Books, Arts & Manners: Marrying Up

A ll right. Who here would marry A just anyone, sight unseen, for $10 million?” No hands. “Twenty million? Well, what should I raise the ante to?”

We are 19 women who would be Becky Sharp, plus four novice Julien Sorels. Not a silver-punch-spoon group. For some of these women, I suspect, any marriage would be UP. And me, well … I glance down and realize that the entire tip of my left shoe sole has come loose, flapping. If I try to step up in class, I’ll probably take a dry half-gainer.