Introduction to Sally

This 1926 romantic comedy was one of Elizabeth von Arnim's most popular works -- more popular in its day even than "The Enchanted April." Von Arnim's comic sense, human insight and heady skill with satire are at their best in this lively tale of the lovestruck men, social climbing women and human relationships.

Beautiful young Sally Pinner is the best that the common stock of England has to offer, but her good looks drive all the men wild and her father to distraction. When a young Oxford student becomes smitten and asks for Sally's hand in marriage, it seems like the answer to everything. But that doesn't count on his mother, her father, his mother's fiancee, an heiress, a 90-year-old duke ... and anyone else who comes under Sally's captivating spell. But far from being a willing seductress, guileless Sally is utterly unconscious of the effect she has, and can only say in her defense "I can't 'elp it!" This book is a merry escapade and a clever vehicle for Elizabeth von Arnim's wit and warmth.