The Rules of Engagement

“If Henry James were around, the only writer he’d be reading with complete approval would be Anita Brookner.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“Anita Brookner works a spell on the reader; being under it is both an education and a delight.”
—The Washington Post Book World

“Brookner is a writer of great skill and precision. Passages of brilliant writing abound, hard-won insights
that startle us with Brookner’s clarity and succinct intelligence.”
—Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Few contemporary novelists can match Ms. Brookner’s consistently high level of achievement: the penetration of her vision, the sense of conviction in what she is doing, and the unforced elegance of her writing.”
—The Wall Street Journal

Elizabeth and Betsy had been school friends in 1950s London. Elizabeth, prudent and introspective, values social propriety. Betsy, raised by a spinster aunt, is open, trusting, and desperate for affection. After growing up and going their separate ways, the two women reconnect later in life. Elizabeth has married kind but tedious Digby, while Betsy is still searching for love and belonging. In this deeply perceptive story, Anita Brookner brilliantly charts the resilience of a friendship tested by alienation and by jealousy over a man who seems to offer the promise of escape.