The American Lover

Tremain's baker's dozen stories are beautiful depictions of the messy interiors of human emotions. In her title story, a once-popular author, now crippled after a devastating accident, reflects on the obsessive love affair that both made and destroyed her. In "The Jester of Astapovo," a depressed 1910 Russian stationmaster stuck in a shriveled marriage while pining for an unattainable "other" is caught up in the drama of hiding a desperately ill Leo Tolstoy from his madly controlling wife. "The Housekeeper" moves forward 26 years, presenting the story behind the story of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. The narrator, Mrs. Danowski, is asked by her employer, Lord de Whithers of Manderville Hall, to give visiting guest du Maurier a tour of the estate. A stop at the summerhouse on the grounds triggers an explosive, albeit secretive affair between the women that ultimately leads to shocking literary betrayal.