Romance to the Rescue (1921) is a novel by Denis Mackail. Recognized in his time as a leading writer of popular fiction, Mackail was a gifted stylist with a keen sense of social convention and a deep commitment to developing his diverse casts of characters. Frequently funny, Mackail’s work is a pleasure to read and deserves renewed interest from the public. The past few years have been hard on David Lawrence. Having lost his mother to illness, he is preparing to go off to college at Oxford while living up to the expectations of his father Martin, a respected academic. While out to dinner with his father in London, David meets the mysterious Mrs. Cartwright, a charming older woman who seems to have a history with Dr. Lawrence. Encouraging him to pay a visit to her home, she bids them goodnight, leaving David to play it cool while conversing with his father. Not long after this brief meeting, David calls on Mrs. Cartwright to find her in the middle of a conversation with aspiring playwright John Ormroyd, who wishes to have his new production staged at the Thespian Theatre. Assuring him to remain confident in his work, Cartwright—whose husband Leo manages the Thespian—welcomes David into her drawing room, where she introduces the two men and bids farewell to John. As the story unfolds, passion and a secret from the past prove an entertaining concoction as men compete for the attention of a woman whose confidence and intelligence they foolishly underestimate. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Denis Mackail’s Romance to the Rescue is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
