The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh

First published in hardback as Kit.

An unforgettable historical romance based on an astonishing true story from international bestseller Marina Fiorato - perfect for fans of Poldark and The Scandalous Lady W.

Dublin 1702. Irish beauty Kit Kavanagh has everything she could want in life. Newly married, she runs a successful alehouse with her beloved husband Richard. The wars that rage in Europe over the Spanish throne seem a world away.

But everything changes on the night that Richard simply disappears. Finding the Queen's shilling at the bottom of Richard's tankard, Kit realizes that her husband has been taken for a soldier.

Kit follows Richard's trail across the battlefields of Italy in the Duke of Marlborough's regiment. Living as a man, risking her life in battle, she forms a close bond with her wry and handsome commanding officer Captain Ross.

When she is forced to flee the regiment following a duel, she evades capture by dressing once more as a woman. But the war is not over for Kit. Her beauty catches the eye of the scheming Duke of Ormonde, who recruits her to spy upon the French. In her finery she meets Captain Ross once again, who seems just as drawn to the woman as he was to the soldier.

Torn between Captain Ross and her loyalty to her husband, and under the orders of the English Crown, Kit finds that her life is in more danger now than on the battlefield.

“A great read”

Delightful... Our heroine is feisty, the captain is dashing and the plot rollicks along. Great fun. - Times

Wonderful . . . hard to put down. A truly imaginative piece, both touching and delightful. - Jenny Agutter

Richly detailed and evocative . . . an unforgettable historical love story. Beautifully written and worth losing yourself in. - Candis Magazine

In Marina Fiorato's beautifully imagined novel, these two witty, fierce characters once again get to take centre stage . . . Not only does she fill out the details of the protagonists' lives, transforming them into characters with backgrounds, histories and contexts, but she creates meaningful and inventive narratives that inform the play . . . this book is a real pleasure. - We Love this Book/Bookseller

Excellent, swashbuckling fun, with a perfectly judged ending - Daily Mail

Fiorato creates her own masterpiece - Booklist

Marina Fiorato is half-Venetian. She was born in Manchester and raised in the Yorkshire Dales. She is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she read for a master's degree in Shakespeare. After university she studied art and worked in the film and music industries, creating visuals for U2, The Rolling Stones and the Queen musical We Will Rock You. Her novels Daughter of Siena and Beatrice & Benedick were shortlisted for the Romantic Novelists' Association Historial Fiction Award. Marina was married on the Grand Canal and lives in north London with her husband, son and daughter. You can find out more about Marina and her writing at and follow her on Twitter @marinafiorato

First published in hardback as Kit . An unforgettable historical romance based on an astonishing true story from international bestseller Marina Fiorato - perfect for fans of Poldark and The Scandalous Lady W . Dublin 1702. Irish beauty Kit Kavanagh has everything she could want in life. Newly married, she runs a successful alehouse with her beloved husband Richard. The wars that rage in Europe over the Spanish throne seem a world away.But everything changes on the night that Richard simply disappears. Finding the Queen's shilling at the bottom of Richard's tankard, Kit realizes that her husband has been taken for a soldier.Kit follows Richard's trail across the battlefields of Italy in the Duke of Marlborough's regiment. Living as a man, risking her life in battle, she forms a close bond with her wry and handsome commanding officer Captain Ross. When she is forced to flee the regiment following a duel, she evades capture by dressing once more as a woman. But the war is not over for Kit. Her beauty catches the eye of the scheming Duke of Ormonde, who recruits her to spy upon the French. In her finery she meets Captain Ross once again, who seems just as drawn to the woman as he was to the soldier.Torn between Captain Ross and her loyalty to her husband, and under the orders of the English Crown, Kit finds that her life is in more danger now than on the battlefield.

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