Fathers

Budd's ( Running to Paradise ) insightful portrait of three English families probes the impact of fathers on their children. In 1901 Lally Morgan's father is fatally stabbed when he goes to the rescue of his abused neighbor, Mrs. Wolf. The incident sends Mrs. Wolf to an asylum and son Julian to Europe to escape his father. Lally and Julian meet six years later and have a brief affair. But Julian leaves for Berlin to perform in a cabaret, while Lally returns to England. Her subsequent marriage, to wealthy and dashing Rupert Eagon, is rocked by Lally's burgeoning socialism and her unconventional attitudes toward sex. These dramas are revealed through Lally's diaries, which are bequeathed to Julian's grandson David, a lawyer whom she meets in the course of revising her will at age 99. David's fascination with Lally motivates him to study his family's history, resulting in a new appreciation of his grandfather, father and his own son. The shifts between past and present are handled well, and Lally's legion of admirers will no doubt include a large number of readers. (Oct.)