Jane and Prudence
Jane and Prudence, who met at Oxford (when Prudence was a student and Jane was her tutor), are best friends. The story opens with Jane - who is now married to a clergyman and is basically a housewife - moving with her husband to a new parish in a small town outside of London. Jane worries about Prudence, who is an attractive bachelorette career girl in London - at 29, Prudence is on her way to becoming a 'spinster' if she doesn't get married soon.
S...