This charming, witty historical novel is set in the summer of 1838, when the young Victoria, scarcely older than the tale's narrator Fanny Harcourt, assumes the throne of England. Happily, the festivities do little to distract Fanny and her close friend Emily from more familiar concerns: infatuations and romantic misunderstandings, the rigors of matchmaking and courtship, and the web of acquaintances that circumscribe any social scene.