A Perfect Revenge
Annabel Dilke
St. Martin's, Apr 2008, $25.95
ISBN: 9780312376260
After spending six months in India, Laura Delancey comes home to England to find a different world than the one she left. During her absence her family lost the ancestral home the Cistercian Abbey they lived in for centuries to the Traffords.
Just before WWII, Stanley Trafford was a gardener working for his childhood friend Edmund Delancey. Both men were happily married and their wives Hester and Effie became friends who depended on each other when their husbands went off to fight for England. However, something happened in 1946 leading to the end of their friendship, Stanley’s job and his eviction from the estate. Four decades later, his self made millionaire grandson Mark wants revenge against the financially strapped Delanceys starting with the Abbey. However, he is attracted to Laura though he rationalizes she is part of his plan. Soon Mark and Laura want to know what happened in 1946 that caused the schism; only those still living refuse to tell.
This is an interesting look at English society at a time of change when the historical class system is dying with the advent of nouvelle riche. The story line is at its best when is focuses on how three generations adapt to changing fortunes. The ending is to perfect while the secret that the older generation hides is obvious to the reader. Still fans will enjoy Annabel Dilke’s fine character study of the changing English social order.
Harriet Klausner
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