Inventors

An iridescent jewel of a novel that proves love is the mother of invention In the early 1800s, a young Italian contessa, Carolina Fantoni, realizes she is going blind shortly before she marries the town's most sought-after bachelor. Her parents don't believe her, nor does her fiancé. The only one who understands is the eccentric local inventor and her longtime companion, Turri. When her eyesight dims forever, Carolina can no longer see her beloved lake or the rich hues of her own dresses. But as darkness erases her world, she discovers one place she can still see-in her dreams. Carolina creates a vivid dreaming life, in which she can not only see, but also fly, exploring lands she had never known. Desperate to communicate with Carolina, Turri invents a peculiar machine for the world's first typewriter. His gift ignites a passionate love affair that will change both of their lives forever. Based on the true story of a nineteenth-century inventor and his innovative contraption, The Blind Contessa's New Machine is an enchanting confection of love and the triumph of the imagination.

London 1884. Electricity pioneer Simon Borthwick lights up Victorian London with a stunning illuminations display – then shoots himself in a hansom cab. Plucky Fleet Street reporter Penny Green witnesses the inventor’s death and suspects the clue to his suicide lies in a mysterious letter he left behind. But can she persuade Inspector James Blakely of Scotland Yard that a crime has been committed? Borthwick isn’t the only person who died that day and Penny soon encounters a shadowy world which the police can’t get close to. When the intimidation begins, Penny starts to fear for her own safety. James does what he can to protect her, but is it enough? For fans of classic murder mysteries! The books in the Penny Green Series can be read in any order.