A very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity of love A moving story by Dorothy Whipple set in the 1950s.
Ellen and Avery North share a stable and secure life. Everything is well looked after: their teenage children, their garden, and Avery's elderly mother who lives nearby. In time, old Mrs. North decides she is in need of a live-in companion, and Louise Lanier arrives after responding to a newspaper advert. When Louise sets out to seduce Avery for the fun of it, her behavior threatens to destroy Ellen and Avery's peaceful life together.
