Escape from Innocence

By Mary Haskell Curtis

Ellie Homans, artist and wife of a prominent surgeon, lives in sumptuous luxury in a Boston suburb. Senator Alexander Lindsay, of Bostonian aristocracy, is vital, handsome, and politically powerful. But privilege has shielded neither from loveless marriages. Together they find a passionate commitment that submerges their mutual devotion to fidelity and personal integrity. The discovery of their affair leads Ellie s husband to devise a life-threatening method to imprison his wife in her unwanted marriage. He unwittingly passes his vendetta to his daughter, whose fury brings mother and daughter to the brink of disaster. Ellie s escape from innocence to costly awareness leads her to the realization that love, no matter how mature, can have a dreadful price. A woman finally discovers what she wants and what it costs. Ellie Homans keeps a running tally of "shoulds" in her mind, a list of her failures as the wife of an eminent surgeon from one of Boston's first families and mother to a son following in his father's footsteps and a daughter who hates her. The list is a catalog of battles she's lost over the years, from the decoration of the house to where her daughter Annie should go to college. Curtis (Song for a Lifetime, 1999) unfolds this romantic drama set among the New England aristocracy with an assured hand. Rich, engaging characters demonstrate that love often comes at a high price. -Kirkus Discoveries

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595374808
• ISBN13: 9780595374809
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

what a great way to escape!

This is a fantastic book, and one that is hard to put down. I usually limit my reading to late at night, and, after a few nights of reading until close to 1 am, I finally sat down yesterday after dinner to finish it. Well developed characters, and a plot that drives forward to the very end. You will not forget Ellie Homans, nor will you be disappointed!

I escaped into this book for the weekend!

I picked this book up on a Saturday morning and started reading. By lunch, I had read the first third without leaving my chair. I had to attend a meeting in the afternoon and all I could think about was Ellie Homans--the heroine of the book--and her complicated relationships with her husband and lover. How was it going to turn out? Instead of delaying my gratification any further--by driving home after the meeting--I took a table at a small restaurant downtown and continued reading the book over dinner. By the time I looked up to discover the restaurant had closed around me, I had finished the book! I spent all day Sunday pretending I was a Director, figuring out which actors I would cast if I could make the movie version of Escape From Innocence. Then I read the book again! A great read and a terrific page-turner. 5 stars!