The Heat of the Day (1948) is a novel by Elizabeth Bowen. The novel takes place in London during World War II (WWII). While the action includes bombing campaigns such as the London Blitz, the narrative mainly focuses on the effect of war on social interaction and individuals’ lives rather than its global impact. The novel’s protagonist, Stella Rodney, is visited by a mysterious stranger who insinuates that her lover, Robert, is a Nazi spy. Faced with this potential crisis, Stella must navigate The Experience of Limbo in Wartime, Personal Versus National Loyalty, and The Effect of War on Personal Relationships. The Heat of the Day was adapted for television in 1989 by the playwright Harold Pinter.

This guide uses the 2002 Anchor Books print edition.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with an open-air concert in London’s Regent Park. It is set in 1942, after the London Blitz and in the midst of WWII. Louie Lewis, a 27-year-old woman, is living alone in London while her husband, Tom, is in India with the British Army. She makes conversation with a mysterious man who is later revealed to be Harrison, a counterspy for England. Lonely, she attempts to follow him from the park, but he rebuffs her. He has a date with Stella Rodney, a woman who doesn’t want to see him.

Harrison goes to Stella’s flat. The protagonist of the novel, Stella, is a divorced, independent middle-aged woman. She has an adult son, Roderick, and has been with her lover, Robert, for two years. In coded language, Harrison insinuates that Robert is selling information to the enemy. Harrison suggests to Stella that he is in a position to prevent Robert from being caught, but only if she begins a relationship with him instead. She is disgusted by and dismissive of Harrison. He gives her a month to decide.

Roderick visits Stella, on leave from his army training. They talk and he gets ready to sleep on the sofa. Roderick has recently inherited a house in Ireland, Mount Morris, from a recently deceased relative, Cousin Francis. Stella recalls Francis’s funeral, when she learned her son had inherited the house. The funeral was also the first time she saw Harrison, though no one knew who he was or what he was doing there. She remembers Harrison telling her he was a close friend of Francis, but that she didn’t believe him.

Stella remembers meeting Robert during the Blitz two years earlier. They are very close, but do not live together. The couple travel to his family’s country estate, Holme Dene, to visit Robert mother, Mrs. Kelway. When they return to London, Stella finds Harrison waiting for her in her flat. He tells her he can tell she has been “looking into” his claims, and suggests that she went to visit Robert’s mother in order to investigate him.

Stella goes to Mount Morris to help Roderick with business related to his inheritance. When she asks the caretaker about whether the estate has a boat, he describes a gentleman who sank it. She is upset to realize he is talking about Harrison. She realizes that since Harrison was telling the truth about his closeness with Francis, he may also be telling the truth about Robert.

Robert picks Stella up at the train station when she returns to London. In the car, she confronts him about Harrison’s claim. He is outraged that she could believe that of him. She justifies herself, saying that it’s possible to think about something without really believing it. They go to dinner and he asks her to marry him. She is suspicious, since they had always discussed there being no need to get married and because he insinuates that her asking about his potential espionage was one of the reasons for the timing of his proposal.

Harrison again visits Stella. He tells her he knows that she tipped Robert off, which he told her not to do. She asks how he knows, and he says that Robert changed his actions and meetings out of caution from the very next morning. He correctly tells her that this occurred the night she returned from Ireland. Harrison and Stella go to dinner, and Louie sees them across the room. She comes over, and Stella engages her in conversation to avoid the time alone with Harrison. Eventually, Harrison sends both women away.

Robert returns to his family home because his mother has received an offer on the house, which has been for sale for years. Although he expects to be arrested, he then goes to visit Stella at her flat. While it is a dangerous place for him to be, given that Harrison knows he’ll go there, Robert says that he had to see Stella again. He admits to spying for the enemy. He explains the “reasons” for his actions, primarily disillusionment with England and his belief that “there are no more countries left” (301). She asks how he can support Germany’s abhorrent actions, and he brushes off the question. Stella struggles with hating Robert’s actions but loving him. He decides to leave via the roof in case someone is waiting to arrest him outside.

In the next chapter, it is revealed that Robert has died by either falling or jumping from the roof: Whether it is a death by accident or death by suicide remains ambiguous. Stella visits Roderick, and tells him what she learned about Robert. He is sympathetic, though he says he doesn’t know how to comfort his mother.

Louie becomes pregnant. She is worried about telling her husband, Tom, about a baby that isn’t his. However, a telegram arrives with the news that he has been killed in action. The novel concludes with Louie returning to her birthplace, Seale-on-Sea, with her infant son.