Park Lane

London, 1914. Two young women dream of breaking free from tradition and obligation; they know that suffragettes are on the march and that war looms, but at 35 Park Lane, Lady Masters, head of a dying industrial dynasty, insists that life is about service and duty.

Below stairs, housemaid Grace Campbell is struggling. Her family in Carlisle believes she is a high earning secretary, but she has barely managed to get work in service - something she keeps even from her adored brother. Asked to send home more money than she earns, Grace is in trouble.

As third housemaid she waits on Miss Beatrice, the youngest daughter of the house, who, fatigued with the social season, is increasingly drawn into Mrs Pankhurst's captivating underground world of militant suffragettes. Soon Bea is playing a dangerous game that will throw her in the path of a man her mother wouldn't let through the front door.

Then war comes and it is not just their secrets - now on a collision course - that will change their lives for good.

Brilliantly capturing a deeply fascinating period of British life in which the normal boundaries of behaviour were overturned and the social hierarchy could no longer be taken for granted, PARK LANE is as gripping and intense as Frances Osborne's number one bestselling THE BOLTER.

Born in London in 1969, Frances Osborne worked as a barrister, investment research analyst and journalist before writing her first book, Lilla's Feast. She is married to George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. This is her first novel.

'Osborne empathises so well with singular women, outsiders. She is true to their fears and motivation, portraying them with honesty . . . Defter than a comedy of manners . . . Osborne echoes the refrains of Henry James and Edith Wharton, creating an air of geniality, even gentle comedy, to conceal intrigue and darkness' Richard Ryder, Spectator London, 1914. War looms, suffragettes are on the march and two young women at 35 Park Lane dream of breaking free. Below stairs, housemaid Grace Campbell is struggling. Her family believe she is a secretary, and asked to send home more money than she earns, Grace is in trouble. Meanwhile Miss Beatrice, daughter of the house, is fatigued with the social season. The call of Mrs Pankhurst's captivating world of militant suffragettes means Bea is soon playing a dangerous game that will throw her in the path of a man her mother wouldn't let through the front door. Then war comes and it is not just their secrets - now on a collision course - that will change their lives for good. 'Osborne brings the dynamics of the suffragette movement to vivid life' Elena Seymenliyska, Daily Telegraph 'A pacey page-turner . . . An entertaining reminder of how hard women fought to be heard both politically and in their private lives' Easy Living

London, 1914. Two young women dream of breaking free from tradition and obligation; they know that suffragettes are on the march and that war looms, but at 35 Park Lane, Lady Masters, head of a dying industrial dynasty, insists that life is about service and duty.Below stairs, housemaid Grace Campbell is struggling. Her family in Carlisle believes she is a high earning secretary, but she has barely managed to get work in service - something she keeps even from her adored brother. Asked to send home more money than she earns, Grace is in trouble.As third housemaid she waits on Miss Beatrice, the youngest daughter of the house, who, fatigued with the social season, is increasingly drawn into Mrs Pankhurst's captivating underground world of militant suffragettes. Soon Bea is playing a dangerous game that will throw her in the path of a man her mother wouldn't let through the front door.Then war comes and it is not just their secrets - now on a collision course - that will change their lives for good.Brilliantly capturing a deeply fascinating period of British life in which the normal boundaries of behaviour were overturned and the social hierarchy could no longer be taken for granted, PARK LANE is as gripping and intense as Frances Osborne's number one bestselling THE BOLTER.

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