A Proper Marriage. Doris Lessing
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A Proper Marriage
Book Two of the ‘Children of Violence’ series
Doris Lessing
Fourth Estate
An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 77–85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph 1954
Copyright © Doris Lessing 1954
Doris Lessing asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities, is entirely coincidental.
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Source ISBN: 9780586089996
Ebook Edition © MAY 2010 ISBN: 9780007406920 Version: 2014-09-15
Table of Contents
‘You shouldn’t make jokes,’ Alice said, ‘if it makes you so unhappy.’
LEWIS CARROLL
It was half past four in the afternoon.
Two young women were loitering down the pavement in the shade of the sunblinds that screened the shop windows. The grey canvas of the blinds was thick, yet the sun, apparently checked, filled the long arcade with a yellow glare. It was impossible to look outwards towards the sun-filled street, and unpleasant to look in towards the mingling reflections in the window glass. They walked, therefore, with lowered gaze as if concerned about their feet. Their faces were strained and tired. One was talking indefatigably, the other unresponsive, and – it was clear – not so much from listlessness as from a stubborn opposition. There was something about the couple which suggested guardian and ward.
At last one exclaimed, with irritated cheerfulness, ‘Matty, if you don’t get a move on, we’ll be late for the doctor.’
‘But,