First published 1974
Ivy stands at her bedroom window, watching the street below as neighbors return to routines disrupted by war. At twenty-two, she feels caught between her mother's traditional expectations and her own uncertain desires for independence. Her family assumes she will marry well and settle into domestic life, but Ivy questions whether such a path will satisfy her restless spirit. When she takes a position at the local library, she encounters ideas and people that challenge everything she thought she knew about her future. Her growing friendship with an unconventional older woman opens new possibilities, while pressure from home intensifies. Ivy must choose between the security of familiar expectations and the risk of forging her own way. The novel explores the quiet rebellion of a young woman discovering her own voice in a world that offers her few choices.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water, quiet-rebellion
Setting: Library
Period: World War II
319 pages · Paperback · Victor Gollancz