The Last September

Elizabeth Bowen is widely considered to be one of the greatest novelists of the twentieth century. While her novels masquerade as witty comedies of manners, set in the lavish country houses of the Anglo-Irish or in elegant London homes, they mine the depths of private tragedy with a subtle ferocity and psychological complexity reminiscent of Henry James. ‘The Last September’ (1929) – Set in 1920 during the Irish War of Independence. It follows young Lois Farquar at the Danielstown estate. Her family stubbornly throws tennis parties while Anglo-Irish aristocratic rule crumbles around them. ‘The Death of the Heart’ (1938) – A devastating exploration of adolescent love and betrayal. It follows 16-year-old orphan Portia Quayne as she navigates polite London society and falls for an unstable, carefree cad named Eddie.