A Cup of Tea - by Amy Ephron (Paperback)

About the Book

In 1917, as war looms abroad, Rosemary Fell has a perfect life--wealth, privilege, and handsome fiance Philip Alsop. One cold, rainy night, on a charitable impulse, Rosemary invites a destitute young woman home for tea. Philip is struck by the girl's beauty, and all of their lives are changed forever. This darkly romantic World War I-era love story may soon be a major motion picture directed by Anjelica Huston.

Book Synopsis

Rosemary Fell was born into privilege. She has wealth, well-connected friends, and a handsome fiance, Philip Alsop. Finally she has everything she wants.

It is then, in a moment of beneficence, that Rosemary invites Eleanor Smith, a penniless young woman she sees under a streetlamp in the rain, into her home for a cup of tea. While there, Rosemary sees Eleanor exchange an unmistakable look with Philip, and she sends Eleanor on her way. But she cannot undo this chance encounter, and it leads to a tempestuous and all-consuming love triangle -- until the tides of war throw all their lives off balance.

Inspired by a classic Katherine Mansfield short story, A Cup of Tea engages with its vivid -- and often amusing -- cast of characters, wonderful period detail, brilliant evocation of the uncertain days of World War I, and delightfully spare and picturesque sense of story.