Shire Hell

Rachel Johnson

Contents ( 2)

Shire Hell

By the same author

The Oxford Myth (ed.)
The Mummy Diaries
Notting Hell

Shire Hell

RACHEL JOHNSON

PENGUIN BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group
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First published 2008
1

‘There’ll Always Be an England’ by Hugh Charles and Ross Parker
© 1939 (Renewed) Gordon V. Thompson Music
Worldwide print rights assigned to and controlled by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.
All rights reserved. Used by permission of Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events are the product of the author’s imagination.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

The moral right of the author has been asserted

All rights reserved
Without limiting the rights under copyright
reserved above, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
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978-0-14-191574-6

To my father, for everything

Cast of Characters

Mimi Fleming (née Malone): curly-haired former Notting Hill journalist, now full-time Dorset farmhouse-frau, who fights off continuous hunger with homemade scones, and perpetual cold with one of those green padded, poppered jerkins called a Husky, which she even wears in bed.

Ralph Fleming: passionate only about dry fly-fishing and wild trout, Ralph (pronounced Rafe) is a consultant in oil and gas and a pro at avoiding anyone that falls into the dread category of ‘New People’.

Mirabel Fleming: 13, sulky teen who thinks both her parents are, like, totally skanky and sad.

Casimir Fleming: 12, lives for cricket and Clarkson.

Posy Fleming: 9, collects free toiletries from hotels and believes in unicorns.

The Flemings live at Home Farm with Ana from Poland, the au pair girl, and Calypso, the dog.

Rose Musgrove: Honeyborne’s answer to Martha Stewart, with plans for her own heritage cheese, Rose has impeccable taste in everything House and Garden, wears Ralph Lauren tailored tweed and only slips up when it comes to choosing other people’s husbands.