This was a phenomenal read, brilliant in the way it establishes its characters and then sat back and pressed play so that the characters may continue to meander along their courses to bounce and collide off of each other.

It's the book version of the line "Still waters run deep". We are taken along to tea time picnics, nursery visits, antique shops, house visits, day to day occurrences. The tension almost silently clicked over at every one of these events, and the discomfort and internal yelling crept up on me so gradually that it really felt true to life.

My own ignorance of the plot made me really immerse myself in the protagonist's own uncertainties. A truly insightful dissection of what drives us and our actions. ( )

Ohhhh my, this book may be the most devastating portrait of the unraveling of a marriage that I've ever read. Written in 1954, it's a slow burning look at the ways a man can belittle and abandon his wife without her even being aware of it, or at least not at first. Evelyn Gresham is a handsome 52 year old lawyer who has everything he wants, including his doting wife Imogen and his 11 year old son. Their neighbor, near their large country estate, Blanche is everything Imogen isn't: unattractive and in her 50s, but athletic and interested in fishing, hunting, racing and other masculine things.

What I liked best was Jenkins way of slowly revealing the way this marriage was falling apart, and how Imogen seemed to operate with blinders on, continuing to cater to Evelyn's every wish and failing to realize what the reader can plainly see. The writing is both humorous and tragic in the way the plot is slowly developed. But this author can take down a character like nothing I've ever seen. Blanche's stepsister, Marcia for instance:

"Marcia Plender was short, plump and middle-aged. She was also excessively feminine, but so far from throwing her stepsister in the shade on this account whatever she might've done when both were girls, she now acted as a foil to her, though one would have been as far from suspecting it as the other. Marcia took great care of her person and appearance though she had allowed herself to get fat. As her constitution required her to rest in bed till half-past twelve and drink two double gins before lunch, it was difficult for her to avoid increasing weight....The assured, formidable appearance, combined with a sugary air, fluttering eyelids and die-away voice, made the beholder turn to Blanche with relief and even a sort of admiration. Blanche's abruptness and half-strangulated accents were not charming, but they were a great deal better than Marcia's efforts at charming" (Page75)

The minor characters are just as fully developed as the three protagonists and the ending knocked my socks off, but in a way, that made me think, "Oh, of course, all signs pointed to this. I should've known."

Just an absolutely brilliant book. ( )

Imogen is the young, attractive wife of Evelyn Gresham, a London barrister, and mother to their son Gavin. At 52, Evelyn is much older than Imogen, and his career success has made them comfortably well off. Imogen is devoted to Evelyn, keeping house and making sure his meals and other needs are attended to. But Evelyn has struck up a friendship with neighbor Blanche Silcox, who fills an emotional void in his life. Imogen is initially dismissive of Blanche; after all, she is older and plain in her appearance. But the reader sees what Imogen does not: Evelyn is finding reasons to spend time with Blanche, and to stay in London “for work” instead of coming home.

Reality dawns slowly, acceptance even more so. As her marriage unravels, Imogen must decide the shape of her future. Locked in the societal norms of the 1950s, she has options but saying and doing are two different things. Support from friends and an unlikely ally make for an unconventional outcome. Elizabeth Jenkins delivers a fairly balanced character study: Evelyn comes across as a fairly decent guy who cares about his family, even Blanche Silcox has her merits, and all three played a part in the ultimate fate of the marriage. ( )

This is a Virago edition. Love those. It's a slow starter, and I thought it might be a DNF for me because I was just not getting into the story - it really needs 50 or so pages and then it picks up. It's the unwinding of a marriage, and it is just so well done. I wanted to lecture the main character, Imogene, and explain that we teach people how to treat us. Don't put up with this. Speak up. Be brave. When push comes to shove, always shove! But alas, Imogene and I do not have the same temperaments or personalities. In frustration, I actually did something I never do - I turned to the final pages and read the ending before continuing. The ending saved it for me. Anyway, it's brilliant in how it shows us the marriage from different vantage points. This one is not about the plot; it's more of a character study, so you will need patience, but it is worthy. ( )

sad, very interesting.
i loved the red stockings on the cover. ( )