Peaches and the Queen

Presenting a never-before-published, holiday short story from Regency author Edith Layton! Christmas is coming to Victorian London. A poor boy living with his milliner sister in a marginal part of town discovers his cat is missing. His old dog can’t live without the cat, so he searches—and hears that the Queen has kidnapped his cat! Queen Victoria’s favorite moggie strayed, and her minions scooped up the wrong cat—or so the boy and his sister think. This Christmas novella tells how an earnest young Beefeater, his world-weary superior, and one of the wiliest criminals in London each try to find the right cat without disturbing the old queen, win the boy’s cat back—and woo the pretty sister—before the Queen leaves London for her Christmas holiday. From the servants at the palace and the Queen’s own chambers, to Billingsgate and the mudlarks’ favorite taverns, the adventures are many among the high- and low-life of Victorian London.

Edith Layton (1938-2009) grew up in Queens, New York, and began writing when she was ten years old. She worked as a freelance writer for newspapers and magazines before publishing her first novel, THE DUKE'S WAGER, with Signet/NAL. She won numerous awards, starting in 1984 with The Romantic Times Award for Best New Regency Author and The Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award: Best New Regency Author. She went on to publish over 30 novels and many more short stories. Much of her out-of-print backlist is being reissued by Untreed Reads, as well as never-before-published titles that will be coming soon. Edith Layton also published under her married name, Edith Felber. She was married for over 35 years to her physician husband, Dr. Norbert Felber, and produced three loving children, one of whom is writing this bio...