A long fatal love chase

Description:

Roasamond Vivian, a young girl living with her bitter grandfather, yearns for excitement. When Phillip Tempest pays a visit, Rosamond finds herself charmed by him, though he is nearly twice her age and quite obviously "not a saint." She declares that she would gladly pay a price for happiness, and, thinking that she might change him with her love, marries Tempest a month later. She has no idea just how she'll pay for her decision. The plot is obviously Faustian, with references throughout to Mephistopheles; early in the novel, Rosamond says, "I often feel as if I'd gladly sell my soul to Satan for a year of freedom."

subjects: Relationship addiction,  Fiction,  Obsessive-compulsive disorder,  Separation (Psychology),  Married women,  18.06 Anglo-American literature,  Concord (Mass.),  Obsession (Psychology),  Suspense fiction,  Authors,  Young women,  Love stories,  History,  Large type books,  Europe, fiction,  Man-woman relationships, fiction,  American fiction (fictional works by one author),  Psychological fiction

People: Ganymede,  Ristori,  Mephistopheles,  Satan

Places: Europe

Times: 19th century