Mary Renault's inventive debut novel: A love-triangle drama set against the backdrop of hospital lifeWorking in a hospital in 1930s Britain, two colleagues fall into an emotionally charged relationship. Vivian and Mic work demanding jobs and must endure long gaps between their secret meetings. But it is their relationship with Vivian's brother, Jan, a charismatic scientist, that really complicates their union. Before falling for Vivian, Mic had nursed feelings for independent-minded Jan. As for Vivian, her romantic experience has left her with doubts about commitment. For this fraught trio, big questions about love—what and whom it is for—demand answers.In this powerful, sparklingly written debut tale of romance between the wars, Mary Renault showcases the talents that made her one of the twentieth century's most beloved novelists.

A wry romp through 1930s mores, social and sexualProgressive for its time as well as ours, The Friendly Young Ladies is a deftly witty comedy set in England between the wars. At eighteen, Elsie has had enough of life at her bickering parents' Cornwall home. She decides to join up with her bohemian older sister, Leo, in the city. Leo's life is full of surprises—not least her significant other, Helen, a beautiful nurse. As Elsie gets acquainted with Leo's world, new characters—including a novelist and a doctor deluded enough to chase all three women at once—come into play. With acid humor and a supremely light touch, The Friendly Young Ladies colors in an unseen dimension of the 1930s.

Mary Renault's passionately told story of a doctor trapped between his wife and his loverDoctor Kit Anderson is starting to see his marriage in a new light. Relations are strained with Janet, his beautiful wife, who now strikes him as petty and narcissistic. With no shortage of work to busy him, Anderson resigns himself to the consolations of professional life—that is, until he meets Christie, the great-niece of a dying patient. Warm and vivacious, Christie stands in stark contrast to Kit's wife, and suggests hope of a second and more passionate act to his life. How long can their affair be kept secret, though, and does Kit want the best for Christie, or only for himself?