A More Innocent Time

This is a favorite love story of mine--I like the sad ones. Set in England of the 1960's, it details a seven year attraction between two people opposite in every way: class, world outlook, emotional expression, and, the one that the book turns on: age.The set up: A young woman who writes for a living needs to supplement her income. She is hired to sub at a prep school where she teaches sons of aristocrats the art and beauty of poetry. She becomes especially close to a group of eleven year old boys and through her teaching sessions, inflames their emotions and imaginations. The boys, on the crucial edge of puberty, are utterly fascinated with anything as female as their lovely teacher,unusual as she is in their male-dominated educational institution.The plot: One of these young men is especially captivated by her. His focus grows into obsession as their paths cross, divide, and meander into one another over the years. Agnes (the teacher) and Geoff (the student) become closer as Agnes watches Geoff grow up and he forces her to understand and respond to his very real passion for her.The resolution: Ah, that would be a spoiler so I won't tell you. But it is, like all good love stories, sad and satisfying at the same time. How else could this novel of high emotions end, but with an enexpected tragedy?Overview: This succeeds with real characters who participate in a fascinating human dance of passion. Geoff is a young, sophisticated Healthcliff who plots his chase of Agnes with cunning and style. He is alternately replusive and sympathetic in his single-minded pursuit. She is his opposite: flitty and emotive, not level headed enough to see the danger early in their relationship. Or perhaps she sees, but senses the excitement that will result. Find it on the OP databases--it is never very expensive, or check it out from a library.