Product Description

Diana Foxton has it all. Rich, British and beautiful she is married to the head of a publishing empire and fills her days with lunches, interior decorating and clothes shopping. Never out of the society pages, she hosts the most talked about parties in Manhattan and makes being the perfect wife an art form. Then she discovers her husband is having an affair, her glamorous bubble is burst and she finds herself without any money or any qualifications, shunned by the glittering society that once embraced her. Alone for the first time, she takes the only job she can get, and settles awkwardly into a very different life. But can she make it on her own? And why does her new boss, the handsome Michael Cicero, take so much pleasure in watching her struggle?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127215 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Diana Verity thinks she is set for life when she marries Ernie Foxton in Louise Bagshawe's A Kept Woman. She is a beautiful society girl who doesn't want to concern herself with anything more taxing than the contents of the latest Prada collection or the best place in town to get a leg wax or manicure. Ernie, on the other hand, is an East End boy made good, and what he lacks in charm and social graces, he more than makes up for with a healthy bank balance.

Together they move to New York to start their married life together: Diana busies herself with throwing lavish parties, becoming the most glittering jewel on the Manhattan social circuit, while Ernie finds his own pleasure--sacking swathes of people from their jobs at Blakeley's, the publishing house he has recently taken over. Never happier than when plotting a business rival's downfall, Ernie finds a suitable target in Michael Cicero, a handsome native New Yorker who has single-handedly built up his own small children's publishing company from scratch. The reader wonders whether Michael will realise Ernie's business dealings are less than scrupulous in time and whether Diana will remain content in her loveless but lucrative marriage.

Packed with passion, society parties and platinum card shopping sprees, fans of Louise Bagshawe will no doubt enjoy this tale of love, lust and boardroom intrigue. --Emily Lowson

About the Author
Bestselling author Louise Bagshawe published her first novel, CAREER GIRLS, while still in her early twenties. She has since written five novels, all available from Orion. She lives with her husband in New York.

Customer Reviews

Bagshawe goes back to what she's best at
Louise Bagshawe is a great young Chick Lit novelist who was around long before the twentysomething female writer was fashionable. The good result of this is that she doesn't write first-person, wingeing, I'm-on-a-diet drivel. Her first 3 books were sexy bonkbusters in an 80s tradition, though the heroines were young and 90s in their tastes and sympathies. Then she did 'Venus Envy' - her go at a Bridget Jones-style girl-about-town book, but thankfully here she has gone back to her traditional roots and produced another blockbuster.

The book reminded me very much of her brilliant first novel, 'Career Girls.' The plot is fast-paced, the heroine is gorgeous and she falls for the classic Bagshawe hero - he is dark, handsome, magnetic, powerful and dominating. The chemistry between them simply sizzles, though Bagshawe, perhaps responding to a few criticisms of her earlier work, has reduced her sex scenes to 3 per book (rather than the 30 or so you get in her early work). Also woven into the plot is a gripping read about publishing politics and business board-room cliff-hangers.

The book somehow isn't quite as sparky or energetic as 'Career Girls'. Her style has matured but it has also become more subdued and her pace slower. Even so, it's still a great read. What shines out is the author's ability to draw you in and keep you turning pages - she is utterly addictive.

Wonderful entertainment
Pure escapism and simply wonderful entertainment. I found it hard to put this down. Feel the quality of the silk designer suits, smell the rich vanilla coffee, experience the shock and desire of our heroine and catch yourself drooling over the leading man. 'A Kept Woman' is like a fragrant bubble bath that you don't want to get out of... indulgent and fun.

A tantalising tale of glamour, sex, money and Manhattan
Fantastic! When I finished reading this book it was one of those rare times when I wished I hadn't even started it yet so I could read it again without knowing just how much of a treat was in store. Diana Foxton is a fascinating character; her nasty, evil husband Ernie is about as villainous as they come and Michael Cicero is a real hero. Delicious decadence, loads of money, lust, love, ambition, success, good vs evil... Three cheers for a rollicking good read. I have thoroughly enjoyed the indulgence of reading all of Louise Bagshawe's novels. Reading them is like eating lots of yummy food and drinking lots of champagne and girlie drinks without being sick, getting spots or a hangover, or piling on the pounds. Another cheer!