Thus Vivian is privy to the town's latest news and gossip. Vivian is especially interested in Wooster's 'Queen Bee', Betty Miller, whose father is Wooster's mayor and bank manager.
Betty Miller had a privileged childhood, married well, and is now inordinately proud of her beautiful house, fashionable clothes, well-groomed children, and flair for entertaining.
Betty is always throwing parties, which is a convenient way for her to show off, spread gossip, and badmouth people she doesn't like.
Vivian and Betty don't run in the same circles, so Betty is horrified when Vivian, proudly wearing a new hat, happens to catch her eye and wave hello. The effrontery!!
Soon afterward Betty gets a phone call that relates embarrassing news about Vivian's family, which Vivian overhears. Vivian is shocked and horrified about the scuttlebutt and decides to investigate the matter herself.
As Vivian looks into the rumor there are flashbacks to the past, and we learn about Vivian growing up with her parents and two sisters; young Vivian eavesdropping at family gatherings;
Vivian getting a job at the phone company; Vivian getting married; Vivian giving birth to a daughter; and so on.
While Vivian is investigating the matter Betty is insidiously - and happily - spreading the scandalous news about Vivian's family.
Betty is a self-centered, nasty piece of work and I hoped she'd get her comeuppance. In fact Betty does have SOME worries because two employees at her father's bank embezzled money and ran away, putting her dad in a financial bind.
Vivian is a flawed character as well, with her obsessive eavesdropping. However, Vivian has wiles and courage, and strives to better herself. Even though she didn't graduate from high school, Vivian likes to read women's magazines, learn new words and write poems.
The story is warm and funny in places but moves slowly and lacks sufficient drama (in my opinion). Still, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to fans of literary fiction.
Rating: 3 stars
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