Iona recommends:
The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
“Troubadour of love and betrayal” in the 1930s and 40s, Rosamond Lehmann’s once considerable reputation has been gradually eroded by the passing decades, leaving her now relatively unknown. With a personal life as fascinating as her characters, her numerous biographies are as readable as her own output.
Unafraid of exploring the often agonising details of a doomed love affair, The Weather in the Streets can sometimes make for uncomfortable reading, whether learning of Olivia’s self deception, her unuttered concern over whether her lover still sleeps with his wife, or bearing witness to the emotional description of a back street abortionist and his work.
The novel offers a rational depiction of irrational, and ill-fated love, cataloguing every stage of a consuming and terminal affair. The Guardian summarises Lehmann’s work brilliantly; “Love affairs may have broken her (Rosamond’s) heart, but they also gave her work the understanding that encouraged similarly afflicted women to write to her in droves.” Though Lehmann is now long gone, it is certain that many women will still find deep sympathy in her work, and I recommend ‘The Weather in the Streets’ as an excellent starting point!
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