The Shingle Beach

The three strong-willed women at the core of this overblown romance may struggle with the strictures of Victorian England, but they are utterly defeated by Sully's ( The Barleyfield ) melodramatic and hoary plot. Unconventional Elizabeth, a widow, refuses to marry the love of her life for fear of giving up her freedom, but she strives to control her daughters, Katherine and Agnes. Katherine, anguished by unrequieted love, takes to drink and to chloral. Agnes, restlessly searching for something to feel passionate about, realizes that studying medicine and her engagement to the solicitous Theo have proven unsuccessful diversions, so she steals the man her sister loves, then immerses herself in the family business in Australia. The women's inability to understand one other threatens their familial ties, until a bally-hooed ruinous secret Elizabeth has been hiding for years is forced into the open. Poor character motivation and even poorer structure help sink this novel far from shore. (May)