The Inexplicable Adventures of Miss Alice Lovelady Series

A new age of peace is ushered in by the inaugural visit to Britain of the Russian royal family in their state airship, the Czar Nicholas. Sir Percival (plus guest – me!) has been invited to the occasion and I look forward to viewing the ship's interior designed by Gustav Faberge using (rumour has it) at least two fortunes in gold and gems, as well as the world's largest sapphire, the Caspian Star. Sir Percival is looking forward to viewing certain other things. However, during the visit we discover that all is most certainly not well with the Russian royal family, and find our lives threatened at every turn after uncovering a dastardly plot against Queen Victoria. But, trapped on an airship flying high above London, how can we prevent an ancient horror from being unleashed upon Her Majesty?

A murderous attack at Queen Victoria's Annual Inventor's Exhibition is the latest in a series by the mysterious Mr Tok. Because of the danger posed to Her Majesty the Government is on high alert. The secret Department Sir Percival (connoisseur of Cossack Horserider Weekly) and I, Miss Alice Lovelady (seeker after Sapphic love), work for inform us we must forego further aetheric experimentation and put a stop to Mr Tok's homicidal activities. But, even with the aid of the dour Departmental liaison, can we also prevail against the offensive capabilities of flightless birds?

Katherine, my lover, has disappeared. The only clue to her whereabouts is an empty envelope addressed to her at a town she's never mentioned. What is her connection with Mistress Velda's Emporium of the Arcane Arts, and the town of Southend-on-Sea? And why, before my search for her has even begun, does a stranger leave a note telling me to forget her? What danger will I find by following my heart?

Sent on the first available flight out of Britain to avoid questions concerning the destruction of a certain Russian airship, Sir Percival and I find ourselves in Egypt, the land of very large, very strange structures. Not having travelled overseas before I'm determined to enjoy the experience but find myself having visions of strange beings, females worshipping me, and my violent death. What do they mean? And what must I do to prevent my dream death from becoming reality?

After the airship we're travelling on is damaged by a storm Sir Percival and I find ourselves in Venice. I decide to make use of the unplanned stop to achieve two of my dreams - riding in a Gondola, and going to visit the Venice Preservation Society, where the machinery preventing Venice from sinking is located. But things don't go as planned as we soon discover that terror stalks the canals. The Men of the Cog, the group responsible for the death of Katherine, my lover, are using kidnapping, blackmail, and murder, to gain power in the city. Determined to begin the fight back against the despicable group, Sir Percival and I join with one of Casanova's female descendants, and the ladies of Venice, in an attempt to wrest the Floating City from their evil clutches.

After the unfortunate destruction of a safe-house (and probably a village as well), high in the Snowdonia mountains, Sir Percival, Glenys, and I are in Rhyl, the Brighton of the North Wales coast. For the first time I can remember my bright pink hair is not a topic of conversation as Rhyl's inhabitants, both male and female, are undergoing a fad of sporting brightly coloured hair of their own. But underneath the sensuous skies and romantic gaslight of the town strange things are happening – people are disappearing and reappearing in daguerreotype images with a horrified look upon their faces. Unfortunately this means my application to join the Rhyl Ladies Library – one of the many Associations within the town - is put on hold until I solve this most inexplicable mystery. With the help from the mysterious Esmerelda, and the delightful Penelope, I must survive strange and deadly places to discover the link between hair colour and the disappearances before the Men of the Cog arrive, or I shall never be allowed to join the Rhyl Ladies Library! I can only hope that the saying is true – what happens in Rhyl stays in Rhyl.

After arriving back in Britain from Venice Sir Percival and I are sent into hiding by the secret Government Department we work for. Rumours have reached them that our lives are in even more danger from the Men of the Cog after destroying their experimental cold-aether apparatus. The secret house we are sent to is located in a remote village in the midst of the Snowdonia mountains of North Wales. In this splendid isolation Sir Percival has been instructed to recreate from his memory the machinery we most recently destroyed. However, mysterious, violent deaths plague the village, for which we receive the blame as our arrival apparently woke the monster. But the reality is far more inexplicable than we'd ever imagined.

Working on a remote highland farm is all very well for rest and recuperation and weapon making (without even mentioning the cows wiping their noses upon me), but there comes a time when a girl just has to dance with other girls. At least that was my plan when Sir Percival and I visited Darkbridge Manor. What I hadn't counted on was discovering an aetheric marvel, the most dangerous woman in the world (which fair put the kibosh on my evening's entertainment I can tell you), and a Bronze-age puzzle that required solving or even more death and destruction would occur. Life would be so much better if I hadn't found the dratted metal figure in the stream.

The first three of Miss Alice Lovelady's Inexplicable Adventures! Contains: Mr Tok, The Caspian Star, and Katherine.