The Marriage Recital — Katharine Grant

The setting: London, 1794.
The problem: Four nouveau riche fathers with five marriageable daughters.
The plan: Give the young women piano lessons. Present them at a concert performance for young Englishmen with titles but no fortunes. Marry off the daughters-very well, indeed.
The complications: The lascivious (and French) piano teacher; the piano maker's jealous (and musically gifted) daughter; marriageable daughters with mating plans of their own.

While it might be a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of a title and no money must be in want of a fortune, what does a sexually awakened young woman want? In her wickedly alluring romp through late-Georgian London, Italian piano-making, and tightly fitted polonaise gowns, Katharine Grant has written a startling and provocative debut.