My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time A Novel

"Charlotte Schleswig supports herself and her lumpen sidekick, Fru Schleswig, as a prostitute in fin-de-siecle Copenhagen. But the course of harlotry never runs smooth, and Charlotte's life is altered irrevocably when, one hard winter, she stumbles on an exciting new source of income. A dark mansion, home to the disagreeable Fru Krak, is in dire need of a top-to-bottom scrub - and the wealthy widow is hiring. Enter Charlotte, dragging behind her the reluctant and militantly idle Fru Schleswig." "Transformed into cleaning ladies, the squabbling duo attack the dark abode - but soon discover that mysteries abound, including stories of men and women who entered the basement never to emerge. As Charlotte decides to turn detective, she finds herself outwitted by the mysterious controller of a demonic machine that wastes no time in catapulting her into twenty-first-century London, a baffling world of glass, tin, and labor-saving devices. Where a handsome stranger is more than happy to show her the ropes."--BOOK JACKET.