The Passionate Elopement

A novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie, published in 1911. In the eighteenth century, Curtain Wells, an imaginary English spa town, lives to the rhythm of its baths, balls and card tables, under the rule of Beau Ripple, its judge of elegance. Young Phyllida Courteen, whose mother wants to keep her from marrying because of an inheritance, is courted by Francis Vernon, a gambler deep in debt who talks of running away with her, while a young poet, Charles Lovely, tries to win her heart. A witty comedy of manners, written in the language of the eighteenth century.