Life is not easy for the poor relations of England's upper crust. Periodically they are dusted off and conveyed to some relative's stately home, where they make themselves inconspicuous, hoping the regular meals will last as long as possible. Desperate to keep up appearances, these unfortunates keep their misery to themselves, until one momentous day when Lady Fortescue meets Colonel Sandhurst in Hyde Park. Upon seeing the Colonel's tattered yet dignified...

Lovely, wealthy, and well bred, Clarissa Vevian has been unable to find a suitable husband because of her terrible clumsiness. Her petite and fastidious mother, the Lady Clarendon, has tried to mold Clarissa into a dainty miss to fit the fashion--but until the fashions fit tall Clarissa, her mother's efforts are doomed to failure. Enter Amy and Effy Tribble, chaperones-for-hire, who have seen three charges through the perils of three Seasons and into...