Ten-year-old orphan Maria lives in her ancestors' crumbling mansion, with warm-hearted Cook and the eccentric Professor as her only friends. Exploring the grounds one day, Maria discovers a wild, half-forgotten island in the middle of a neglected lake - and an extraordinary secret. For the island is home to a community of tiny people - the Lilliputians that Gulliver first met on his famous travels. But as Maria grows closer to her new friends, her own life is in grave danger. Her wicked governess and the cruel vicar are plotting to steal her rightful inheritance - and they will stop at nothing. How can Maria keep the Lilliputians safe, while protecting herself? A timeless classic from the author of The Sword in the Stone, with an introduction by Anne Fine.

If you love Bridgerton, you'll love Georgette Heyer! 'The greatest writer who ever lived' Antonia Fraser '[My] generation's Julia Quinn' Adjoa Andoh, star of Bridgerton 'A rollicking good read that will be of particular joy to Bridgerton viewers ... the permanent glister of scandal [...] ties the whole thing together' Independent ______________ Abigail Wendover has no time for love. She is far too busy protecting her niece, who has fallen madly in love with a suspected fortune-hunter. But her efforts become vastly more complicated with the arrival of Miles Calverleigh, the black sheep of his family - a reckless bachelor with a scandalous past. Abby soon discovers that, despite successfully managing her niece's love life, she has far less control over her own unruly heart. ______________ Readers love Black Sheep ... ***** 'Witty and laugh out loud funny... Black Sheep is priceless.' ***** 'I highly recommend this to everyone, even if regency isn't your thing.' ***** 'Absolutely wonderful!!!' ***** '6-stars. My favourite along with Faro's Daughter.' ***** 'This is one of my favourite Heyer's.' ______________ 'One of my perennial comfort authors. Heyer's books are as incisively witty and quietly subversive as any of Jane Austen's' Joanne Harris 'Elegant, witty and rapturously romantic' KATIE FFORDE 'Utterly delightful' GUARDIAN 'Absolutely delicious tales of Regency heroes. . . Utter, immersive escapism' SOPHIE KINSELLA 'Georgette Heyer's Regency romances brim with elegance, wit and historical accuracy, and this is one of her finest and most entertaining ... Escapism of the highest order' DAILY MAIL 'If you haven't read Georgette Heyer yet, what a treat you have in store!' HARRIET EVANS

Maria is ten years old, and lives in a gigantic house, or rather palace, in rural England, which is gradually collapsing: its name is Malplaquet. She is an orphan, and has a guardian, Mr. Hater, and a governess, Miss Brown, neither of them easy to get along with.

Ten-year-old Maria, an orphan living on a crumbling English estate and mistreated by her guardians, meets the descendants of the Lilliputians on an overgrown island and they discover ways to help each other.