A WOMAN OF MEANS by Peter...

A WOMAN OF MEANS by Peter Taylor (Picador: $10, 140 pp.). Originally published in 1950, this elegant novel explores the bond between a lonely adolescent and his mildly eccentric stepmother. When his father marries a wealthy divorcee, Quintus Dudley is reluctant to move and change schools again. But he quickly learns to enjoy the comfortable life her mansion affords. Too late, he realizes his parents’ marriage has begun to crumble, precipitating a bitter disaster.