The Siege of the Seven Suitors

A chimney doctor walks into a tea-room and finds himself at the center of a romantic mystery. Such is the irresistible premise of Meredith Nicholson's sparkling early 20th-century comedy, where every cup of tea conceals a scheme and every pleasantry masks a provocation. Arnold Ames is content with his quiet profession until his friend Hartley Wiggins vanishes after encountering the enigmatic Cecilia Hollister at the Asolando Tea-Room. Determined to unravel his friend's distress, Arnold investigates, only to discover that Cecilia and her formidable Aunt Octavia guard secrets behind drawing-room politeness as fiercely as any fortress. Seven suitors have circled Cecilia; one has fled. What follows is a delicious unraveling of romantic intrigue, social maneuvering, and the particular madness of love in polite society. Nicholson writes with the crisp precision of a playwright, trading in epigrams rather than exposition. The banter crackles. The social hierarchy trembles. And at its heart, this is a story about the lengths we go to for love, even when we're not certain we understand what love is.