A sparkling Edwardian comedy of manners that dissects the institution of marriage with wit and acerbity. Anthony Hope, better known for his swashbuckling romance The Prisoner of Zenda, turns his pen to a far more delicate combat: the battle of the sexes, the economics of emotion, and the peculiar English torture of trying to be both conventional and happy. The story follows Grantley Imason, a man of reasonable sensibilities, as he navigates his engagement to the formidable Sibylla Chiddingfold, a woman whose intellect and independence make her as terrifying as she is magnetic. Around them swirls a cast of married and would-be-married souls, each offering their own weary or cynical view of the chained state. Tom Courtland, fresh from a miserable marriage, lies on the Sussex downs and groans at the thought of returning to town and his wife. Jeremy, Sibylla's brother, snorts at the very idea of the thing. Hope's satire is sharp but never cruel, and his real interest lies in discovering whether genuine connection can survive the machinery of society and self-interest. A delicious period piece for readers who enjoy their romance with a side of skepticism.
