The 27th Kingdom by Alice Thomas Ellis

The Roman Catholic Russian ancestors of Aunt Irene, the central character in Alice Thomas Ellis's new novel, were persecuted and forced to flee to the Ukraine, Lithuania, Austria or as the story-tellers would have it, across 27 lands and 30 countries until they came to the 27th Kingdom. For the good, kind and infinitely friendly Aunt Irene, her handsome but wicked nephew, Kyril, and Focus, a cat of alarming intelligence, this is Dancing Master House, a minute dwelling in the Chelsea. Two gossips, Mrs. O'Connor and Mrs. Mason, one dead common with criminal connections, the other an impoverished lady of the upper classes, clean for and take care of the needs of Aunt Irene and Kyril. From Wales, Irene's sister, the Mother Superior, sends Valentine, a beautiful, young West Indian postulant, ostensibly to test her vocation but really because of the embarrassing discovery that Valentine has miraculous powers. The story runs between angels and demons in a style which epitomizes the refreshing eccentricities of English humor. This copy has a tear on the back cover; otherwise in fair condition. This 1982 Penguin Books Ltd Paperback is in fair condition.

ISBN: 9780140067040 SKU: 1047544 This image is of the actual book.

Location: Fiction