Folly

The first volume in Boyars's new Iris series of fiction by and about women is an intelligent, if difficult, domestic drama. Mickie and Lydia, a middle-aged brother and sister live with her husband Rupert and adopted daughter Jessica in a beautiful 19th century house that Rupert and Mickie, both architects, have renovated and rebult. To Jessica, a young actress, it seems an idyllic life of hunting to the hounds, enjoying the beauty of the estate, basking in the attention of caring parents. Jessica can'tor won'tpenetrate beneath the surface. In fact, Mickie and Rupert are lovers, Rupert and Lydia's marriage was never consummated, and to ease her frustration Lydia has taken lovers over the years. The latest, Clive, is a self-confessed gigolo. Just as it seems no more dirty linen can be uncovered, Lydia reveals the secret of Jessica's origins. The controlled dignity of Atkins's writing and the inexorable drive of the story redeem this first-rate novel from a slightly melodramatic plot. (May)