This Friday’s read is an engrossing novel of passion, friendship, betrayal, and class—perfect for fans of Rules of Civility and The Marriage Plot.
A DUAL INHERITANCE begins in Autumn 1962. Ed Cantowitz and Hugh Shipley are in their final year at Harvard. Ed is far removed from Hugh’s privileged upbringing, yet these two young men form an unlikely friendship, bolstered by a fierce shared desire to transcend their circumstances. But in just a few short years, not only do their paths diverge, but their friendship ends abruptly, with only one of them understanding why.
And, the reviews are stunning:
“Sharply observed and masterfully constructed . . . a deft and assured examination of ambition, envy, longing, and kinship.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Hershon deftly explores how individuals often sabotage their chances for happiness. . . . The characters in this novel are fully realized, the story moves along at a fast pace, and the author is well informed about her subject.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“[A] searing novel about class, ethnicity, and love . . . The intensely detailed love triangle is reminiscent of an East Coast elite answer to the Midwestern trio of Freedom, but with mere keen observation in place of that other novel’s sweeping moral pronouncements.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)