Jake Howard's Wife

Jake Howard has money, looks and a fortune he built himself, rising from nothing to the top. His wife Helen is beautiful, intelligent and well bred, and from the outside the two make an ideal couple.

The marriage is hollow. Jake picked Helen as a handsome possession to mark his success. She took him because the only other option was to earn her own living, and she feels nothing for him beyond irritation.

The tension centres on Keith Mannering, Helen's friend. Jake objects to the friendship, yet he expects Helen to ignore the many girlfriends he keeps. Helen resents the double standard.

This is a marriage-in-trouble romance in the category style of Anne Mather's shorter category fiction. It follows a couple whose union rests on convenience and pride, and it asks whether anything lasting can grow from such a start. The focus stays on the two of them and the strain between them.