Two sisters fight to assert themselves after being plunged into devastating poverty following their father's death. Luckily, their natural flair for design soon finds them in demand as dressmakers. Beatrice is the elder and apparently wiser of the two, who considers herself plain and unmarriageable and whose relationship with society photographer, Jack Maddox, is seared with conflict and doubt. Her younger sister is Evangeline, ravishingly beautiful, the victim of chancers, philanderers and rogues – but most of all the victim of her own desires. Throughout all their private turmoils, their professional goal is constant: to establish a fashion house in London to rival any in Paris. Based on the massively successful television series created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, this is the full story of Beatrice and Evangeline, and of the strength and triumph, bitterly made decisions and anguishes that accompanied the rise of the House of Eliott.

A Londoner by birth, Jean Marsh has spent most of her adult life in Oxfordshire and New York. She is best known for her Emmy-winning role as Rose Buck in Upstairs, Downstairs, which she co-created with Eileen Atkins, and in which she reappeared in the BBC's 2010 three-part remake of the series. She has acted in a wide variety of shows on stage, in film and television. Her performances have included works by Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen and Coward. Articles by Jean Marsh have appeared in the Sunday Times, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and the TV Times. She enjoys good food and walking.