In A Great Marriage, Frances Mayes (Under the Tuscan Sun; Women in Sunlight) paints a portrait of intimate love, fierce loyalty, and vulnerability. American Dara Willcox and Brit Austin Clarke seem madly in love, until Austin receives shocking news mere days before their wedding. As he faces the consequences of his actions from a brief trip back to London months earlier, Austin finds that his relationship with Dara and the rest of his own life may never be the same. Dara returns home to North Carolina, where her perfectly matched parents, relationship-expert grandmother, and the rest of her shocked support system don't pry. Dara's journey from her present darkness toward the enlightenment of self-discovery involves touching moments of familial bonds, solitary reflections in nature, coming to terms with the destruction of her perfectly planned future, and a confrontation with her new unknown.
A Great Marriage depicts Dara and Austin's whirlwind romance and their personal struggles following the canceled wedding, along with the blossoming relationships among their friends and families. Dara's close-knit ties with the women in her family allow multigenerational wisdom to flourish in Mayes's beautiful prose and engrossing descriptive language. She weaves acute observations about interpersonal connections through the novel's multiple perspectives, which include first- and third-person points of view. Dara and Austin's separate paths prove that the happiest endings are not always the easiest to achieve. Both perspectives offer insight into facing unforeseen circumstances and following one's heart. Ultimately, Mayes explores one of the most important questions about love: Can it really conquer all? --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer