Lavinia

Rhoda Broughton's 1902 novel opens on Lavinia Carew in her cherry orchard, a month away from her own wedding, when scandal arrives in the form of her friend Féo F Prince, who has boldly declared her love for a general. The declaration throws their social world into delighted turmoil: Mrs. Prince is mortified, the general is flattered but noncommittal, and Lavinia finds herself caught between sympathy for Féo's audacity and disbelief at her recklessness. As Mrs. Darcy, a sharper-tongued friend, arrives to dissect the situation, Broughton reveals the cramped space Edwardian society allowed women: Féo is either brave or ruined, depending on how the season's gossip inclines. Lavinia watches the drama unfold with growing unease, her own approaching marriage suddenly less certain than the cherry blossoms promised to be. The novel operates as delicious social comedy, but its teeth lie in asking what women actually want when society has already written their endings.