Page "Thinks ..." Paragraph 3

Helen Reed, an English novelist in her early forties with two children old enough to look after themselves, arrives on campus to spend the term there as " writer-in-residence " and to teach a creative writing class — actually sitting in for a professor who is spending the term abroad to write a novel.

Helen is going through a crisis in her life after the sudden death of her husband Martin a bit more than a year ago.

Martin Reed worked for the BBC researching material for documentaries.

One night, out of the blue, he developed a brain aneurysm, went into a coma, and died the next day.

Still grieving over the death of her beloved husband, Helen thinks a change of scenery might be a good idea to get over her loss.

However, the moment she sees the campus and the accommodation that has been provided for her, it occurs to her that she might as well turn on her heel and go back to their beautifully restored old house in London.

As she has rented it out for the duration of the term to a couple visiting from the United States, however, she finally brings herself to stay on and face the challenge: She has never finished her D. Phil.

thesis on point of view in Henry James and her teaching experience so far has been limited to some night class on creative writing full of bored housewives.