A country estate again provides Dilke (The Inheritance
) with fertile ground for excavating the high expectations and underlying emotions of a wealthy English family. In 1974, two brothers are all that's left of the oldest generation of St. Clairs: Hector, an aging war veteran attended by his elderly manservant, and Lionel, one of several attorneys in the family who (with wife Eleanor) has produced four children (one deceased), all married with children of their own. As the novel opens, the 20-something cousins—who include impetuous Liza, who wants to be a singer; Charlie, on track to become the next St. Clair lawyer; Kitty, who has captured Charlie's heart, but wants Max's; and Max, who seeks refuge with his cousins when his parents' separation promises to become a painful, public divorce—congregate at Uncle Hector's annual garden party to fondly remember childhood games. But the "discreet patina of wealth" soon peels back to reveal resentments, jealousies, selfishness and desire. Accusations pass between Max's parents, declarations of love and hate between cousins. Attempting to avert future disaster, Hector confesses his own generation's secret tragedy. Small psychological insights, inserted with an ironic twist, add a welcome dimension to this perceptive melodrama. (Apr.)
