The Inn at Lake Devine

It's 1962 and all across America barriers are collapsing. But when Natalie Marx's mother inquires about summer accommodations in Vermont, she gets the following reply: The Inn at Lake Devine is a family-owned resort, which has been in continuous operation since 1922. Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles. For twelve-year-old Natalie, who has a stubborn sense of justice, the words are not a rebuff but an infuriating, irresistible challenge.

In this beguiling novel, Elinor Lipman charts her heroine's fixation with a small bastion of genteel anti-Semitism, a fixation that will have wildly unexpected consequences on her romantic life. As Natalie tries to enter the world that has excluded her--and succeeds through the sheerest of accidents--The Inn at Lake Devine becomes a delightful and provocative romantic comedy full of sparkling social mischief.

"A punchy little comedy of manners. . . . Think Jane Austen in the Catskills." --Chicago Tribune

"A tale of delicious revenge." --USA Today

"A funny, knowing novel about how love really does conquer all. . . . Thanks to Lipman's deft touch, the novel . . . rivals her own best work for its understanding of the way smart, opinionated people stumble toward happiness." --Glamour

"Delightful. . . . [A] witty romantic comedy." --The New York Times Book Review