The Divided Lady
{{Short description|Book by Bruce Marshall}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book |
| name = The Divided Lady
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = Divided lady.jpg
| caption = First UK edition
| author = Bruce Marshall
| illustrator =
| cover_artist = Dodie Masterman
| country = Scotland
| language = English
| series =
| genre =
| publisher = Collins (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
| pub_date = 1960
| english_pub_date =
| media_type = Print (paperback)
| pages = 158
| isbn =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
The Divided Lady is a 1960 novel by Scottish writer Bruce Marshall.
Plot summary
The style of this book is unusual for a Marshall work. The first half of the book alternates present time with flashbacks from the central character's earlier life.
James Childers, an accountant with a large London firm is sent to Rome to investigate a business deal. The Sisters of Ramoth-Gilead have invested a considerable sum with Morobito, a famous film producer, to make a movie about St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo of Turin. The Sisters suspect they have been swindled.
Childers, who served in Rome in the post-World War II era, quickly revisits old haunts. The chapters switch back and forth between events during his original tour in Rome and the current one.
Post-World War II Childers worked for the British Army dealing with Displaced Persons, specifically their financial situations. In his spare time he pursued Phoebe & Sarah, beautiful, identical twins who are aides of the General Childers also works for.
In the present time, while investigating the Sisters' case, Childers renews his acquaintanceship with Bice, the daughter of a wealthy Duke who was a teenager when he was last in Rome. Bice hopes to use this relationship to get a part in Morobito's film.
But Childers also meets Mila, who is what the Italians call a "Divided Lady," meaning that she is separated from her husband and hoping to obtain an annulment from the Catholic Church.Marshall, B: The Divided Lady Popular Library New York 1960.
References
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{{Bruce Marshall}}
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Category:Novels by Bruce Marshall