of London, with an unforgettable cast of scheming aristos, gossiping servants and cockneys with hearts of gold.