The stunning second book from the author of The Queen of the Grove; it includes two full-length novellas: Château Soumission—the ultimate "closed world", where Ladies rule, Domestics serve and the Rod is paramount—and no bottom is safe for more than hour or two. The second novella is Miss Beauchamp's Reward: "For years she had served Our Lady of the Rod faithfully and in her own way, without once taking an active rôle. But now her time had come...

An excerpt from the book:
To be in the Book means receiving a public birching at the hands of the Mistress of the House while dressed in couture d'honte and horsed on the back of the beefy maid known to all of us simply as the Russian. The usual award is ten strokes. Madam is a great believer in attaching ceremony to the use of the rod, and from what I gather from The Book of Punishments the ritual we observe has its origins in the practices formerly in force within certain French convents. The culprit, garbed beforehand in repellent and ridiculous attire, is made to approach, bearing the self-made rod, then to kneel and beg for correction, while offering the rod for approval. My lady always makes great play of graciously assenting to perform this task—as if she was likely to refuse!—whereupon the culprit is seized and mountedà cheval. The smock is rolled to the shoulders where it is pinned in place, then the drawers are unbuttoned and lowered to the knees. The Russian stoops forward, legs well planted, and my lady applies the strokes at an unhurried pace while Hannelore counts the tally. To observe this nightly occurrence the remainder of us (in other words, those not in the Book) are assembled together. Behind us stand the maids. Hannelore remains a little apart, in charge of the Book; and the ladies-in-residence, who have just dined in far greater splendour and conviviality than anybody else, sit to one side in their gorgeous gowns and flashing jewellery like a tribunal of queens.