Polly

She was a bewitching young girl, that pretty Polly Marsh, and she knew it. She also knew that beauty could be her passport into the castles where she had always known she belonged. So she set her sights on a duke and joined the firm of Westerman's as a stenographer. Surely one of that noble family would notice her, and then all her dreams would come true! The trouble with pretty Polly Marsh was that she just didn't know her place. But others did—and were only too happy to remind her that dashing Lord Peter was merely playing at love when he appeared to be paying her court. The duchess was beside herself. Peter's brother, the starchy Marquis of Wollerton, was desperate to pry Peter from Polly's side. But Polly was determined to have Peter—and her dream. Peter wouldn't betray her, would he?

In this whirlwind series, M. C. Beaton brings us spirited, independent women who are at once bewitching, beguiling, and determined to have their say and make their mark on both their world and the world at large, be it within their social circle or extending beyond. With their arms wide open, these women are absolutely original and unforgettable, as are the tales in which they are featured. Here is life, in all of its folly and foibles, in a dizzying place where dreams are both shattered and made.