Rules of Civility

'Fabulous' Observer \n 'Achingly stylish' Guardian \n 'Irresistible' Daily Telegraph \n 'Gripping' The Sunday Times \n \n \n In a jazz bar on the last night of 1937, \n watching a quartet because she couldn't afford to see the whole ensemble, \n there were certain things Katey Kontent knew: \n \n the location of every old church in Manhattan \n how to sneak into the cinema \n how to type eighty words a minute, five thousand an hour, and nine million a year \n and that if you can still lose yourself in a Dickens novel then everything is going to be fine. \n \n By the end of the year she'd learned: \n \n how to live like a redhead \n and insist upon the very best; \n that riches can turn to rags in the trip of a heartbeat, \n chance encounters can be fated, and the word 'yes' can be a poison. \n \n That's how quickly New York City comes about, like a weathervane, or the head of a cobra. Time tells which. \n \n \n \n 'A delicious and memorable novel that will leave you wistful - and desperate for a martini.' Stylist \n \n 'Elegance and hardship drip off the page' Daily Mail \n