The Reef by Edith Wharton (August 11-September 3, 2005)
The Reef tells the story George Darrow, who is traveling from London to France, planning to marry the widowed Anna Leath. He’s been interested in Anna since he was a young man, but her reserve has always confused him. After Anna postpones their meeting with a short note and no explanation, Darrow, angry and hulimiated, runs into Sophy Viner in Paris. Sophy is a poor and sincere woman, and while Darrow cares little for her, he enjoys charming her and giving her some of the pleasures her life has missed. Additionally, he wants to put Anna out of his mind. The two have an affair.
The reader is left in the dark about how the affair ends. Months later we
meet Darrow again, now at Anna’s home, where she and her former mother-in-law,
stepson Owen Leath, and young daughter live. Darrow is shocked when he meets
Sophy again, in the position of governess of the young daughter. As Anna
and Darrow plan their wedding, Anna consults Darrow about Owen’s
interest in a young lady. Darrow eventually learns that Owen has proposed
to Sophy, and his sympathy for Sophy conflicts with his feeling that she’s
an inappropriate wife for Owen. These secrets begin to unravel as all individuals
seek out their own purposes in a perfectly executed plot.
