'Joan Aiken's invention seemed inexhaustible, her high spirits a blessing, her sheer storytelling zest a phenomenon. She was a literary treasure, and her books will continue to delight for many years to come.' Philip PullmanLonging to flout convention and spread her wings in Society, Ellen Paget accepts a position as a governess in Paris. Old family friend Benedict Masham has long carried a torch for Ellen and is naturally stunned when she makes her departure. But when family tragedy and a subsequent scandal force Ellen to return to London, Benedict's passion is reignited and he vows to express his love through unwavering help and support.Ellen will need to use all of her ingenuity and daring to solve the mysteries of the past and present and keep her family safe. But will she also find romance in a place she least expected?Praise for The Girl From Paris: 'The tale has echoes of both Charlotte and Emily Bronte, but the fast moving narrative and thoroughly modern sense of the ambiguities of character are all Miss Aiken’s own' Guardian'Joan Aiken blends elements of Villette, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy into a strong redemptive plot' Observer

She has the unmistakable whiff of success, In The Girl from Paris Joan Aiken blends elements of Villette, George Eliot and Thomas Hardy into a strong redemptive plot, One of those authentic storytellers who can make you gasp, Aiken fans will find this a lively smorgasbord of un-frilly period entanglements, with its feminist resonances, no-nonsense tone and offbeat panache, The Girl from Paris takes its heroine from an unhappy home to a pensionnat in Brussels, to the glittering home of the Comte de la Ferté in Paris. The tale has echoes of both Charlotte and Emily Brontë, but the fast-moving narrative and thoroughly modern sense of the ambiguities of character are all Miss Aiken’s own

Joan Aiken was born in Rye, Sussex in 1924, daughter of the American poet Conrad Aiken, and started writing herself at the age of five. Since the 1960s she wrote full time and published over 100 books. Best known for her children’s books such as The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Midnight is a Place, she also wrote extensively for adults and published many contemporary and historical novels, including sequels to novels by Jane Austen. In 1969 she won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize for The Whispering Mountain, followed by an Edgar Allan Poe award for Night Fall in 1972, and was awarded an MBE for her services to children’s literature in 1999.Joan Aiken died in 2004.