The Men and the Girls

Lifelong friends, now in their sixties, James Mallow, a teacher, and Hugh Hunter, a television personality, are both enjoying happy relationships with women twenty-five years their junior. James's partner of eight years, Kate Bain, appears devoted, though she will not marry him. Hugh's perfect wife, Julia, runs him, her career, their house, and their twins like clockwork. The men and the girls seem wonderfully suited. But the age difference is a time bomb ticking away at the heart of both relationships. The first signs of difficulty coincide with the appearance of an older and fiercely independent woman who unintentionally fuels the discontent already brewing in both girls. Kate's suppressed hunger for a life more natural to her age suddenly boils over; Julia, meanwhile, has to cope with her own blossoming career while watching Hugh's wither before their eyes. With warmth and wisdom, plus the acerbic sense of humor for which the English are so well known, Trollope takes a long hard look at the gaps between generations, and how very much we can learn from them.