Part One: Chapters VII and VIII Summary and Analysis

In chapter seven, after lunch, Olwyn accompanied Malcolm to one of the houses where Sylvia lived. The woman who had found the flat for the Hughes recalled how Sylvia eschewed her suggestion to buy appliances and furniture second-hand. It was an American thing to want to sleep on a good bed and have a reliable refrigerator. Sylvia had told her mother about the dismal kitchens and bathrooms in England. However, after she and Ted separated, Sylvia chose to stay in England because her dark and edgy writing was more accepted there. In her youth, Sylvia was known for her American neatness and shining blond hair, long but always clean and in place. Toward the end of her life when she found her artist's voice, she also found her brown hair&mdash...