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A WOMAN POSSESSED by Malcolm Macdonald

A WOMAN POSSESSED

by Malcolm Macdonald

Pub Date: June 14th, 1993
ISBN: 0-312-09416-7
Publisher: St. Martin's

More of Macdonald's wise/unwise, chatty, jaunty women—a pair this time—and their equally entertaining men, again holding forth in the environs of the Cornish village of West Penwith, again with heroines from A Woman Alone, An Innocent Woman, etc. in cameos. The time here is at the birth of the 20th century and the Coming of the Automobile. The peace of Giles and Laura Curnow, now married 14 years with several children, and Laura's widowed cousin Sybilla, is utterly destroyed when Maurice Petifer (with whom, years before, Laura—and possibly Sybilla?—had had an ``attachment'') returns from South Africa and actually buys a house next to Sybilla's property. Sybilla simply loathes Maurice, and Giles, knowing of Laura's early affections, has impossible feelings—something to do with marital ``equality'' although essentially, in his rage, it's ``tiger country.'' Meanwhile, the four, with staging by a nearby couple, talk on and on and change partners. Sybilla is high on hate; Laura is bemused by all the lusting in her heart; Giles swings between a judicious distance and growling thoughts of murder; Maurice seeks his chances. Before long, there will be shocking pairings: naughty Sybilla and Giles; only slightly shocked Laura and Maurice. Then, yards and yards of bright talk later, comes a lively resolution in which an earthy housekeeper plays an essential role, and it's done all amid the roar of motor cars—the Opel, the Mercedes, the Lancaster, etc. etc. As with others in this series: a treat for those enjoying the copious gab of long-winded ladies bent on loving and liberation. Busy, sputtering, noisy fun.