This novel is about Olivia, the 17 year old daughter of a wealthy middle class family in the England of 1920; she has been invited to the coming-out dance of an aristocratic neighbour. Outwardly nothing much happens but inside Olivia's head and heart the action is intense; her thoughts and feelings are captured perfectly. There is something touchingly familiar about her excitement and panic as she gets ready for the big night - a red silk dress that now seems too bright, hair pinned up so tightly it hurts and far, far too much scent! At the dance she has partners both young and old and sometimes, having no partner, she takes refuge in the cloakroom; she is not enjoying 'the strange anxious hours'. When someone, who has promised to dance with her, forgets, she plunges to the depths of despair and wonders how she can live if things like this happen. But the next moment the handsome host appears on the moonlit terrace and she survives...for now. Olivia's story is both poignant and amusing; she is such a likeable, engaging character that I feel I want to know more about her. I am looking forward to reading the sequel - The Weather in the Streets.
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