Emily Grimes

Emily Grimes is just a child when the novel begins. Emily adores her older sister, and learns everything that is important to a child from her, but feels as though she is ignored because of the attention paid to her older, more beautiful sister. As Emily grows, she feels that she has surpassed her sister and outgrown her. Emily looks down on her sister, no longer able to relate to her. At the same time, Emily finds herself drawn back to her sister over and over again, as though she needs to see her sister's life in order to feel gratified in her own.

Emily is the child of divorce in a time when people simply did not get divorced. Not only this, but Emily's mother is a restless soul who is always coming up with new schemes to make herself rich. These schemes cause the family...