Description
Set in the charged social spaces that sit just outside the main rooms of power, this novel follows lives shaped by what is said in passing, withheld in conversation, and revealed only in moments of pressure. As relationships tighten and ambitions collide, the story moves through a sequence of encounters that expose the private costs of public respectability. Kate O’Brien’s distinctive, sharply observed style blends psychological insight with a keen sense of manners, using dialogue and atmosphere to illuminate how class, gender, and ideology govern everyday choices. At its heart, the book is a meditation on thresholds—between appearance and truth, loyalty and self-interest, and the self you perform versus the self you risk becoming.
Available Editions
paperback
Penguin Books
Published Jan 1, 1990
317 pages
ISBN: 0140161988
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Details
First Published
1934
Language
eng
Content Warnings
No content warnings identified.