About This Book
Iris, whose heart ruled her, gave her love to four men... a love of the mind to the first, then of the heart, of the body, and finally of the spirit.
In the biggest and most full-bodied of her novels, Margaret Mackay portrays for us a woman who is surely one of the most appealing heroines of recent fiction.
Iris is ruled by her heart, and her need to love and to be loved involves her with four men I n the twenty-eight years of the story. The daughter of a flamboyant Broadway actress, she believes she is sufficiently worldly to take care of herself. But nothing in her experience or background has prepared her for the bitterness of her wedding night, when her husband reveals for the first time why he married her. Theirs becomes an alliance of the mind alone, for as long as it lasts.
Iris goes on to three other alliances successively -- of the heart, of the body, and finally of the spirit, as the author tells us. With the second of her "fates," though she cannot marry him, Iris finds her wildest happiness -- and her deepest disillusion. With the third, who seems bent on proving that sexually he can outdo a man half his age, she for the first time finds love a burden. Each of these relationships has broadened her understanding of love and of herself, and now the last, though it takes the reader unawares, has a satisfying and convincing quality of fulfillment that brings the story full circle and attests Mrs. Mackay's command of her art.
As vivid as these major characters are the lesser ones, from Iris's mother and her alcoholic companion, Zoe, to M. Delage, the Texas rancher, and even the numerous children of the story are sharply drawn individuals.
The setting is divided among, America, England, and France.
In the biggest and most full-bodied of her novels, Margaret Mackay portrays for us a woman who is surely one of the most appealing heroines of recent fiction.
Iris is ruled by her heart, and her need to love and to be loved involves her with four men I n the twenty-eight years of the story. The daughter of a flamboyant Broadway actress, she believes she is sufficiently worldly to take care of herself. But nothing in her experience or background has prepared her for the bitterness of her wedding night, when her husband reveals for the first time why he married her. Theirs becomes an alliance of the mind alone, for as long as it lasts.
Iris goes on to three other alliances successively -- of the heart, of the body, and finally of the spirit, as the author tells us. With the second of her "fates," though she cannot marry him, Iris finds her wildest happiness -- and her deepest disillusion. With the third, who seems bent on proving that sexually he can outdo a man half his age, she for the first time finds love a burden. Each of these relationships has broadened her understanding of love and of herself, and now the last, though it takes the reader unawares, has a satisfying and convincing quality of fulfillment that brings the story full circle and attests Mrs. Mackay's command of her art.
As vivid as these major characters are the lesser ones, from Iris's mother and her alcoholic companion, Zoe, to M. Delage, the Texas rancher, and even the numerous children of the story are sharply drawn individuals.
The setting is divided among, America, England, and France.