Miss Julia

As a middle-aged woman, Miss Julia suffers from boredom. She has too much free time and not enough to do. Her strong willed nature leads her to take matters into her own hands much of the time. The substantial inheritance from her late husband, after an apparent life of privilege, equips Miss Julia to assume this control easily. Though she treats everyone in a polite and friendly manner, she has few close friends. Through the course of this novel, however, she comes to see the value and humanity in people from various social classes.

Soon after her marriage, Miss Julia finds herself alone in her big house. Her husband leaves for a sightseeing trip to Russia, which he planned before their marriage. Julia declines to accompany him. Her other housemate, Hazel Marie, wins a trip to Mexico. Correctly suspecting a budding relationship between Hazel Marie and the...