A Dubious Legacy
A Novel
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A "darkly comic, wise and irresistible" novel of friendship, romance, and the chaos in between, from one of Britain's bestselling authors (Publishers Weekly).
When Henry Tillotson comes back from the war with a mysterious new bride from Egypt, everyone is intrigued. But intrigue turns to outright confusion when his new wife retreats to her room and refuses to leave her bed, much less the house, stranding poor Henry in a loveless marriage.
Antonia and Barbara are captivated by Henry and his lavish country estate, Cotteshaw, from the very first time they are asked to visit for a dinner party with their boyfriends. Drawn by his charm, his wife's madness and beauty, and his unusual lifestyle, they cannot help but be intrigued by their host.
But as time passes, their relationships grow and change, bringing weddings, engagements, children, and even the occasional illicit liaison—as the strange heritage of Cotteshaw begins to affect all who pass through its doors.
Wesley once again proves herself a master of the modern novel of manners in this energetic tale that is simultaneously laugh-out-loud funny, outrageously irreverent, and poignant.
"As always, the dialogue snaps with vigor. . . . Another bright and biting novel." —Kirkus Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
There is more than one legacy in British author Wesley's ( A Sensible Life ) darkly comic, wise and irresistible new novel of manners. Henry Tillotson's legacy from his dying father is an injunction to help an English divorcee in WW II Egypt. Henry does more than that: he impulsively marries Margaret, to his lifelong regret. For when he returns with her to his country home, she takes to her bed out of pure spite and tries her best to make his life miserable. In an effort to achieve some conviviality, Henry invites two friends, James and Matthew, for a weekend party; each man brings a companion and each proposes marriage. Both women accept, motivated by pragmatism and a need for security. What happens to their marriages, and that of Henry and Margaret, makes up the remainder of the plot. Two couples have children and grandchildren; these are the second legacy, and part of a delicious secret. As usual, Wesley's picture of the British upper middle class is breezy and irreverent; the dialogue is witty and often astonishingly impertinent (one thinks that the English can be shockingly tactless); the plot is laced with irony; the characters--major and minor--are depicted with a master's deft hand. But it is in Margaret, whose monstrously selfish, malicious, eccentric behavior exceeds all rational bounds, that Wesley has created her most memorable character. Readers will root for her comeuppance, and will cheer when it arrives.
