The Author of Beltraffio

"The Author of Beltraffio" tells the story of a novelist Mark Ambient, his wife, and his son. The story's narrator, a somewhat naive American admirer of English novelist Mark Ambient, visits him at his home in Surrey. Ambient's novel "Beltraffio," piques the narrator's interest. Ambient's beautiful but chilly wife, his sickly seven-year-old son Dolcino, and his strange sister Gwendolyn are all introduced to him. He also discovers that Ambient's wife despises her husband's novels and regards them as corrupt and pagan. Dolcino eventually becomes gravely ill. Ambient's wife withholds the boy's medicine to "protect" him from what she perceives to be his father's evil influence. Will Dolcino recover from his illness? Will Ambient's wife ever accept his books?