First published here in 1946, Taylor's English comedy of manners joins Virago's venerable series of rediscovered women's fiction, and comes with a rather perfunctory introduction by bookseller Tim Waterstone. Back in 1946, Kirkus (March 1, p. 109) considered Taylor's "special social comedy" to be "subtle" and "stylised," but "lacking particular pattern or purpose." Little actually happens when Julia Davenant and her diverse group of friends spend a year in a house rented from Mrs. Lippincote—mostly Taylor's characters live according to type, from R.A.F. commander to committed communist. Though Kirkus praised this "expose of human frailties and failures," we also expected it to interest only "discriminating tastes."
