• Nonfiction.

By Katie Roiphe. Dial Press, $26.

Grade: B

Book in a nutshell: The author of two other works of nonfiction and a novel applies her research skills to the early 20th century - or, more precisely, to the marriages of the literati of that period. Immersing herself, as best as one can nearly 100 years later, into the day-to-day details of unions such as that of H.G. and Jane Wells, Roiphe attempts to look closely at relationships that appeared to struggle against all the usual tides of marriage.

Built by those considered eccentric (read: creative), these unions were often made up of unconventional arrangements: accepted extramarital affairs, farming-out of children, homosexual exploration and the like. Roiphe's work is a study of culture, intimacy, creativity and societal mores and shifts - a sort of People magazine about early-20th century, well-read intellectuals.

Best tidbit: Whether in the 20th or 21st century, narcissism is still narcissism. When Roiphe writes of Wells' reaction to his son born to his mistress, Rebecca West, she portrays a man determined to remain completely liberated from the tediousness of real life and the consequences of his extramarital affair: Wells "found the baby unromantic . . . he did not enjoy the baby's crying, or the nursery, or the waiting around." Meanwhile, back at home, his loyal wife, Jane, who knew of and tolerated his affairs, "managed to insulate him from the daily noise of child rearing. . . . It galled him particularly he should be confronted with the evidence of babies in the home of his mistress."

Pros: Roiphe is thorough, pedantic and exacting. Her narrative most often reads as a sincere, plausible deduction made from extensive research.

Cons: Roiphe is thorough, pedantic and exacting. Occasionally, you sense that she's trying too hard to convince readers that her conclusions are completely accurate - impossible to verify without actually witnessing these marriages.

Final word: Artists are inherently creative, even subversive, and are known to routinely merge the conventional with the unconventional. Roiphe examines the degree to which this works - and more often doesn't work - in marriage.

Cathie Beck