After Innocence

The blossoming of a shy, introverted artist and the man who captures her heart are the engaging protagonists in Joyce's seventh historical romance after Promise of the Rose. Lame from a childhood injury-which seems to disappear midway through the book-Sofie O'Neil is certain she is destined to live out her life as an eccentric spinster devoted to her canvases. Edward Delanza, a self-serving rake with a reputation to match, takes Sofie's dilemma to heart and decides to boost her ego. It is time, he figures, ``to do something noble and worthy for a change.'' Edward's scheme backfires as Sofie ends up head-over-heels in love with him and pregnant besides. Her solitude turns chaotic as her mother badgers her to give the child up for adoption while Edward, riddled with guilt, insists on a marriage of convenience. To Sofie, social ostracism as an unwed mother is preferable to a marriage of unrequited love. The ensuing events send her fleeing to Paris, where she becomes an extraordinary woman in her own right. The author tells the story in several voices, which are often difficult to distinguish one from the other. But her characters are fresh and wickedly sympathetic-especially Sofie's mother, Suzanne, who keeps the reader on an emotional seesaw. Joyce's highly visual prose breathes life into the art world of bohemian Paris and turn-of-the-century New York. Author tour. (Oct.)