County Chronicle

''You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own'' New York TimesThe county of Barsetshire is aflutter with preparations. With the wedding of Lucy Marling and Sam Adams fast approaching, and Lucy''s brother Oliver brooding over his ill-fated tendre for glamorous Jessica Dean, Mrs Marling calls for reinforcements. Help arrives in the form of charming writer Isabel Dale, still mourning the loss of her fiancé on D-Day - and in need of her own fresh start. Meanwhile, social barriers are crumbling at Omnium Castle, where theatrical rehearsals are bringing together the newly married Brandons and the impoverished Duke''s children, Lady Cora and Lord Silverbridge. The stage is set for a season of new alliances, old friends and second chances.A sparkling and deeply affectionate portrait of post-war England, County Chronicle follows The Old Bank House in Angela Thirkell''s beloved Barsetshire series.