Oh, good afternoon mistress, it's you. How delightful to see you again. Which book will you choose I wonder? You can see I have quite a few on my lovely shelves, but might I suggest these? You can see I have marked one of them at the top right with a slip of paper so I can find it easily. The other lies open at the bottom of the shelf, for as you can see I have just finished copying it especially for you. That was quite a labour of love I can tell you.
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| Painting by Giuseppe Crespi, 1665 -1737 |
What? You prefer a new-fangled typed version? Well I'm only too happy to oblige, but for that you will have to contact my apprentice Joseph Amazon. He is only a click away in the dusty warehouse. Last time I saw him he was trying to sort out a mountain of unsold books. I hope he manages to sell a few sometime, otherwise I fear the moths will eat the bindings and spidery cobwebs will glue them forever to the shelves.
If you are still a little uncertain about your choice, can I suggest you use the magic lantern device below which might tempt you with its live action tale of two sisters on the run in the gilded mansions and poor hovels of old London. This book has been a very popular choice amonst young ladies visiting my shop, second only to 'The Gentlewoman's Guide to Snaring a Man.' In fact many have said that they found it so thrilling they had to be revived with a nip of smelling salts by their worried husbands.
A spellbinding historical novel of beauty and greed and surprising redemption.
England, 1660. Ella Appleby believes she is destined for better things than slaving as a housemaid and dodging the blows of her drunken father. When her employer dies suddenly, she seizes her chance--taking his valuables and fleeing the countryside with her sister for the golden prospects of London. But London may not be the promised land she expects. Work is hard to find, until Ella takes up with a dashing and dubious gentleman with ties to the London underworld. Meanwhile, her old employer's twin brother is in hot pursuit of the sisters.
Set in a London of atmospheric coffee houses, gilded mansions, and shady pawnshops hidden from rich men's view, Deborah Swift's The Gilded Lily is a dazzling novel of historical adventure.
You like it? That's splendid. By strange coincidence the book is on special offer at the moment, so hurry on over to the warehouse where Master Amazon will be pleased to deliver a copy of The Gilded Lily direct to your address. Now that's what I call service.
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Many thanks for stopping by my humble bookstore and I hope to have the pleasure of serving you again in the near future. What's that? Oh yes, I'll send The Gentlewoman's Guide to Snaring a Man along with it. A plain brown wrapper? Certainly madam.
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