In the early 1830s, an unhappily married Englishwoman, 39 years old, falls in love with a man she has never met--a German prince, author of the bestseller she is translating into English. As they begin to exchange letters, she confides her inner and outer life to him. Using embassy couriers to carry their letters, they correspond ever more audaciously, under the nose of her preoccupied husband. Swept up by passion, she writes about her hunger for affection--yet she is anything but unprincipled, and her wish to protect her husband and daughter runs in tandem with her yearning. Thus begins one of the most extraordinary relationships ever recorded, in which every nuance of emotion, every goodnight kiss was lavished on the beloved in writing. This is a fascinating journey into the mind and soul of a gifted woman who dared to circumvent the mores of her day.--From publisher description.