Instances of the Number 3 A Novel [Paperback]

Following the death of Peter Hansome, his wife Bridget is contacted by Frances Slater, her late-husband's mistress. Though the two are from opposite sides of London and meet under the least desirable circumstances, the women become close friends. In a subtly wrought turn of events, Bridget and Frances discover that they have in common what is important to them most: their parallel memories of Peter, killed in a car accident, and the shared reality of his spirit form, haunting them still. A gracefully tuned feat of the imagination, Salley Vickers's novel is a rare celebration of life's most intriguing geometries, the love triangle.

Entertains even as it considers serious questions of sin and redemption, love and loss, what we venture in this life and the reckonings we may face in the great beyond. Francine Prose, People

A book to place on the shelf next to Marilynne Robinson's hauntingHousekeepingand Penelope Fitzgerald's sereneThe Blue Flower....Harold Bloom once observed that a sense of strangeness in a work of art was one likely sign of greatness. Instances of the Number 3 possesses such an utterly assured, if quiet originality. Michael Dirda, Crisis

A comedy of manners and a ghost story...Thoroughly entertaining. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A testament to the craftiness and generosity of spirit of the author, whom one hopes to hear from much more. The Seattle Times

Salley Vickers's novels,Instances of the Number 3andMiss Garnet's Angel, have been bestsellers in England. She divides her time between London and Bath

1. With whom does your initial sympathy lie, Bridget or Frances? Compare
their reactions to Peter's death. Do your sympathies change through the
course of the novel?
2. Describe Peter's character. How do Frances's and Bridget's impressions
of him differ? Which woman has a better understanding of him?
3. Compare the personality l³"