A Certain Age

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By Beatriz Williams
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1 review
New York in the Roaring Twenties – a time for love, secrets and scandal…
As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue – a beautiful socialite of a certain age – has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young lover, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. But though times are changing, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question. When Theresa’s bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the youngest daughter of a newly wealthy inventor, Theresa enlists her lover to present the family’s diamond rose ring to pretty ingénue, Miss Sophie Fortescue – and to check into the background of this little-known family. Yet even as he uncovers a shocking secret, Octavian falls under Sophie’s spell… Divided loyalties and dangerous revelations lead to a shocking transgression and eventually Theresa must make a choice that will change them all forever. TweetReviews
St Just Thursday Evening Reading Group 1st August 2024.
A Certain Age. Beatriz Williams.
Most of the group said they quite enjoyed this book, though some were unimpressed and did not finish it. Several people also said they found it ‘weird’, or ‘strange’. It was generally agreed that the narrative was somewhat confusing towards the end.
We discussed the idea of moneyed people wishing to marry ‘old names’, even in so relatively modern a period as this (1920s America), with affairs being tolerated since the marriage is one of convenience; and also the book’s suggestion that people in the upper echelons of society, both in this book and in real-life contexts, do not necessarily behave in a way commensurate with their advantages and their expensive educations.
Some readers said the story was quite predictable, particularly the turret room scene in which Sophie tells Rofrano to look for the woman he loves. Not everyone, however, foresaw that the gossip columnist whose articles punctuate the narrative is actually Mrs Marshall.
Sophie’s mechanical aptitude didn’t appear to have a very satisfactory outlet, we thought, though there are hints at the end that she is accompanying Rofrano to assist with his aviation projects.
We talked about the plot and how it is copied from Der Rosenkavalier, with the same names. An interesting book, slightly unusual, and left open for further stories about the characters, particularly Virgo, Sophie’s sister.
Lastly, the amount of smoking was commented upon; and how the cover of this edition appears wrong for the period.