Berengaria Roper, is brave, clever, witty and determined, but has more than her fair share of human failings; she is a terrible mother, an appalling doctor, and a truly horrendous gardener. She longs for a more exciting life, so when the opportunity for travel and adventure arises, she should be delighted, but what ensues is anything but delightful. The story is set in a world slightly to the left of ours, where "Snot and Coldsore" is a crisp flavour, blind racing drivers win Grand Prix, poisoning your patients is an option for doctors, and people are not fat, but planetarily challenged. This...