Product Description

A contemporary novel set in London and Norfolk which examines the complex feelings between two sisters and the pain of love, within and outside marriage. By the author of "Letters From Prague".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #145370 in Books
• Published on: 1996-06-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

Tender and Moving
A lovely book. The story of a man, Stephen, who is loved by two women - his wife and his mistress. He, however, has never loved his wife as she has loved him and I felt that he had only stayed with her because of their son, now seventeen. Stephen is in love with his mistress, Hilda, but when she has his child, Stephen seems to retreat away from her as if he fears too much commitment. Both women desperately need his love but Stephen seems to be unable to give himself wholly to either one. The emotional triangle has effects that are felt by all others who love the two women (family and friends) and I couldn't help but feel sympathy with both the wife and the mistress. I hoped that there could be happiness for them both. This is a very tender, (but far from slushy) story of raw emotions, which stayed in my memory long after I had finished the book. Wonderful!

true to life and moving
This is currently one of my favourite books. I would recommend it to fans of Joanna Trollope, as the plot reminded me somewhat of "A Spanish Lover", with two sisters: Hilda the sensible one, who has a career and no life, and Alice the fragile one,wife and mother with no identity of her own. The book charts their changing relationship, when Hilda falls in love for the first time, with a married man.

I liked all the small details about their lives and the way the story was told by several different characters. It was unusual to see the story of an affair being told by both the mistress and the wife. My sympathies were torn between these two likeable women.

This book is impossible to put down and stays in the mind afterwards.

Thought-provoking and tender
What a lovely story! It's the only book I've read in which I feel sympathy for both the wife and the mistress. The man who is loved by both women wants the best of both worlds - a home life where he has comfort (even though he has never loved his wife the way she loves him) and where his son is, yet he enjoys the pleasure of having a mistress. However, after his mistress gives birth to his child, he begins to retreat away from her, afraid of further responsibility. The emotions expressed by both the wife and the mistress (and the effect that the situation has on those closest to them) is very moving and I found that I wanted the best for both women, but the least happiness for the husband/lover. This is a book that I couldn't put down and a story whose memory stayed with me long after I had finished the book.