Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children. Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.

Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them eliminate their canine tendencies.

But mysteries abound at Ashton Place: Who are these three wild creatures, and how did they come to live in the forest Why does Old Timothy, the coachman, lurk around every corner Will Penelope be able to teach the Incorrigibles manners in time for the holiday ball And what on earth is a schottische

Penelope herself is no stranger to mystery, as her own origins are also cloaked in secrecy. But as Agatha Swanburne once said, Things may happen for a reason, but that doesn’t mean we know what the reason is-at least, not yet.