This author draws inspiration from the enduring appeal of classic literature, reimagining its romantic ideals and social conventions for a contemporary audience. Her writing is imbued with a love for the atmospheric fog and vibrant houses of her San Francisco upbringing, influenced by her artist mother and architect father. She delights in imagining how beloved literary characters might navigate the modern world, blending wit with a keen observation of human nature. Her work explores themes of personal growth and identity, characterized by a distinctive voice that playfully engages with both literary history and everyday life.
Ella feels invisible at Willing School, content with her friends and her passion for art, especially her admiration for 19th-century painter Edward Willing. However, her crush on popular student Alex Bainbridge complicates things, especially as he becomes her French tutor. Can she find happiness with him while remaining unnoticed?
Sixteen-year-old Catherine Vernon has been stranded in London for the summer-no friends, no ex-boyfriend Adam the Scum (good riddance!), and absolutely nothing to do but blog about her misery to her friends back home. Desperate for something-anything-to do in London while her (s)mother's off researching boring historical things, Cat starts reading the 1815 diary of Katherine Percival her mom gives her-and finds the similarities between their lives to be oddly close. But where Katherine has the whirls of the society, the parties and the gossip over who is engaged to who, Cat's only got some really excellent English chocolate. Then she meets William Percival-the uber-hot descendant of Katherine-and things start looking up . . .