How does John's mother know Larita?
Set in the early 1930s, Larita meets John Whittaker in Monaco. They marry and he takes his bride to the family mansion near Flintham in rural Nottinghamshire to meet his mother, Veronica Whittaker and father, Major Jim Whittaker and his two sisters, Hilda and Marion. Veronica, already predisposed to dislike her new daughter-in-law, is further disappointed to find that she, like Jim, speaks fluent French. Larita also meets John's former girlfriend and neighbour Sarah Hurst, who is gracious about the marriage.
Larita makes some inadvertent gaffes, accidentally killing the family chihuahua and giving some joking advice to Hilda that unfortunately results in embarrassment to, and enmity from, the sisters. Sarah comes to the Whittakers' parties, and to play tennis, accompanied by her brother Philip, on whom Hilda has a crush. Philip, however, is infatuated with Larita, which further angers Hilda. Larita reveals she has been previously married and remains calm in the face of her mother-in-law's disdain. To Larita's disappointment, John is not eager to leave the estate so that they can find a home of their own. Larita is bored and miserable in the countryside and hates blood sports like hunting, and any of the entertainment that country English people seem to enjoy. She reads Lady Chatterley's Lover, shocking the female relatives, and she will not play tennis. She dislikes Veronica's stuffy decor, her constant entertaining of her friends, and the overcooked food. She tries to get along with Veronica who refuses to accept her and resents her attempts to bring American traditions into the home.
her new daughter-in-law