The Reef, Penny Leicester’s dramatization of Edith Wharton’s 1910 novel, told of four Americans living in Paris. Darrow, an older man engaged to Anna, a divorcee of similar age, falls in love with Selina, a much younger woman. He tries to hide the fact from his fiancée, but his past eventually catches up with him. Like her near-contemporary Henry James, Wharton is concerned with analyzing in minute detail the feelings of individual characters, their basic sense of isolation and their need for company. Sometimes the sentiments expressed appear a little archaic: Darrow was allowed to get off scot-free - although he committed a semi-adulterous act in the first place, he still manages to retain Anna’s love, even though he does not deserve it. Meanwhile Selina is to racked with guilt that she is forced to leave France altogether out of a desire to be ‘decent’ to everyone. Wharton’s main interest centres on the limitations placed on a woman in early-twentieth century Europe, particularly when compared with the unlimited freedom given to a male. While the story tended to meander a bit – particularly at the end – the characterization remained convincing throughout: all four protagonists were fundamentally lonely.