“At the age of seven I was a skilful pickpocket. I could sew neatly, write a tolerable hand, make a curtsey and a correct introduction, dance a little and play simple tunes on the harpsichord.”

This was the London life of Felicity Hatton in 1740 – until chance sent her back to the House, first as a pauper, later to become its mistress – a strange eccentric mistress whose choice of husband was as unorthodox as her manner of living.

The House at Sunset is the last volume of Norah Lofts’ famous House Trilogy, and traces the fortunes of the men and woman who lived through Georgian, Victorian, and New Elizabethan eras.