The blessing
(Book)

Originally published: London : H. Hamilton, 1951.

When Grace Allingham, a naïve young Englishwoman, goes to live in France with her dashingly aristocratic husband, Charles- Edouard, she finds herself overwhelmed by the bewilderingly foreign cuisine and the shockingly decadent manners and mores of the French. But it is the discovery of her husband's French notion of marriage - which includes a permanent mistress and a string of casual affairs - that sends Grace fleeing back to London with their "blessing," young Sigismond, in tow. While others urge the couple to reconcile, little Sigi - convinced that the situation will improve his chances of being spoiled - applies all his juvenile cunning to keeping his parents apart.