Valentine Grey

'Teasing out untold stories of the battlefield and of gay history . . . follows in the footsteps of the likes of Sarah Waters and Pat Barker' Lucy Scholes, Independent

London, 1897. A young girl, Valentine Grey, arrives in England from the sunnier climes of India. She finds the damp and cold country insufferable and the only bright spot is her exciting cousin, Reggie. He and his lover, Frank, seek out adventure in the clandestine bars and streets of London, and are happy to include Valentine in their secret.

And then comes the Boer War. But it won't be Reggie who is part of the Volunteer Regiment; he stays in London while Valentine takes her chance, puts on her cousin's uniform and heads off to war. And for a while it's glorious and liberating for them both -- but not for long . . .

'Toksvig's warm characterisation drives the narrative, especially when set against her droll yet richly detailed evocation of an unedifying period of modern history' Lucy Beresford, Sunday Telegraph