After the Party

British author Connolly (The Happiest Days: Short Stories; My Former Heart) has written a richly detailed novel, alternating between the 1930s and 1979, about three upper-class British sisters and their intricate family dynamics. Phyllis, the main character, is well-meaning but easily led. Like many British citizens, she, her friends, and her family are scarred by World War I and determined to avoid another conflict. Convinced that the British Union of Fascists, headed by Oswald Mosley, will help Britain avoid being drawn into another war and excited about finding purpose and recognition, she seems unable to recognize the anti-Semitism at its core. She and her sisters embrace the movement, but only Phyllis ends up paying a price. Her time in jail and subsequent, very civilized imprisonment on the Isle of Man are vividly portrayed. Historical fiction set during World War II is quite popular, but this dark side of prewar Britain has been overlooked.