The Little Nugget

The novel follows the tangled efforts of several well-meaning but bumbling individuals to manage the fate of a much-pampered young boy who is at the center of custody and social manoeuvring. A determined mother, anxious relatives and acquaintances, and opportunistic friends improvise schemes involving portraits, voyages and social outings as they plot to secure his presence and future. Episodes of mistaken plans, clandestine arrangements and genteel deception produce a comic sequence of misunderstandings, romantic entanglements and satirical observations on wealth, manners and social ambition. The narrative unfolds in episodic scenes that combine farce with affectionate characterisation.