A Butterfly on the Wheel: A Novel

"A Butterfly on the Wheel" by C. Ranger Gull, adapted from E. G. Hemmerde and Francis Neilson's play, explores the tangled relationships within a wealthy marriage, weighed down by gossip and societal norms in the early 1900s. The book introduces Mrs. Peggy Admaston, a spirited woman known for her flirtatious nature, her husband George Admaston, and the appealing Roderick Collingwood. The drama starts in a fancy Paris hotel when Peggy and her maid, Pauline, land there after a chaotic train journey. Their talks reveal the growing issues in Peggy's marriage and her attraction to Collingwood, who appears without warning. As rumors swirl and tensions rise, a possible scandal looms, threatening to expose the cracks beneath their public image and driving the narrative toward a clash between love, loyalty, and the confining rules of their social world.