The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (cont.)

origins and her multiple lies trying to cover up that past, Ann goes through a very trying time. Eventually she is exonerated, but she still pays.
   Her husband's family do not believe her innocence, but for the sake of their two children, they keep up appearances. Ann takes to the jet set life, leaving her children to Mere (the other Mrs. Grenville).
   As the years pass, Ann's profligacy and coarseness cause her to slip from the creme de la creme to the second and third ranks. Her son commits suicide on Mother's Day. Her daughter leaves the East Coast for Seattle, so that she doesn't have to see her mother.
   When the narrator, Mr. Dunne's writer, of the story publishes a magazine excerpt that details the true facts of how Mrs. Grenville murdered her husband, twenty years ago, Ann knows that she can no longer pretend that anyone believes her protestations of innocence. Since public appearances are most important to her, Ann commits suicide.

 

 

 

 An excellent book. Writing lesson learned - the superficial trappings of material wealth are an essential part of writing about the rich.