1981. First English Edition. 8vo. 245pp. Maroon Cloth. Fine In Dust-jacket With Minute Single Nick. Owners Inscription. The English Printed Issue Of The Author"s First Book To Be Published Under Her Real Name.the Story Spans Half Of 20th Century And Chronicles The Refusal Of A Thoroughbred But Impoverised Anglo-irish Family To Understand The Realities Of Life Beyond The Gates At The End Of Their Drive, Particulary The Nature Of Money And Of Sex. The Narrator, Aroon St Charles, Is The Daughter Of The House. She Does Not Always Understand The Full Significance Of What She Is Telling, Which Is Hardly Surprising Considering That Tribal Custom Has Ordained That The Fierce Forces With Which She Has To Deal With Are No More Than Unfortunate Aberrations, To Be Put In Their Place By Good Manners.