The Heat of the Day
First edition
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| Author | Elizabeth Bowen |
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| Language | English |
| Publisher | Knopf |
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Publication date
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12, October 1948 |
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| Preceded by | The Death of the Heart (1938) |
| Followed by | A World of Love (1955) |
The Heat of the Day is a novel written by Elizabeth Bowen, first published in 1948 in the United Kingdom, and in 1949 in the United States of America.
The Heat of the Day revolves around the relationship between Stella Rodney and her lover Robert Kelway, with the interfering presence of Harrison in the tense years following the Blitz in London. Harrison, a British intelligence agent who is convinced that Robert is a German spy, uses this knowledge to get between the two lovers and ultimately neutralise Robert. Stella finds herself caught between spy and counterspy. The narrative reveals the "inextricable knitting together of the individual and the national, the personal and the political."
The novel opens during the midst of World War II, in a London park where a concert is taking place. Present at the concert are Louie, a young woman whose husband is fighting in the war, and Harrison, an English counterspy. Louie attempts to flirt with Harrison, who sternly rebuffs her. After the concert, Harrison goes to the flat rented by Stella Rodney, a middle-aged woman who works for the government. Harrison is in love with Stella and has been pursuing her for years; Stella, however, is in love with another man, Robert Kelway. Harrison now tells Stella of his suspicions that Robert is a spy for the German government. He promises not to report Robert to the government if she leaves Robert to become his lover.
Stella rejects Harrison's offer, but nevertheless considers the possibilities. At this time her son, Roderick, visits her on leave from his army training. The novel recounts how Roderick has previously inherited Mount Morris, the Irish estate owned by his father's Cousin Francis. Francis, an elderly and wealthy man, had died while visiting his wife, Nettie, at a home for the mentally infirm. It was at Francis's funeral that Stella first met Harrison, who claimed to be a friend of Francis.
Stella continues her relationship with Robert, meeting his eccentric family and holding off Harrison. She eventually leaves for Ireland to visit Mount Morris and take care of affairs for Roderick. Her time there reminds her of her youth, when she had been married to Roderick's father; they were later divorced. Stella resolves to ask Robert about Harrison's accusations. Back in England, Robert denies the accusation, upbraiding Stella for distrusting him. He then proposes that they get married.
Roderick visits his Cousin Nettie to learn whether she wants to return to Mount Morris. Nettie displays a surprisingly sound presence of mind, revealing that she has feigned mental illness to live life on her own terms. She also tells Roderick that, contrary to universal belief, Stella had not initiated her divorce. Roderick's father had begun the proceedings after he fell in love with an army nurse. Roderick confronts his mother with this information, to which she responds that everyone has always assumed she was the guilty party. A phone call from Harrison interrupts the conversation, and Stella accepts his dinner invitation to avoid her son.
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