The Twelfth Hour

The narrative sketches a circle of fashionable London acquaintances centered on a spirited young woman and her handsome nephew, whose flirtations, verses and engagements trigger a chain of social encounters. The book alternates comic salon scenes, dinners and parties with quieter episodes of misunderstanding, artistic frustration in a London studio, and episodic intrigues involving a velvet case, a soothsayer and chance revelations. Satirical portraits of manners and witty observation drive shifting alliances and reconciliations, and the episodic plot builds toward a late-night resolution that clarifies loyalties and courtships.