It's love triangle within love triangle in this sly modern take on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
. Beautiful English teacher Melody Vye is the object of much affection in her Welsh town. Her student Fitch and her headmaster, Mr. Boase, both adore her, but most smitten is Fitch's piano teacher, Leo Spring, a childhood friend but decidedly not Melody's dream man ("His gestures, his flailing arms had embarrassed her. His hair had embarrassed her"). Hoping to woo her, Leo hires Valentina, a writer posing as a gardener, to revive his neglected grounds. Valentina, bereft after her twin brother Jonathan's departure on a "solo voyage of rediscovery," is surprised to find herself falling for Leo, who fails to see how it pains her when he begs her to play Cupid for him and Melody. The women bond over their losses—Melody's brother has committed suicide—but one misinterprets shared grief as love: "It was a madness that grew inside her like the tendrils of a voracious climbing plant." Between Melody's staging of the school play (Twelfth Night
, natch) and the big party for Leo's revitalized garden, there's little question that everyone will find happiness, even if it's in unexpected ways. Published as A Good Voyage
in Davies's native Britain, this debut has a subtle sophistication and lovely, lyrical prose, and will charm readers with its warmth and sweetness. Agent, Caroline Dawnay. (Jan.)
