Esther Prescott has seen little of life outside her wealthy family's
Rose Bay mansion--until flashy Stan Peterson comes roaring up the drive
in his huge American car and barges into her life. Within a fortnight
they are living in his Kings Cross flat.
Moody and erratic, proud of his well-bred wife yet bitterly resentful of
her privilege, Stan is involved with his former girlfriend and a series
of shady business deals. Esther, innocent and desperate to please him,
must endure his controlling ways.
This story of a troubled and obsessive marriage, set against the
backdrop of postwar Sydney, is devastating. First published in 1957,
Down in the City announced Elizabeth Harrower as a major Australian
writer.