ImoReads… ‘A Perfect Woman’ (1955) by L.P Hartley

“This was likely to happen when a woman of slightly superior social standing, decidedly superior brains and greatly superior imaginative capacity married a dullish man and lived in the provinces”

I’m a big fan of L.P Hartley so I always look forward to reading one of his novels. A Perfect Woman is a story of an ordinary husband and wife becoming entangled in an extraordinary situation. As ever, Hartley draws us in to this compelling story with wit and literary grace.

A Perfect Woman follows the Eastwoods – Harold, a conventionally-minded chartered accountant and his wife Isabel, who has a keen interest in the arts and literature. They have two children and are living out an unremarkable middle-class married life in the fifties. Until one day, when Harold chances to meet charismatic novelist Alexander Goodrich on a train. Alec finds Harold’s knowledge of income tax useful so the two of them begin a business relationship. When Alec comes to visit the Eastwood home, Isabel is immediately smitten, so entranced by his embodiment of a cultured, literary gentleman. However, it is Austrian barmaid Irma that takes Alec’s fancy when he and Harold visit the local pub. Isabel embarks on a mission to procure Irma for Alec, persuading Harold to take her out to dinner to discuss the idea with her. However, Harold soon starts an affair with Irma while Isabel begins a relationship with Alec on her trips to London. While initially improving their marriage, Isabel’s discovery of Alec’s latest manuscript means things take an unexpected and shocking turn.

Hartley is an astute social commentator, and A Perfect Woman is a classic example of what can happen in marital apathy. And yet, I was still astonished by how easily both Harold and Isabel began their affairs, and how not guilty they felt about it. On first appearance it is certainly an advert for what not to do in marriage, although later on it is revealed as the key for Harold and Isabel rediscovering their fondness for each other. Both Irma and Alec live up to typical stereotypes for illicit partners desired by men and women – one a young, foreign, attractive barmaid and the other a wordly, intelligent creative in touch with his emotions. The novel indicates that any relationship can be rocked by the arrival of sexy new strangers.

A Perfect Woman is an excellent social drama filled with unexpected twists and turns, and I would highly recommend it.

Happy reading,

Imo x