Ada Harris is a widow and a London char. She cleans for clientele living in fashionable Belgravia: a European aristocrat; a wealthy American couple; a titled lady who dresses exquisitely; a young, attractive actress with many admirers who is never short of money; and a handsome, middle-aged bachelor who is never short of nieces. They rarely stay longer than one night.

Ada loves her job. Changing an apartment from being dirty, dusty and untidy when she arrives to one that sparkles, is welcoming and smelling beautifully is very satisfying.

She makes her own clothes and can appreciate the effort that goes into completing a garment. When she sees a Dior creation owned by her titled client, she’s mesmerised. She resolves to ‘one day go to Paris and buy a dress made especially for me by The House of Dior’.

In Mrs Harris Goes to Paris that is exactly what she does. Ada thought it was a pipedream. However, a bit of luck comes her way. Many enchanting adventures later, Ada becomes the proud owner of a Dior creation.

In 1950, a young American airman stationed in Britain married an English waitress and they had a son, Henry. When the husband was posted back to the US, the wife refused to go and they divorced. The wife was granted custody of the child but when she re-married, the new husband didn’t want Henry. He was fostered out to a couple in Ada’s building who mistreated him.

In Mrs Harris Goes to New York, Ada and Violet Butterfield, a friend and neighbour, kidnap Henry and smuggle him to America. They then set out to find George Brown, the boy’s biological father. These two modern-day fairy tales are delightful. They are easy-to-read, enjoyable and often very tender.

Reviewed by Clive Hodge