In , first published in 1926, Alec Waugh explores themes of love, marriage and friendship in the vibrant and dynamic years of the early twenties. With his characteristic attention to detail he uses his characters to examine the social and cultural changes of the time and their impact on interpersonal affairs. 'Love in these days. How remote it was from the old and simple need by which primitive men and women were surprised into the responsibilities of parenthood. How remote too from the gilded conception of mediaeval chivalry.'