<b>The forgotten, unique and fascinating story of Australia's first and only duchess, from the bestselling author of <i>Sheila </i>and <i>Enid</i>.</b><br/><br/>When an unassuming young Melbourne woman bumped into a handsome naval lieutenant in a Colombo hotel swimming pool in 1926 she would never have dreamed of one day being the wife of an English duke with three castles.<br/> <br/>Demure but feisty Nell Stead and Alexander 'Mandy' Drogo Montagu, son of the ninth Duke of Manchester, fell in love that day and were married within months in a union that surprised English society. Together, the unlikely couple set out to rescue the family's fortunes that had been crippled by taxes and financial mismanagement.<br/><br/>In a world of contrasts, they battle the excesses and eccentricities of dubious relatives under the threat of war to revive a dying estate, including a castle in which Catherine of Aragon spent her final days.<br/> <br/>Nell's story is page-turning. The only Australian woman to ever join the British aristocracy as a duchess, her life is a wild ride through England, America and Kenya as the House of Montagu crumbles through four generations.