Revolving Lights

A woman leaves a London lecture with its arguments still competing against the pleasure of the lighted streets. Around her lie distinct social worlds: the reformers concerned with poverty, prosperous Wimpole Street, and the precarious lives of Tansley Street. Her thoughts move between political hopes and the private certainty she finds in buildings, stairways and lamplight. Even an attractive vision of a better future raises doubts about what makes the present feel alive.

Conversation with the Russian Lintoffs brings another kind of strain. Michael offers tea and a reassuring presence, while she struggles to make her French replies express what she feels. Richardson follows the movement of attention through fatigue, social discomfort and sudden impressions, allowing small gestures to carry considerable weight. Readers interested in reflective fiction will find a close account of the distance between public ideas and individual experience.