October the 16th, 1789
 
‘I shall never forget that day. I shall never forget the decision I made.
 
I was seventeen and so ill prepared for life that I hardly knew how to dress myself, let alone how to board a mail coach or purchase a loaf of bread.  When I fled my home at Melmouth Park, I left those who both loved and hated me behind. I threw myself upon the world, dear reader – and see what trouble has come of that.
 
Do read my tale closely, for the warnings of your mamma and your governess were correct; there is much to be learned from a woman of my sort. I fell for every snare and trick of fate, so that you might not.
 
My tale is not for the faint of heart – the prude, the high-minded and moral are likely to take offence, so prepare yourself. You have heard the lies and slander from others. Prepare now to hear the truth’.
 
Set during a period of revolution and turmoil, Mistress of My Fate is the first book in the series, The Confessions of Henrietta Lightfoot. In her candid and eye-brow raising memoirs, Henrietta reminisces about her youth and seeks to set the record straight about the events that shaped her into the woman she became.