Corduroy Mansions is the nickname given to London's vibrant Pimlico neighborhood, home to a captivating collection of quirky and altogether "McCall-Smithian" characters. Middle-aged wine merchant William is trying to convince his reluctant 24-year-old son, Eddie, to leave the nest. Marcia, the boutique caterer, has her sights set on William. There's the much-loathed parliamentarian Oedipus Snark, whose mother is writing his biography and hating every minute of it -- and Snark's long-suffering girlfriend, a literary agent who would like to be his wife. There's the vitamin evangelist, the psychoanalyst, the art student, and then there's Freddie de la Hay, the terrier who insists on wearing a seat belt and is probably the only vegetarian canine in London.
