The Motor Maid

Lys d'Angely is running from more than one kind of prison: the husband her family has chosen, the narrow future they envisioned for a woman of mixed French and American blood. So she does the only daring thing she can think of and boards a train to the French Riviera, armed with nothing but nerve and a talent for making tea. When her intended employer dies before she arrives, leaving her stranded in Cannes with no money and no friends, Lys must do what women in 1912 novels rarely get to do: improvise. She takes a position with the eccentric Lady Turnour and her motor car, navigating the absurdities of the wealthy, the snobberies of the upper class, and the open road itself. The early automobile becomes both escape vehicle and symbol: dangerous, exhilarating, utterly modern. Williamson writes with sharp wit and genuine warmth, crafting a heroine whose resilience feels less like period fiction virtue and more like plain survival instinct. For readers who want their adventure with humor, their independence with heart, and their period piece with genuine forward motion.