The Heat of the Day (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Elizabeth Bowen
- First Published: 1949
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Espionage
- Time of Work: 1942-1944
- Setting: London
- Principal Characters: Stella Rodney, Robert Kelway, Robert Harrison, Roderick Rodney, Mrs. Kelway, Ernestine, Cousin Nettie, Louie Lewis, Connie
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, War fiction, Spy fiction
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Class conflict, Love or romance, 1940’s, Betrayal, World War II, Alienation, Adultery, Loyalty, London, Ethics, Truthfulness and falsehood, Widows or widowers, Nazism or Nazis, Espionage or spies, Treason, Fascism
- Locales: London, England
Form and Content
Set during the Blitz in the fall of 1942, The Heat of the Day is more than a spy thriller or a war novel. Although it has some elements of both, these genres rarely have a woman as the protagonist. Bowen makes the war a backdrop for Stella Rodney’s ordeal and the issue of Robert Kelway’s treason secondary to his betrayal of her. Stella faces the mutability and dislocation inherent in twentieth century life as she struggles to keep herself intact in a world that seems to be crumbling around her. Amid destruction and danger, class distinctions are...
[The entire page is 2252 words long]
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