Elizabeth Bowen is a marvelous writer, and To The North is widely regarded as one of her best novels. It tells the story of the contrasting love affairs of two young women, Cecelia and Emmeline, sisters-in-law (Cecelia was married to Emmeline's brother, who died of pneumonia before the novel begins), who share a house in London. Cecelia is involved in a casual ongoing relationship with Julian Tower, a relationship that may or may not develop into love. Then, on a train returning from Italy, she meets a young man, Mark Linkwater ("Markie"), an attorney. She renews acquaintance with him in London and invites him to a dinner at which he and Emmeline become attracted to one another.
In time, Cecelia and Julian drift into an engagement that seems to augur well. Emmeline (whose affair is more central to the book) is not so lucky. She is more passionate but also more reserved than Cecelia; she keeps her passion, and also, at times, her suffering, to herself. Markie is witty and physically drawn to Emmeline, but we recognize as the affair develops that he is also selfish, insensitive, and predatory. Their relationship seems doomed.
Threading her way through all this is Cecelia's nosy, meddlesome aunt, Lady Waters, who interferes in and attempts to control the lives of all around her, and whose manipulating invariably makes things worse, not better. Though not bad natured, she is also not at all perceptive, despite her confident belief in her own perspicacity. In the end, she is not an attractive character, and Bowen indulges in considerable irony at her expense, making her somewhat resemble Mrs. Norris in Mansfield Park.
Elizabeth Bowen writes with wonderful imagination and subtlety; she skillfully uses situations to reveal the personalities and emotions of her characters. There are occasional touches of humor (though this is not mainly a comedy). The writing is often poetic and beautiful. I highly recommend this book.