The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Fuller, Claire. Bitter Orange. Tin House Books, Oct. 9, 2018. Kindle.

In the psychological thriller Bitter Orange, by Claire Fuller, Frances Jellico was overweight, socially inept, and lonely when she arrived at Lyntons to appraise the garden structures for Mr. Libermann, the American who had bought the English estate. Even though Frances had heard the violent arguments between Peter Robertson and Cara Calace, her downstairs neighbors, Frances accepted a dinner invitation from Cara. Frances overlooked the incongruences in Cara’s behavior as well as the outrageous stories she told because Frances so badly wanted a friend. As Cara’s behavior became more erratic, the friendship took a tragic turn.

Libermann contacted Frances with his job offer just months after Frances’ mother died. Frances had to drop out of college to care for her ailing mother, so at 39, Frances had never held a job or had friends. For that reason, Frances believed her life was changing when Cara invited her to have dinner with her and her husband, Peter. Peter and Cara were also staying at Lyntons because Peter had been hired to appraise the condition of the house and its contents. Peter noted to France when they first met that Libermann had provided him with an inventory list, but that nothing matched, so he would not notice anything missing. He told Frances that he and Cara had been dipping into an unlisted collection of wine in the cellar.

Meanwhile, when Frances and Cara were alone, Cara was telling Frances outlandish stories of her life. She talked about meeting George Harrison of the Beatles. She claimed she still had a coat the belonged to him. She also talked about her baby and how she had let him go. Frances assumed Cara had put the child up for adoption. Cara told Frances that Peter was still married to his wife, Mallory. She feared he would leave her and return to Mallory.

A turning point comes in the novel when Peter, Cara, and Frances discovered the storage room in which the Lynton family hid all of its valuables when the house was requisitioned by the army. Frances later wondered if things would have turned out differently if she had told Peter and Cara right then that the things did not belong to them and they could not treat them as their own. Instead, Frances said nothing. At the same time, Cara had told Frances an unbelievable story, that she had conceived Finn even though she was a virgin. Distressed by Cara’s story and her knowledge Peter planned to sell the things they had found, Frances escaped to London for several days.

When Frances returned from London, Peter and Cara had moved furniture and dishes into the house for their personal use. When they asked Frances if she was angry, she lied and said she was not. Peter escorted Frances to her bedroom that night to show her the furniture they had put in her room as well. Frances, who was in love with Peter, hoped he would kiss her, but he did not. They continued to use the Lynton's things freely. Peter sold some items to buy food and pay debts. In a bout of guilt, Frances wrote a letter to Libermann, telling him about the things they had found and how they were being used. She burned the letter when she remembered she had been drinking the stolen wine and eating the food Peter bought.

The situation came to a head weeks later when Frances and Peter received a telegram from Libermann telling him that he was coming to the estate. He would be arriving the following morning. They did not have time to clean up the mess they had made or finish the reports they had been hired to do. Frances followed Peter across the grounds. She reasoned they could apologize for what they had done. In a moment of desperation, she took off the robe she was wearing. Peter was shocked and told her that she had misunderstood him. He made her put the robe back on and then hugged her, telling her they would remain friends. When he stiffened and dropped his arms, Frances looked around to see Cara watching them.

The reader learns the truth of what happened through Frances’ description of the trial. Cara used sleeping pills that Frances has been prescribed to drug Peter and then slit his wrists. Frances had gotten a sledgehammer to try to break into the bathroom, but she and Cara fought over the sledgehammer. During the fight, Cara fell partially out of an open window. Frances saw a peaceful expression on Cara’s face as she let go of the window frame and fell to her death.

Frances did not try to defend herself during the trial because she wanted to go to jail where her life would be ruled by routine, as it had been when she lived with her mother. She let the jury believe she had killed both Peter and Cara. She smiled when the verdict was read, hoping it would get her a longer sentence.

As Frances lies on her deathbed in the present, still in jail, she thinks about her mother’s death. Frances smothered her mother, who had grown abusive and hateful, with a pillow. She took responsibility for the deaths of Peter and Cara as a way to do penance for killing her mother.