An Unsuitable Marriage By Colette Dartford with guest post

Could your marriage survive the ultimate betrayal? A sharp and emotional novel of a family under pressure, perfect for fans of Joanna Trollope and Hilary Boyd.

Olivia had everything - a loving husband in Geoffrey, a thoughtful and intelligent son in Edward and a beautiful home in the Somerset countryside.

But all that changed when Geoffrey's business went under. Now penniless and homeless, Geoffrey is living with his recently widowed mother, whilst Olivia has been forced to work as a housemistress at her son's elite boarding school.

With their marriage under intolerable strain, Geoffrey makes a mistake - one that has devastating consequences for the guilty and innocent alike . .

Guest Post by Colette Dartford

Character Profile:

I write about relationships in crisis and in my new novel, An Unsuitable Marriage, the relationship in question is the thirteen year marriage of Geoffrey and Olivia Parry.

Geoffrey is a vicar’s son, the only child of older parents. He grew up in a Somerset village, loved but lonely, and settled there after university, with a pregnant Olivia. This isn’t how he imagined his life but Geoffrey Parry knows the right thing to do and most of the time, he does it.

I find it much easier to write a bad man than a good woman. Not that Geoffrey is deliberately bad, but when bad things happen to him he responds in kind.

Faced with bankruptcy after losing his factory and his house, Geoffrey has no choice but to move back into his childhood home with his widowed mother. Ostracized by friends and villagers, many of whom lost their jobs when the factory closed, Geoffrey finds his life spinning out of control.

Neutered by stress and shame, he makes a devastating mistake—one that has consequences for the guilty and innocent alike.

Olivia Parry is a city girl, raised in a loving, working class home, and never imagined an affluent, rural existence. It takes time but eventually she comes to love life with her handsome husband, their cherished son and her circle of loyal friends.

But faced with the prospect of moving in with her stern, judgemental mother-in-law, Olivia is horrified and instead, takes a job as Houseparent at her son’s prep school. Here she stumbles across a sordid secret, and Olivia makes a powerful enemy that threatens not only her own future, by her son’s as well.

When tragedy strikes, Olivia discovers a terrible betrayal and realizes that life can never be the same again.

Colette Dartford