Vacant Places - Softcover

Stanley Middleton (born August 1, 1919) is a British novelist. He was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire and educated at High Pavement School, Stanley Road, Nottingham and University College Nottingham (later the University of Nottingham). Some of his other works include Valley of Decision and Entry into Jerusalem.

Thatcherite England is the setting for a well-crafted if excessively talky domestic drama by the prolific English author of Recovery. Henry Fairfax, an accountant saved from being totally dull by his avocation--writing critically acclaimed radio plays for the BBC--works for his former brother-in-law, prosperous entrepreneur Conrad Le Jeune. Henry's marriage to Conrad's sister Laura ended acrimoniously three years ago; now, however, she is a successful businesswoman, vibrant and expertly coiffed, who wants her ex-husband back. Henry's brother Jim also has marital problems, and when Laura, at Henry's urging, offers him a job, he accepts, abandoning his wife and moving to London. Laura, in the meantime, seduces a hesitant Henry, proposing that they remarry, on terms different from those of their previous, traditional marriage. She wants it all in a commuter marriage that is supposed to be emotionally satisfying but strictly part-time. Middleton's unabashed romanticism--true love wins out in the end--makes the book enjoyable, but his slow pacing strips it of intensity.
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