A Christmas surprise. A scandal in disguise.

1809. Eliza Courtney and Harryo Cavendish lead opposite lives, except for the secret that binds them.



Harryo’s life of luxury at Chatsworth House is shaken when pressure mounts on her to marry. A dreadful selection of suitors leaves her convinced that her late mother, the Duchess of Devonshire, was right: husbands are an incomparable nuisance. Meanwhile, Eliza can’t wait to marry and escape her lonely existence, as an unwanted orphan in her own well-to-do household.


But as the season begins, all matchmaking – eager or reluctant – is interrupted by rumours of a huge family secret. A secret daughter, in fact. Will Eliza be the last to know that she is the scandal everyone’s talking about?



This Christmas, romance lies around every corner. But another kind of love – sisterhood – might make this season one they’ll never forget…



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The Secret Sister is the second novel in Felicity York’s internationally renowned Stately Scandals series. Each novel unearths an incredible true story about the most rebellious women to have lived in the stately homes of 19th-century northern England. The first novel, The Runaway Bride: A Lyme Park Scandal, was published in March 2023. The third novel, The Quiet Wife: A Speke Hall Scandal, will be released in spring 2024.