Books by Frances Vernon

The Fall of Doctor Onslow (1994) was the sixth and final novel by Frances Vernon (1963-91). Published posthumously, it is perhaps her finest work. Set in 1858, it is the story of Dr George Onslow, reformist headmaster of a leading public school, who harbours private passions that are fated to be the death of his life's ambition.'A searing indictment of the process of education... The narrative is tersely written in a style that successfully captures Victorian restraint and its stifling sensibilities.' Ben Preston, The Times'A remarkable work, written with spirit and erudition... It is difficult to believe when reading it that the author was a child of our times and did not actually live in the middle of the last century: she recreates that world so vividly, with such understanding of its characters, such an ear for its speech, such feeling for its attitudes and taboos.' Jill Delay, Tablet

The Marquis of Westmarch (1989) was Frances Vernon's fifth novel, and perhaps her most original and richly imagined work, fit to stand comparison with Th,ophile Gautier's famous gender-bending historical romance Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835). Its protagonist is Meriel Longmaster, a handsome and well-liked nobleman who conceals a secret known only to the loyal steward who has known him since youth. Meriel begins to feel the need to confide that secret in another, while sensing, rightly, that this will have dire consequences.'A book which combines the narrative excitement of Georgette Heyer with the sexual premises of Germaine Greer ... a provocative and lively presentation of feminist issues.' Caroline Brandenburger, Independent 'A fantastic, haunting, and extremely well-written story of love and death.' Philippa Toomey, The Times

Gentleman and Players (1984) was the second novel by the prodigiously gifted Frances Vernon (1963-1991), and served confirmation of what the TLS called her 'highly original talent.' Three sisters make their purposeful ways through Victorian society. Sarah, the eldest, makes an ostensibly good marriage, but is given cause to reconsider. Sophie, the youngest, undergoes romantic travails of heartbreak and elopement. Susan, the practical middle child, dispenses wisdom from her perch in a rural rectory. But the objects of their affections are mere 'gentlemen', while the three Misses Pagett are assuredly 'players.' 'A delight... Cool, precise, amused and amusing... Frances Vernon should become a cult figure.' Robert Nye,Guardian 'An achievement of purposeful economy.' Victoria Glendinning, Sunday Times

Privileged Children, first published in 1982, was the brilliant debut fiction by the prodigiously gifted Frances Vernon (1963-1991), which earned her the Author's Club Award for Best First Novel. When Diana Molloy dies in 1912 she leaves a curious inheritance to her 14-year-old daughter Alice - her collection of books, and a lasting attachment to her mother's bohemian friends. The self-possessed young Alice is dismayed, therefore, to be packed off to live with a rural clergyman uncle. But it's not long before she contrives an escape back to her beloved Bloomsbury, and the opportunity to forge her own way in the world. 'Saucy and daring... here is genuine sparkle and invention.' Daily Express 'Highly enjoyable' Jenny Uglow, TLS

A Desirable Husband, first published in 1987, was the third novel by the prodigiously gifted Frances Vernon (1963-91). Finola Molloy - first introduced to readers as the daughter of the bohemian Alice in Vernon's acclaimed debutPrivileged Children (1982) - has grown up and married Gerard Parnell, barrister and heir to a Derbyshire estate. They are living happily in London with two small children when Gerard, quite unexpectedly, comes into his inheritance. And yet this gracious living - however fortunate it initially appears - will prove to be unexpectedly challenging to both partners in the marriage.'Frances Vernon is an absolute wonder.' Sunday Mirror'Subtle hints of Barbara Pym or Ivy Compton-Burnett.' The Lady

The Bohemian Girl (1988), Frances Vernon's fourth novel, transports us to 1890s London to meet the young Diana Blentham, whom Vernon first introduced to readers - as a celebrated grande horizontale - in the opening pages of her 1982 debut Privileged Children.Diana fears that the lot of an intelligent woman is to simply be married and never again open a book. Her father wonders - not incorrectly - if Diana's brains may lead her 'to some grave lapse in good behaviour'. So it comes to pass one day when, riding on her bicycle in Battersea Park, she knocks over a handsome Irish painter...'A pretty, witty little parable about Victorian values, and the hazards of being female and intelligent in a country as sexist and anti-intellectual as the United Kingdom... This romance has teeth... it bites the eternal issues of class, and sex, and freedom.' Philip Howard, The Times