title: Kept: A Novel
author: D. J. Taylor
description: &#8220;...a genuinely fascinating reading experience&#8230;a powerful contribution to the changing practice of historical fiction.&#8221; (Philippa Gregory, Sunday Times (London))<br /><br />&#8220;A tour-de-force in the style of Dickens. The eccentrics and Victoriana are&#8230;captivating.&#8221; (Kirkus Reviews)<br /><br />&#8220;Intriguing.&#8221; (Charlotte Observer)<br /><br />&#8220;Taylor has captured the essence of the Victorian novel and weaves it through his gripping narrative.&#8221; (Library Journal)<br /><br />&#8220;A gripping tale, crafted with passion and intelligence, and an honorable addendum to the golden age of the English novel.&#8221; (Simon Baker, New Statesman)<br /><br />&#8220;A smartly satisfying novel&#8230;Intricate and vividly realized&#8230;a pin-sharp recreation of 19th century life....a playful reimagining of history&#8221; (Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, Telegraph)<br /><br />&#8220;Kept is a great read. It intrigues, diverts and delights. It is clever and intricate and huge fun.&#8221; (Susan Hill, Guardian)<br /><br />&#8220;It is unlikely that many such offerings will equal, let alone surpass, D.J. Taylor&#8217;s Kept&#8221; (Francis King, Literary Review)<br /><br />&#8220;A marvel of intricacy and ingenuity. Dickens and his peers would surely have approved.&#8221; (Washington Times)
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2014 JS Taylor.
  
  All rights reserved.
  
  Devoted Books
  
  35 Cambridge Road, Hove
  
  www.devoted-ebooks.com
  
  First Edition December 2014
  
  The characters in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons,
  living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
  
  ISBN 10:
  
  
  1482084007
  
  ISBN 13: 9781482084009
  
  Printed in the United Kingdom
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Joanna Taylor
  
  
  is a best-selling cross-category author, who has sold over 150,000 books
  writing as JS Taylor. She teams fiction writing with a successful and award-
  winning journalism career, working for
  
  
  The Times
  
  
  and the
  
  
  Mirror
  
  
  in London. Her first adult romance,
  
  
  Close Up and Personal, became an Amazon bestseller, and JS ranks in the top
  ten adult-romance writers on Amazon.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chapter 1
  
  I wake to a hammering on the door, and a sinking feeling.
  
  I’m still wearing my corset, stockings and shift. Though I did at least heave
  off my great dress, before dropping into exhausted oblivion this mo