Angle of Repose Summary
Wallace Stegner

Angle of Repose Summary

Retired historian Lyman Ward writes a family history focused on his grandparents - mining engineer Oliver Ward and writer/artist Susan Burling. Lyman Ward is a one-legged semi-invalid living in his grandparents' home in Grass Valley, California as the novel opens. He is divorced, his wife having had an affair with the surgeon who removed his leg. His son Rodman Ward is a Berkeley-educated sociologist who, Lyman believes, has no conception of history. Rodman loves his father and wants to move him into a retirement home in Menlo Park where he believes his father will receive better care. Rodman also acts as an intermediary for his mother, Ellen, who is remorseful about her affair and the divorce and wants to meet with Lyman.

Lyman Ward gets through his days with difficulty, relying on his personal assistant Ada Hawkes, a childhood acquaintance, for daily baths and meal preparation. He hires Ada's daughter,... View more of the Angle of Repose Summary