Cinderella Jane

Jane Judd earns her pay mending clothes and keeping artists' rooms in order, while the people around her speak as though she were part of the furniture. Jerry Paxton, a portrait painter eager for a profitable opportunity, has just agreed to direct a grand society pageant. His friend Bobs worries that wealthy patrons will draw him away from serious work. Jane's reserve provides a different measure of this lively circle, where money, talent and social attention compete for importance.

Marjorie Benton Cooke brings domestic work and artistic ambition into the same story. Later, Jane discusses her own book, her approaching motherhood and Jerry's painting with their friend Martin. Marriage gives the questions of earning a living and protecting creative work a personal urgency. Readers interested in women writers and the practical pressures behind art will find a novel built around conversations, unequal expectations and the effort to understand another person.