Susan Clegg and Her Neighbors' Affairs

Meet Susan Clegg: a woman whose business is everyone's business, and wouldn't have it any other way. In this early 20th-century comedy of manners, Anne Warner introduces us to a small-town busybody with a heart of gold and a mouth that won't stay closed. When Susan takes it upon herself to deliver the news that Deacon White intends to propose to her dear friend Mrs. Lathrop, she faces a challenge more daunting than any gossip she's ever spread: how do you tell someone something life-changing without ruining the surprise? The answer, for Susan, involves much deliberation over a homemade meal and absolutely no discretion whatsoever. Warner writes with a gimlet eye for the absurdities of close-knit communities, where everyone's business is public property and love arrives wearing a stiff collar. The result is a warm, funny portrait of a woman who can't help but meddle, and somehow makes the world a little more livable for it.