The Ante-Room (Virago Modern Classics)

It is the Eve of All Saints, 1880, and Teresa Mulqueen lies dying. Her family gathers round her, and beneath this sad scene another drama, no less poignant, unfolds. In this house of stillness and shadow, her daughter Agnes anxiously awaits the return of her sister Rose-Marie and brother-in-law Vincent. Agnes adores her sister, but secretly, passionately loves Vincent—and she knows their marriage is foundering. Ahead lies a terrible battle between her uncompromising religious faith and the intensity of her love.