by Molly Keane
First published 1900
Aroon St Charles knows the rules. She has always known them. Large and plain, she watches the Anglo-Irish aristocracy perform their elaborate rituals behind the gates of Temple Alice. Her family clings to proper conduct as their world crumbles around them. The St Charles clan follows ancient patterns of behavior that once meant everything and now mean nothing. But good manners cannot contain what burns beneath the surface. Sex and money and jealousy push against the boundaries of acceptable conduct. Love refuses to follow the prescribed forms. Aroon discovers that the codes her family has lived by for generations cannot protect them from their own forbidden longings. The elaborate dance of proper behavior begins to break down as raw human desire forces its way through the cracks of decaying gentility.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adult-fiction, british-literature, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, decaying-gentility
Setting: Temple Alice
Period: 20th Century
304 pages · Paperback · Abacus