DACEY HAMILTON

A somewhat different and quite captivating portrait of a lady, in which Dorothy Van Doren takes a turn for the popular (not too popular). Those First Affections was her very sensitive, and perhaps more distinguished, recapturing of a childhood. But this is a skillful bit of writing which should please the ladies. Shy, piquant and strange is Dacey Hamilton, odd is her background. At 27 she finds herself on her own in New York, a widow, with five children. She had married a famous painter when she was only fifteen, arousing the hatred of her mother who had loved him for years. Thatcher Hamilton used her for his own ego satisfaction, and she found herself in frightened withdrawal and retreat from men, even from the kind, lame journalist, who helped her find a job in New York, and who fell in love with her. How she overcomes her history, her fears, makes a provocative and appealing story. Set in the last war, with a clever use of the deadly parallel...Not for all comers -- but you can sell it!