Off in a world not quite of its own there is a realm of literary endeavor known as "women's fiction."… Novels of this genre appear serially in one of the three or four big women's magazines and subsequently in book form. Sometimes, as in the case of A Summer Place, such a novel becomes a very successful book and earns the author a great deal of money. (p. 309)

Monetary considerations aside—and few women's fiction writers are so successful, or, frankly, as good, as Mr. Wilson—women's fiction has fairly consistent characteristics, none of which is necessarily sinful. This fiction must, first of all, be fairly "easy." Its aim is leisurely relaxation and it must not demand too much in the way of intelligence or patience. It should simulate a certain boldness of idea and at the same time incorporate all the current clichés. Here Mr. Wilson...