This book was a perfect fit for me. An Edwardian English diplomat, Hugh Thurne, struggles to find himself in a dead-end marriage and a not-so-great career as a diplomat just after World War I. While, technically, the Edwardian Era “ended” with the death of it’s namesake, Edward VII, in 1910, that generation carried on administering the war and its aftermath.
The story moves with the speed of its era–slowly, gracefully, with measured steps. Hugh’s thoughts, his musings, his “re-thinkings,” are centered on the three women of his life–his young Venetian mistress, his bored wife, and his recently deceased best friend’s widow. An Edwardian midlife crisis couched in the beauty and grace of its era.
I think this is the first book I’ve ever found and enjoyed that had almost no reviews on Amazon, yet was commercially published. (There were a few more on the British Amazon page). If you enjoy period pieces like Merchant Ivory films, you will enjoy this book.
By the Grand Canal by William Riviere
My rating
4 Stars
Hopewell's Public Library of Life 
Isn’t it nice to discover a good book that hasn’t received a lot of hype? There are so many books out there, they can get lost in all the other promotions.
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I know–I get tired of always choosing the “must read of the week”. This was a nice surprise.
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