The Orange Tree

The Orange Tree by Mildred Walker, edited by Carmen Pearson

“Known in the mid-20th century for her American chronicles (Winter Wheat; Fireweed), Walker (1905-1998) was unable to publish this 1970s tale of two couples’ unlikely friendship during her lifetime. Newlyweds Olive and Ron Fifer live in a Boston apartment adjacent to Tiresa and Paulo Romano, an English professor and eye doctor who are a generation older. . . . As the couples come to know each other, their lives and marriages change irrevocably. In a manner reminiscent of Paula Fox (particularly in the dialogue), Walker delineates her characters with surety, unspooling Olive and Tiresa’s insights on sex, class, gender roles, age and each other.”—Publishers Weekly