Virago Modern Classics

''She was . . . marvellous'' GUARDIAN

''I admired many authors. But Molly, I loved'' DIANA ATHILL

''Keane''s distinctive blend of elegant savagery and deep affection'' EVENING STANDARD

Prudence, at nineteen, is reckless, laughing, wild; the despair of her elderly guardians. With her best friend, the subversive but very female Peter, she rackets round the Irish countryside among her beloved horses and dogs. But she feels betrayed by Peter''s growing interest in the new Master of Hounds, ''Saxon'' Major Anthony Countless. And what is Prudence to make of handsome Toby Sage, neighbour, huntsman and accredited flirt? Or of an inexplicable haunting?

First published in 1928. This high-spirited novel with its subtle erotic undercurrents, is a glorious story of a ramshackle, tolerant society and of Prudence''s turbulent coming of age.