Laugh if you will, but Sarah, Duchess of York’s new book will be a hit Melanie McDonagh
A Heart for a Compass, based partly on the life of a distant relative - with prose so ripe a colleague honestly thought it was a cruel parody by Craig Brown - will appear in August and already she s starting work on the next. I have long held a passion for historical research and telling the stories of strong women in history through film and television, she declared this week. I am proud to bring my personal brand of historical fiction to the publishing world. She does however make clear her debt to her collaborator and mentor , Marguerite Kay, author of no fewer than 50 books for the imprint, who helped with the work and can, perhaps take credit for Lord Rufus Ponsonby s distinctive diction:
247 shares With real historical events and facts to hand, my imagination took over. I invented a history for her that incorporated real people and events, including some of my other ancestors.
Sarah Ferguson (pictured), 61, told how she invented a history for Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott that incorporated real people and events
A special edition box of Milk Tray chocolates released to mark Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew s wedding in 1986
EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM HER HEART FOR A COMPASS
Montagu House, London, Wednesday, July 19, 1865.
‘Ah, there you are! It’s fast approaching midnight, my dear.’
Lord Rufus Ponsonby, the Earl of Killin, was considered by most to be a presentable-looking man.