Falling Angels chronicles the lives of two girls whose families own adjacent plots in a London cemetery - one decorated with a sentimental angel, the other with an elaborate urn. During a ceremonial stroll through the graveyard grounds, an act of mourning for the recently deceased Queen Victoria. Maude Coleman and Lavinia Waterhouse meet, forging a fast friendship.
Despite their distinct personality differences, Maudenbeing more precocious and contemplative and Lavinia leaning to the impulsive and dramatic, the girls are instantly drawn to each other to the dismay of their mothers. Despite being neighbours, Kitty Coleman and Gertrude Waterhouse occupy different positions in the British class system - the Waterhouses are lower-middle class, while the Coleman’s are upper-middle class with a larger house and garden, and live-in servants. The women have little in common, and their views on the changing political climate fall on opposite ends of the spectrum. Kitty looks forward to a more modern society, while Gertrude reveres the late Queen Victoria and clings to Victorian traditions.
