Up at the Villa is this month's book club selection. I loved this book! It relates the story of Mary Panton, a young English widow, living in Florence. While she considers whether to marry an older suitor, she has encounters with two other men, Rowley and Karl, which, in very different ways, change her life and her future. In some ways, I thought that Mary took on a more typically man's role with Karl, yet she needed another man, either Rawley or Edgar to get her out of the situation.

The writing was beautifully descriptive; the book was a joy to read. I loved the language and the use of conversation.

One of my favorite quotes is Rawley's comment that Edgar was "a great man posing as a great man."

I had not read anything else of Maughmam's before, but I will look for more of his works.