The Disgrace of Kitty Grey

Mary Hooper is fast becoming the go-to name for reliable and well-informed teen historical fiction. Her writing is always clear and concise with stories that seem to champion characters that may well be ordinarily overlooked. Set during the time of Austen, The Disgrace of Kitty Grey resists treading the same parlour rooms and manor house balls as Lizzie Bennett and co. for the more unusual tale of the trials and tribulations of an unfortunate milkmaid. Young Kitty is quite dedicated to her friendly Friesians and only agrees to go to London to pick up the latest Austen novel in the hope of seeing her sweetheart, Will. A series of incredibly unfortunate events see Kitty instantly ruined and the tragic days that follow lead her to a place that couldn’t be further from her green pastures of Devonshire. This is a quick and easy read, packed with genuinely interesting information on the period, that never feels weighed down by the amount of meticulously detailed research it so clearly requires. Mary Hooper’s books should be in every secondary school library in the country.