A “Sunday Times bestseller” is highlighted at the bottom. “A wildly funny novel” is prominent elsewhere.

But did they apply this to the wrong book? For this was neither wildly nor funny in any sense. It will be the very top of my list to give away to a Jumble sale.

A story of the old wealth and upper classes divisions in the UK, it seemed to try to sway me that all was ok with the typical English social games. Neither that nor the lack of sympathy for any of the characters went to make this a “must read” book. Indeed, I would further add that I won’t read anything by the author again.

That was Snobs and now onto the second Kate Mosse book for this summer – The Mistletoe Bride – a selection of short stories by her.