Pomfret Towers, Barsetshire seat of the earls of Pomfret, was constructed, with
great pomp and want of concern for creature comforts, in the once-fashionable st
yle of Sir Gilbert Scott's St Pancras station. It makes a grand setting for a ho
use party at which gamine Alice Barton and her brother Guy are honoured guests,
mixing with the headstrong Rivers family, the tally-ho Wicklows and, most charmi
ng of all, Giles Foster, nephew and heir of the present Lord Pomfret. But whose
hand will Mr Foster seek in marriage, and who will win Alice's tender heart? Ang
ela Thirkell's classic 1930s comedy is lively, witty and deliciously diverting.
