Harriet Hume

Harriet Hume's unchanging beauty and commitment to her art stand in stark contrast to Arnold Condorex's more worldly goals. After a romantic tryst, she discovers that she can read his mind, but Arnold, with his sights set on moving up in the world, quickly parts from the mysterious lady. As they encounter each other over the years, Harriet's intuitive powers continue to unsettle Arnold, opening his eyes to the darker elements of his political and financial aspirations, even as he remains drawn to her. Beautifully drawn and filled with magical touches, West's fantasy explores innate and learned gender roles, as her characters uncover the mystery surrounding their otherworldly connection.

Dame Rebecca West (1892-1983) is one of the most critically acclaimed English novelists, journalists, and literary critics of the twentieth century. Uniquely wide-ranging in subject matter and breathtakingly intelligent in her ability to take on the oldest and knottiest problems of human relations, West was a thoroughly entertaining public intellectual. In her eleven novels, beginning with The Return of the Soldier, she explored topics including feminism, socialism, love, betrayal, and identity. West's prolific journalistic works include her coverage of the Nuremberg trials for the New Yorker, published as A Train of Powder,and Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, her epic study of Yugoslavia. She had a son with H.G. Wells, and later married banker Henry Maxwell Andrews, continuing to write, and publish, until she died in London at age ninety.