Read by Wanda McCaddon

It is 1912, and at Cambridge University the modern age is knocking at the gate. In lecture halls and laboratories, the model of a universe governed by the mind of God is at last giving way to something wholly rational, a universe governed by the laws of physics. To junior fellow Fred Fairly, this comes as a great comfort. Science, he is certain, will soon explain everything. Mystery will be routed by reason, and the demands of the soul will be seen for what they are, a distraction and an illusion. Into Fred's orderly life comes Daisy, with a bang-literally. One moment the two are perfect strangers; the next, they are casualties of a freakish accident, occupants of the same warm bed. Fred has never been so close to a woman before, one so pretty, so plainspoken, and yet so mysterious. Is she a manifestation of chaos, or a sign of another kind of order? "Vibrant with wonderful characters, ablaze with ideas." "[A] love story and a novel of ideas…a blend of the hilarious, the out-of-kilter, and the intellectually and emotionally provocative…[Fitzgerald's] characters, as ever, are originals, and even the minor players are memorable." "Gilbert could have written this and Sullivan set it to music. It shows an Edwardian university at Cambridge at its eccentric best. There are so many characters that are a delight…Fitzgerald is the only author I know of who regularly gets reviews pleading her to write longer books." "Contains more wit, intelligence and feeling than many novels three times its length. It confirms Fitzgerald's place as one of the finest and most entertaining novelists writing in England today." "This is an achievement-a metaphysical novel which is entertaining, brief, and a love story. The book's shortness and sparseness, combined with the complexity of its concerns, is a miracle of technique." "Fitzgerald displays a grace and wit that put her on equal footing with such better-known peers as Muriel Spark…Fitzgerald's writing has a depth, resonance and delicacy that create a sense of genuine comedy rather than of farce." "Nadia May winks her way through this presentation with true storyteller's aplomb."

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