Fonseca

Kane follows up Rules for Visiting with a masterful novel drawn from a journey British author Penelope Fitzgerald (1916–2000) made to northern Mexico in 1952. Penelope’s husband, Desmond, is an alcoholic, their London literary journal is on the verge of bankruptcy, and she’s three months pregnant with a child they can’t afford. Things take a promising turn when she receives letters from two women claiming to be old family friends. Elderly widow Elena Delaney and her sister-in-law Anita, Irish expats living in Mexico, explain that they have a silver mining fortune but no heirs; if Penelope brings her son to meet them, they might leave him the money. Penelope doesn’t remember the women, but her finances are too precarious to refuse. She and six-year-old Valpy travel to the small town of Fonseca, arriving on the Day of the Dead. The Delaneys, both heavy drinkers, barely recall their letters, and Penelope is just one of many visitors seeking a share of their wealth. As Penelope waits, hoping she and Valpy will win their favor, her attraction to a man claiming to be a distant Delaney relation tests her loyalty to Desmond and she takes what might be her first stabs at writing fiction. Adding to the rich tension between fact and fiction are undated letters from the real Valpy and Fitzgerald’s older daughter, Tina, to an unidentified recipient concerning the 1952 trip. It amounts to a luminous exploration of a woman’s desperation and resilience. Agent: PJ Mark, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Aug.)