"Background for Love," a novel set during the summer of 1932/33, tells the story of the beginning of a great love during a temporary escape from the shifting conditions in Germany. A man, twenty years older and a bon vivant, must be abandoned by the young woman traveling with him to southern France before he understands what truly matters in their relationship and in life. She retreats to a tiny house in the reeds of Saint-Tropez, living her own life, forming new friendships, and finding inner peace. When the man unexpectedly encounters her again, he is struck by her strength and independence. However, she does not make it easy for him to start a life together. She demands fundamental changes in his attitude toward himself and the world, urging a return to simplicity. In the end, the young, inexperienced woman takes the background for love that the older, wealthy man intended to give her, radically transforms it, and returns it to him.
Helen Wolff Books
