The Day of the Butterfly

Historically accurate, fast paced and very enjoyable. Daisy, 15, a simple country girl is soon turned away from her new position in Victorian London. Her May Day celebration in the street and her spirited defense of her pagan abandonment are offensive to her employer as are her supreme beauty and grace. In all innocence she enters a fashonable brothal in search of "a place to sleep." It is soon apparent to Madame Kitty that she has considerable talent and is employed as an entertainer with a new name "Hebe" (Goddess of youth and spring, cupbearer to the Olympian gods). But this is a tragedy... So it is her glory (her passionate nature) which is her undoing. Of course, one must remember that a tragedy may yet end well, or at least ambiguously. I expect this book will increase in reputation over time, although today it is relatively unrecognized.

This book is about Daisy, an extremely beautiful woman who finds herself out of work in London during the 1700s. By mistake she finds herself in Kitty's place, a reputable brothel. Unfortunately our heroine is not the brightest, and has no understanding of what is going on around her. She thinks that she is in a hotel! She is adventually rescued from her plight before her reputation is permanently damaged. She then bumbles from one distaster to another. This book is fun to read, and like all Norah Lofts books-relaxing. It isn't very taxing to read, but it is a great book anyhow. The only down side to the book is that the main female character, Daisy, is an idiot.