New, sealed condition. A rollicking read about a fascinating, oftentimes bizarre historical scandal and trial. McKenna's prose suits the subject matter and keeps the story fun (without sacrificing his scrupulous attention to research); he doesn't shy away from including just as many of Fanny Stella's bawdy and outright explicit remarks/activities as he does their sweet letters and expressions of sincere devotion, drawing a three-dimensional view of the pair that's very human. (The image of Jack Saul peeping through a keyhole at the drag ball watching Stella and Lord Arthur entertain themselves, and then Saul's specific recounting of their exclamations of passion, had me laughing out loud.) The author takes care to place events in their socio-cultural context with just enough information for the reader to make sense of things without losing the thread of the protagonists' narrative. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the subject.