Set in the 1800s, an extraordinary novel about Robin Wooton who decides to create the perfect wife by "educating" two foundling girls, selecting the one that conforms to his Rousseauian ideals to be his bride. However, he is slow to make his choice, while the girls compete for him with increasingly desperate rivalry. McCaughrean brings 1790s England vividly to life, her unique humour and powers of characterisation evoking a hardyesque back drop to a timeless drama.