The Long ViewJourneying backward in time—from 1950 to 1926—this masterpiece of women’s literary fiction presents an indelible portrait of a marriage Forty-three-year-old Antonia Fleming is preparing a dinner party for eight at the house in Campden Hill Square she shares with her husband, Conrad. The occasion is the engagement of their son, Julian. Their other child, Deirdre, hates her father and resents her mother—a reality Conrad ponders, along with the disastrous state of Deirdre’s single life, as he leaves the bed of his current mistress. In illuminating the quotidian details of domestic life, The Long View perfectly captures a long relationship, with its moments of joy and intimacy, loneliness and regret, and of the roads not taken. As the story moves backward in time, we learn about the events that led up to Conrad and Antonia’s fateful first meeting—including a startling secret in Antonia’s past. With brilliant use of reverse chronology, the bestselling author of the Cazalet Chronicles paints a realistic and revealing portrait of a marriage and the decisions, good and bad, right and wrong, that shape lives. |
Contents
Section 20 | |
Section 21 | |
Section 22 | |
Section 23 | |
Section 24 | |
Section 25 | |
Section 26 | |
Section 27 | |
Section 9 | |
Section 10 | |
Section 11 | |
Section 12 | |
Section 13 | |
Section 14 | |
Section 15 | |
Section 16 | |
Section 17 | |
Section 18 | |
Section 19 | |
Section 28 | |
Section 29 | |
Section 30 | |
Section 31 | |
Section 32 | |
Section 33 | |
Section 34 | |
Section 35 | |
Section 36 | |
Section 37 | |
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Common terms and phrases
afraid answered Antonia anyway Araminta asked bad at games beautiful began better Campden Hill can’t cigarette coffee colour Conrad course Curran dark darling dear Deirdre Deirdre’s dinner discovered Don Talbot door Dorothy drawing-room drink Elizabeth Jane Howard everything expect eyes face father feel felt fingers Fleming Fleming’s Geoffrey George Warrender glass hair hand haven’t he’s head heard husband imagine Imogen Iris isn’t Julian June kind kissed knew Land Girl laughed Leila looked married Marseille mind minute morning mother never night one’s peignoir perfectly perhaps picked realized remember replied riding round seemed shook silence simply sleep smiled someone sorry stared stopped suddenly suppose talk taxi tears telephone tell things thought told Toni touched tried trying turned understand waited walked wasn’t watched Wilfrid window women won’t wondered wouldn’t you’ve