The Smart

The Smart is a true drama of eighteenth-century life with a mercurial mysterious heroine. Caroline is a young Irishwoman who runs off to marry a soldier comes to London and slides into a glamorous life as a high-class prostitute a great risk-taker possessing a mesmerising appeal. In the early 1770s she becomes involved with the intriguing Perreau twins identical in looks but opposite in character one a sober merchant the other a raffish gambler. They begin forging bonds living in increasing luxury until everything collapses like a house of cards - and forgery is a capital offence. A brilliantly researched and marvellously evocative history The Smart is full of the life of London streets and shots through with enduring themes - sex money death and fame. It bridges the gap between aristocracy and underworld as eighteenth-century society is drawn into the most scandalous financial sting of the age.