He was in the presence of stranger...some one hard and inflexible, who surely had not borne his lovely daughter.
For years William and Kate have made a ritual of her birthday. Yet now that their children are adults, this gathering of the family offers Kate little comfort. Their son Walter is quietly dependable, but their daughters do not share their mother's perspective: Dora ridicules Herbert's devotion; the unmarried Janet seeks her liberty; Mary has made a virtue out of scrimping and saving, and Lydia gads in London with no thought for Oliver. Unlike Kate, William acknowledges that marital harmony can be a social illusion. When Lydia's behaviour confirms Kate's worst fears, it is William to whom Lydia turns. As disturbing as his daughter's unhappiness is the difference it reveals between himself and his wife, for William can love without judgement and Kate cannot.
- ISBN10 0224608150
- ISBN13 9780224608152
- Publish Date December 1925
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 17 October 2003
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Vintage Publishing
- Imprint Jonathan Cape Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 316
- Language English