This was such an unexpectedly enjoyable read. Marguerite Steen has largely faded from view, although she wrote many popular novels in her day, and this one is definitely still worth reading. It tells the story of Don Florio Conde and his wife Dona Maria Teresa who own a tavern in a small town in Andalucía. Their love for each other has long since died and it’s only the tavern that keeps them together. The reasons for their estrangement are only gradually revealed and it’s a heart-breaking story. We follow the fortunes of the tavern and get to know the people who visit it. The novel is well-crafted and well-paced and amazingly evocative of the time and place. Spain became for Steen her adopted homeland and her knowledge of the characters and customs of the country are obvious. The novel is set in the 1930s but it has an ageless feel to it. If I hadn't known it was published in 1935 by an Englishwoman, and without the few contemporary references in it, I would have imagined the book to be a 19th century minor classic by a Spanish writer, as it has a charmingly old-fashioned feel to it. A real treat, which I was delighted to discover thanks to NetGalley.