By Laura Powell (author) , Sarah Gibb (illustrator) Part of the A Silver Service Mystery series
"In a nutshell: upstairs downstairs mystery with added magic"
Paperback Temporarily Out Of Stock £6.99 £6.29
View All Editions (1)
Pattern, lady’s maid and the central character in this excellent new series, is a heroine in the Jane Eyre mould: quiet, invisible to the outside world, but brave, fierce, clever. She needs all those qualities too to protect her mistress, the young Duchess of Elffinberg; the duchess is threatened not just by a dragon outside the castle, but by some of those on the inside, who she should really be able to trust. The two girls become friends, and the stage is set for a terrific story of courage, friendship, courtly intrigue and magic.
Detective series starring young women are very much in fashion and this will appeal to fans of Robin Stevens’s Murder Most Unladylike books, but readers should also look out Stephanie Burgis’s The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart , another spritely and inventive story of magic and intrigue.
Pattern is only thirteen, but is already rising through the ranks at Mrs Minchin's Academy of Domestic Servitude and seems destined for a life below stairs. But fate intervenes when she is packed off to the small and secretive Duchy of Elffinberg, to serve as lady's maid to the lately orphaned Grand Duchess.
Read the full description
Pattern's young new mistress is excitable and paranoid, yet despite their differences the two girls forge an unlikely friendship that quickly turns into a battle for survival. For picture-perfect Elffinberg hides an extremely dark and deadly secret ...
Armed only with her trusty sewing basket, a bottle of smelling salts and J. Bulcock's inestimable guide, The Duties of a Lady's Maid, Pattern will need all her wits and resourcefulness when dealing with above-stairs conspiracies and below-stairs intrigue. Darning stockings has never been so dangerous.
Laura Powel l, who may or may not be a direct descendant of King Arthur, was born in London, but grew up in the shadow of Carreg Cennen Castle in Wales. Much of her childhood was either spent with her nose firmly in a book, or plotting to escape her boarding school, which she hated. Having studied Classics at university, she now spends her time working for the English National Ballet and writing. She lives in Camberwell with her husband and young son.
the best books for 9-12 year olds
The Mystery of Raspberry Hill
Steve & FranDan Take on the World
Scorpia The Graphic Novel
Anthony Horowitz and 1 more
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Last Duchess and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
The Last Duchess features in the following genres: Crime & Mystery, Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Recommendations, Recommended Children's eBooks, Books Reviewed by our Reader Review Panels, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Paperback. £6.29, down from the £6.99 cover price. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
The Last Duchess was written by Laura Powell and published by Macmillan Children's Books an imprint of Pan Macmillan
The Last Duchess has 268 pages
Yes it is part of A Silver Service Mystery series
£6.29, reduced from £6.99. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
©PTC International Ltd T/A LoveReading is registered in England. Company number: 10193437. VAT number: 270 4538 09. Registered address: 157 Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3HP. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
The National Year of Reading starts here. Join thousands of families and schools supporting reading for pleasure across the UK.