Julia Stuart

Balthazar Jones lives in the Tower of London with his wife, Hebe, his one-hundred-eighty-one-year-old pet tortoise, and a few eccentric neighbors. Balthazar is a Beefeater. The white-hot flame of his and Hebe's love has dwindled in the few years since their son died. Their marriage is teetering on the brink of extinction, when Balthazar is unexpectedly tasked with setting up an elaborate menagerie within the Tower to house the many exotic animals...

"A hilarious romp." -Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat The charming tale of a small French town in which the local barber, whose business is failing as his clients grow older and lose their hair, decides to become the town matchmaker. Barber Guillaume Ladoucette has always enjoyed great success in his tiny village in southwestern France, catering to the tonsorial needs of Amour-sur-Belle's thirty-three inhabitants. But times have changed. His customers...