I took Treasure Island to church with me as a talisman. "What a lovely bible," Mrs. Tribly said. "Isn't it just?" I replied, hoping she would not ask me to read a favorite verse aloud. I do not believe the psalmist wrote, Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum. The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighbourhood of St. Crispian's.

But Emma's plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.