Her Heart for a Compass by Sarah Ferguson review: Duchess of York’s Mills & Boon debut is endearing, but won’t set pulses racing

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. There are scant details about Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott – “Lady M” – who inspired the book, something Ferguson and her co-writer, Mills & Book veteran Marguerite Kaye, take full advantage of. Some passages, such as one about the dry goods store AT Stewart’s, read like Wikipedia entries: “Known as the Iron Palace, each of the floors and galleries of this magnificent dry goods store were filled with light from the huge windows and the glass dome which soared above the central atrium.” The writers are more occupied by setting up new obstacles for Lady M. Mills & Boon fans may be disappointed by the absence of any “improper relations”. What is sustained is Lady M’s development – her “impulsive” nature is gradually replaced by a more mature way of dealing with her problems than simply running away from them. ‘Her Heart for a Compass’ by Sarah Ferguson is out now, published by Mills & Boon and HarperCollins, £14.99