A Woman at Thirty

It can be a bit melodramatic and the characterization is not at all convincing. Julie, Marquise dAiglemont, is warned by her father not to marry the dashing officer that she admires when they go to farewell Napoleons troops but she does and, well, gosh, daddy was right and so is his auntie, the guy is a dolt and a cad. The discovery that he is Not a Nice Man makes Julie take to her bed with the vapours, but somehow she manages to get pregnant and have a child, Helene.But Julie recovers and none too worried about the sanctity of marriage either she takes a lover, Lord Grenville, though they never actually, er, consummate their love because She is Too Good and He is Too Noble. But goodness me, theres a quick-hide-in-the-cupboard scene when hubby comes back unexpectedly. (You cant expect him to believe theyre just sighing A Lot and Loving in Purity, can you?) So poor Lord G ends up having to wait out the night on the windowsill to Save her Honour, and (while Im sure this would never happen to a Frenchman) he catches cold and dies.