You're a Doll, Daisy!

by Abigail Ted

Her present is a comedy. Her past is a tragedy.

When Daisy’s affair with her adult stepson, Tom, results in an unexpected pregnancy, it isn’t long before her vengeful old husband shortly discovers the truth. To save her lover from the brutal wrath of his father, Daisy claims another man is to blame: Tom’s libertine cousin, Captain Fielding.

Poor pregnant Daisy is carted off to be held prisoner by her violent husband; Tom and Captain Fielding join forces with Daisy’s only living relative, her younger brother, to save the damsel in distress.

Insight into her tragic and entwined childhood with Tom explains why Daisy married the evil old man though she has loved his son unwaveringly since they were children. Unsettling layers of an unspeakably unhappy past fall away to reveal a felicitous future.

A humorous, happy-ending adventure story that confronts readers with a resurfaced gothic and sinister childhood. ‘You’re a Doll, Daisy!’ is inspired by the unmatchable satire of Henry Fielding’s masterpiece, ‘Tom Jones’ and the poignant sentimentalism of his final novel, ‘Amelia.’

Genres: Historical Fiction

Unknown Binding

Published September 3, 2023

About the author

Abigail Ted is the debut author of, Oh dear, Maria! whose love for 18th and 19th-century fiction transformed into her telling the story of a dynamite damsel with precarious sanity.

Abigail is a PhD student who specialises in black-British authors of the abolition era, her obsession with 200-year-old novels and the writers who authored them is perhaps the first thing you’ll notice after meeting her.

For over a decade, Abigail has enjoyed reading and writing stories that ironise reality, all while securing her bachelor’s in history and education, and her master’s in theology. Today, she may be found munching inspiration from Richardson, Fielding, Austen, Thackeray et al., or perhaps roaming the wild with her mini-me.

Reviews

[Felicity George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully witty tragicomedy set in Georgian Britain

At the beginning of 'You're a Doll, Daisy', author Abigail Ted suggests that her readers imagine the book playing out in a Technicolour mid-20th-century historical film -- or, as she says: 'Our characters, decked in flowing nylon gowns and plastic jewels, inhabit the world of a 1960s Regency drama. I am conscious that the large false eyelashes and peach lipstick have oftentimes been somewhat distracting but I am not at liberty to alter the world in which our story takes place.' This is a perfect setting for the hilarious adventure romance that ensues, populated with a charming heroine, a (sometimes) dashing and (always) tender-hearted hero, and truly despicable villain.

I highly recommend this book to fans of eighteenth-century literature (think Henry Fielding's 'Tom Jones' or Jane Austen's 'Northanger Abbey'), but the book is so very fresh and witty and accessible it will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers looking for something fun and escapist, extremely clever, and quite different from other recently published novels.

And for those to whom this matters (like me): against all odds and though they face many trials, Ms Ted's characters find a very happy ending, indeed!

[Tess Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romantic and macabre, Ted takes us on a journey with Daisy and Tom, whose twisted roots bind them together, giving them the strength to face the sinister plans of those who should most protect them. YADD is funny, sinister, and filled with disturbing insight into the pains of womanhood in the nineteenth century.