Araminta's wedding, or, A fortune secured: a country house extravaganza

A Country House Extravaganza Story by Jilly Cooper. Pictures by Sue Macartney-Snape.

Rufus, fifth Earl of Atherstone, has no son and gloomily contemplates his vast Lincolnshire estate passing into the hands of his plain but good-natured daughter, Araminta, and her grasping cousin, Piggy Atherstone, who is determined to marry her. A serious rival for Araminta's hand, however, materialises in Bounder Cartwright, a debonair money-market gambler, whose sexual conquests are as prolific as his investments are suddenly catastrophic. By Ascot he has won the day and the wedding is fixed for September.

Then, at the last minute, the events of the previous Boxing Night catch up with the Atherstones in a surprising way. Will the wedding take place or not?

The combination of Jilly Cooper's irreverent tale of country house life with the colourful and perceptive paintings of Sue Macartney-Snape which inspired it, presents a wickedly funny portrait of the English upper classes at play.Araminta's Weddingis irresistible fireside reading for even the coldest of stately homes.