ABSTRACT
Tony Coopman, while praising Rosamond Lehmann for her creation of 'an astonishing network of cross-references, beautifully stressing the symbolism of the title', also expressed dissatisfaction with the ending. Rickie's feminizers privileged masculinity, and are exemplified by Francis Wyndham, who devoted a full page of the Times Literary Supplement to a survey of Lehmann's work to date, culminating with The Echoing Grove. The plots of The End of the Affair and The Echoing Grove both revolve around intersecting, triangular relationships, which end with the death of the shared lover in the principal relationship and the reconciliation of the two survivors. Grahame Smith applauds the 'fusion of technical brilliance and passionate feeling' in The End of the Affair, which gives it, he contends, 'a very special place in twentieth-century fiction as a love story of extraordinary intensity'. Some contemporary reviewers did appreciate that Lehmann was attempting to discuss masculinity as well as addressing women's issues.
