The Road to Lichfield, Lively's first novel for adults, is, in one respect, an exploration of the inevitable limitations and compromises of life, particularly those imposed by marriage and by aging. The protagonist is a fortyyear-old suburban housewife and parttime history teacher named Anne Linton who finds herself in a midlife crisis of sorts. At the novel's outset she has just received word that her widowed father, living several hours away in Lichfield, has entered a nursing home due to failing health. His condition necessitates Anne's making several trips to Lichfield over the course of the next few months, to visit with her father and to settle his affairs. In the course of these stays, a number of psychologically disorienting events occur that cause Anne to readjust her perceptions of her past and present life and of her marriage.

In sorting through her father's papers, Anne...