THE LONELY STEEPLE

by Victor Wolfson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 5, 1945

Confessional, after the fact, for the strange, saddening story of Addie Eldredge, and the involuntary, inescapable inner torment which found relief only in revenge. Raped by her father at 14, Addie never lost her fear and hatred of men; at her mother's insistence, she married Ed, who wanted her to bolster his ego, because she was weaker than he. Timorous, tongue-tied, she cannot bridge her fear of him, and finally Ed, free of the domination of his father, insists on a divorce so that he can marry someone who will be able to build him up. Addie finds her first peace and confidence and love with Halsey, the grocer, only to lose it when Ed moves next door with his new wife. Obsessed by envy and rivalry, by her own inadequacies, the advent of Ed's baby adds the final touch to her brooding, bitter unhappiness and Addie destroys them all...Cape Cod forty years ago -- the simple talk of plain people balancing the perverse, the pathological in a story of considerable momentum...Originally reported under the title The Longest Pleasure, in the issue of April 1.

Pub Date: Sept. 5, 1945

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1945

Categories: FICTION